Bright lights, big city they’ve gone to my baby’s head
Bright lights, big city gone to my baby’s head
-Bright Lights, Big City by Animals

OK, so maybe Singapore isn’t a big city, but we’ve certainly got some pretty city lights. And as the Lighting up the City exhibition put up by the folks at the Singapore City Gallery will tell you, lighting ain’t no child’s play. In fact, it’s both art and science.

Honestly, I have never thought much about our street lighting beyond the fact that our roads are well-lit. But the URA is using lighting to create different environments in the various hubs in our city centre, namely the Singapore River, CBD/Marina Bay, Bras Basah/Bugis and Orchard Road.

The Singapore River is comprised of 3 quays – Robertson, Clarke and Boat Quay, each with its own distinct character. Lighting is used to enhance this.

For the more quiet and residential Robertson Quay, they propose to highlight the trees and river bank, while the lively entertainment hub of Clarke Quay will have lighting focused on the water to enhance the waterfront experience and festive atmosphere. Boat Quay, which is in the heart of the Civic District and CBD, will have floating lights in the water to highlight water movement, and the riverwalks, sculptures etc. will also be lit.

Another interesting proposal for the S’pore River is the illumination of the bumboats which are a common sight along it to highlight the movement and activity in the river. Neon lights to shine prettily? Sounds pretty cool to me!

Over at the CBD/Marina Bay area, they aim to create a 24/7 live, work, play community image for the business cum entertainment hub. The area with its signature skyline, which includes the 3 tallest buildings in Singapore, will be further enhanced with white light along the main roads to distinguish the area as a business and financial hub.

At our main shopping district, Orchard Road, they will be using lights to highlight the linear perspective of Orchard Road with its seemingly neverending rows of malls and shops, while enhancing the greenery with suitable lighting. Street furniture, such as the benches where you might have taken breaks during marathon shopping trips, will also be illuminated.

Lastly, the Bras Basah and Bugis area, which is home to NAFA, the National Library, the Art Museum, SMU, CHIJMES and many more prominent buildings, wil be established as Singapore’s budding Arts, Culture, Learning and Entertainment hub. An exciting visual feast is hoped to be created by encouraging various signage and luminous street displays. Again, to uphold our Garden City reputation, the greenery will be highlighted.

And if you’re wondering about the science behind lighting, the exhibits on Lighting Principles will prove very interesting.

For example, different types of lighting have different color rendering capacities. White lights usually have higher capacity and colors will appear more vivid and lively under it.

Also, lighting up a building requires planning; lighting is usually used to highlight a building’s key architectural features, as shown in the model below:

And just for some light hearted fun, try playing around with this screen, where your image is captured by the camera and turned into a piece of abstract art on screen.

So to find out how our city lightscape is created, head down to the URA Centre at 45 Maxwell Road. Admission to both the main Gallery and this Exhibition are free. The Maxwell Food Centre (read: delicious food) located next to the building is sure to make the trip extra extra worth it too. (: