In an astonishing £8.5 million transformation, Poole Arts Centre, the largest arts centre outside London and the home of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, has changed from a 1970's eyesore into a world class arts facility, in which a fusion of architectural style, environmental consideration and applied visual art are combined in the actual structure. From now on the centre will be known as Lighthouse, Poole's Centre for the Arts. The new name was chosen after consultation with users and staff and reflects both the new building and its function, and of course Poole's proximity to the sea. (The second biggest natural harbour in the world.) The new facade is illuminated by Peter Freeman's extraordinary kinetic lighting which shifts and changes according to the number and location of people in the building.

Lighthouse is now a beacon for the arts, with a number of brand new facilities, including a new art gallery, 105 seat cinema, 150 seat studio theatre and an Image Lab facility for artists and local groups. These come in addition to the existing 669 seat theatre and 1500 seat concert hall which retains its unique 'magic floor' which increases the concert hall capacity to 2,500 for large scale events. Lighthouse is also the only arts centre to have a resident orchestra: The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra.
In an unusual and bold move, Executive Director Ruth Eastwood has assigned an impressive budget to include the work of sculptors, glass and metal workers and visual artists in the fabric of the building.
Architects Alan Short & Associates are noted for creating exciting, stylish and practical buildings while incorporating their environmentally improving techniques into their structures. Their 'natural ventilation' of the foyers and public spaces, developed with Max Fordham, have created a comfortable atmosphere while costing little to run. In addition, all the materials chosen for the refurbishment were selected for their environmentally friendly qualities as well as aesthetic appeal.

The aim of the lighting design was to create a high impact lighting installation with brilliant colour and animated light to convey the feeling of a vibrant, cultural space and a beacon building in Poole. For the purposes of design the facade was divided into four distinct elements, Stack (ventilation shaft), Lift shaft, Facade (original building) and Colonnade. The design tried to the give a distinct identity to each of the individual elements of the building facade while maintaining a coherent overall appearance through a close colour range. Specific areas, the Reglit panels and the lift car, are highlighted using coloured cold cathode and fluorescent tube lighting.
The main surfaces of the facade and colonnade are illuminated with washes of dichroic colour using floodlights and filters. The colours used are in the range of aquamarine- blue - magenta and are a reference to the colours of light reflected between the sea and sky.
Animated light sequences in the stack and lift shaft add dramatic life and are interactive, responding to the levels of activity in the building.

Stack
The main Reglit and Zinc ventilation Stack and the smaller Reglit and zinc FPS stack. The main structure of the stacks is zinc cladding punctuated with Reglit glass. The light elements play with the opacity of the zinc cladding and the transparency of the Reglit glass. Cold cathode tubes are suspended horizontally and vertically inside the Reglit glass panels.The cold cathode is animated with a moving pattern of light that simulates the movement of air in the stack. The animation is interactive responding to the level of activity in the building. The light controller is linked to the ventilation system and the CO2 levels. When the building is quiet the airflow is slow and the lights gently dim in and out. When the building is full and the CO2 levels are rising the air moves faster and the lights pulse more quickly. The cold cathode is visible from inside and outside the building giving a free floating pin stripe effect within the stack. The light spill from the tubes mixes and illuminates the internal volume of the stack. This is especially dramatic in the main bar and foyer areas where they create a dynamic backdrop. The zinc areas are lit with Meyer Superlight floodlights fitted with three different colours of dichroic filters and narrow beam optics. These give dramatic washes of vertical colour on the zinc. Light Processor supplied the control equipment for the cold cathode.

Lift car
14 multi-coloured fluorescent tubes are attached to the lift car. As the car goes up and down it automatically responds to the activity in the building. When the building is busy the car moves up and down more frequently. This creates a simple and beautiful interactive installation. The lift car becomes a moving rainbow or spacecraft in the transparent lift shaft, like a contemporary Jacobs Ladder. Encapsulite supplied the coloured sleeves.

Facade
The main vertical areas of the original facade are lighted with deep blue purple light. The aim is to create an intense blue glow using Philips 400 watt narrow beamed floodlights with purple blue dichroic filters mounted at the base of the wall.

Colonnade
The aim here is to create an intriguing visual effect and mark the pathway for pedestrians approaching the Arts centre. Buried up lighters with dichroic filters are installed at the base of each column along the length of the colonnade. The colour is a rich medium dichroic blue. The columns glow with projected coloured light and under the arches catch spilled light giving colour casts and dynamic modeling. Dichroic filters have the property of changing the colour of light as you approach the light source. They also project a main colour while producing secondary fringe colours. The up-lighters were Philips 70 watt narrow beam fitted with dichroic filters.

Technical Information :
Architects: Alan Short & Associates
Lighting Design: Peter Freeman
Lighting Solution: Meyer Superlight floodlights, Philips 400W narrow beamed floodlights with blue dichroic filters, Philips 70W narrow beam uplighters with dichroic filters, Encapsulite colour sleeves, Perrin Neon cold cathode, neon equipment supplied by Matel UK and Masonlite Ltd, Light Processor control for cold cathode

www.peterfreeman.co.uk