Midfield Concourse at Hong Kong International Airport

Hong Kong, Hong Kong

Infrastructure

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About Project

The recent project completed at the Hong Kong International Airport is one of the largest public works conducted in the city in recent years. It consists of an entirely new structure in the airport's central area to the west of Terminal 1 and includes a new lighting system. iGuzzini succeeded in taking part in this project by complying with its strict design requirements and, as a result, won a contract worth approximately 15 million Hong Kong dollars. The project ended up taking longer than expected and underwent a number of variations on the way. The most important of these involved exchanging traditional lamps for LEDs and installing sensors to integrate the preponderance of natural light with artificial illumination when needed. These variations were required in order to comply with the “Hong Kong Beam Plus” standard, a procedure introduced in 2010 for all buildings that includes the energy consumption of luminaires in the assessment of environmental performance. This standard has also affected other choices in the building's design, such as the special glass that has been used, which reflects 40% of solar radiation. This glass helps keep the building cooler and therefore its geothermal-based air conditioning system is used less and energy consumption is reduced. The airport authorities held a bid for the lighting system, that was won by a design put forward by the Arup studio, which succeeded in complying with the energy consumption limits specified by the client by exchanging traditional lamps for LEDs. The other strict requirement stipulated by the airport authorities was the total lack of glare as they insisted on maximum visual comfort. The lighting project is based on the use of an innovative recessed luminaire that combines iGuzzini's optic expertise with Arup's innovative design skills. The recessed luminaire was designed, developed and industrially manufactured between the company's Italian headquarters and its branch in Hong Kong and is based on the standard Reflex recessed luminaire and the Palco spotlight. To obtain the results required by the customer, the Palco spotlight optic was amplified by up to 54°, thereby achieving an extremely high efficiency level and a UGR of < 10. The luminaire, therefore, has a high precision light effect with an efficiency level of 5000 lm/W, which means it can illuminate heights of up to 15 metres with a better level of visual comfort than that stipulated by the strict regulations for work environments with display screens. This impressive achievement was reached by combining the carefully tested technology of two different products to create the new hybrid Reflex Supercomfort device that boasts new features and performance levels. The luminaires have been installed in groups of 6 and 4, depending on the airport area and the relative quantity of light required. They are mounted on modular triangular metal structures and are fitted with adapters that allow them to be adjusted between 0° and 15° given that the ceiling is curved. This option of adjusting the angle of the optic compensates the inclination of the ceiling so the luminaires always appear to be vertical. Another product that has been customised for use at the airport is the iRoll luminaire. Designed by Bo Steiber, the device has a diameter of 180 mm and Palco optics. This luminaire is installed between the triangles in certain areas of the airport. Here, adapting the luminaire has been particularly complex as in some cases its height has been reduced to as little as 10 cm. Other luminaires, such as Woody and Front Light have also been used in this project, but 80% of the devices supplied are the specially customised Reflex and iRoll luminaires. This considerable production demand has meant that not only the company headquarters, but its branches have been involved in creating the lighting for this important new hub. All the devices installed feature DALI technology and are controlled by a non-iGuzzini control system. The project has already won a merit award in the 'Building currently under construction' category of the “Design Green Building Awards 2012 ", organised by the “Hong Kong Green Building Council” and the “Be inspired” prize at the BIM Awards 2011, in the “Innovations for Campus, Airports and Military Airports” category.