Our concept for this Dubai Bridge Fifth Crossing competition is drawn from the symbol of the falcon and its significance as the national symbol of the U.A.E. In order to create a successful lighting design solution, the bridge was divided into distinct elements that are individually highlighted (akin to creating chords or notes in a symphony), and then combined to form a composition or symphony. The various lighting elements that we have determined, and their relationship to the physical body and movements of the falcon, are as follows: wings (“sails” of the falcon), ribcage, eye, spine, wingspan, roadway, underbelly (“panel” of the falcon), and the diving arc of the bridge arch (“stooping” gesture of the hunting falcon.)
The elements are divided into those which are stable and those which are mutable. The stable elements, such as the ribcage and spine, are brightly and continuously lit to suggest their strength and constancy. In contrast, the mutable elements, including the feathered “wing” cables and soft “panel” underbelly of the bridge are illuminated with less intensity, and more of a fading or gradient effect. To highlight the falcon’s sails, we have illuminated the inner cables of the bridge from their bases halfway up each cable, so that there is a “feathering” effect of the wings’ upper ends. The ribcage is represented by the outer layer of cables, and is brightly and evenly illuminated as a reflection of the strength of the bird’s torso. We have accented the eye of the falcon, the area where the two bridge arches intersect, with a glowing, internally lit ring of locally-mined gold onyx.