Jason Bruges lights up London park

Jason Bruges Studio is creating a lighting installation for the redevelopment of a park in south west London which aims to engage the local community with the space.

Normand Park in Lillie Road SW6, where Bruges’ family of lighting columns will be placed, will open to the public on 10 July.

‘After being given an open brief, we used the concept of being able to see a flower blossom in a couple of seconds as our inspiration,’ says Jason Bruges Studio designer Miriam Sleeman.

Nine interactive lighting columns and 12 standard lighting columns make up the installation series.

The steel columns, ranging in height from 4m to 6m, contain LED lighting and are placed next to trees in the park, with each column being height-specific to a particular tree.

The interactive columns project lights depicting leaf shapes which change colour onto the trees and across the park.

‘A microwave sensor in the columns means that the way the lights come on, and the patterns created, are dependent upon people walking past them,’ says Sleeman.

The studio has undertaken a series of lighting tests in the park and has involved the local community in the design selection process.

‘In January 2007, teenagers from the area came in to the studio and we showed them the series of animations and designs we intended to use, and they selected which ones they liked most,’ adds Sleeman.

Jason Bruges Studio worked with independent arts consultant Lucy McMenemy.

The studio was appointed by Kinnear Landscape Architects in autumn 2006 to work on the project, which is part of an arts strategy for the park.

The studio received funding from the Arts Council for the project.