Redcar Beacon

The Redcar Beacon is an 80 ft tower built in the seaside town of Redcar in North Yorkshire, England as part of the area’s wider seafront regeneration scheme. Housing a café, office space, radio station, and a viewing platform, the seven-story tower is the town’s tallest structure.

The Redcar Beacon forms part of a light installation, originally designed by Arups of Sheffield, that runs the full length of the seafront to the bandstand. Requiring a lighting upgrade, the client asked Color Kinetics partner, LITE LTD, to replace the Beacon’s outdated fittings and restore its spectacular lighting effects. The new system needed to be low-maintenance and provide the capability for remote upload and management of new lighting scenes.

LITE LTD, specified Color Kinetics iColor Accent Compact RGBW. This high-resolution direct view linear LED luminaire is ideally suited for designed effects in architectural settings. The durability iColor Accent Compact also made it the perfect choice for the Redcar Beacon project. The IP66-rated luminaire is designed to meet the rigorous demands of outdoor applications. The aluminum housing resists shock, vibration, and other forms of unforgiving conditions. In addition, Color Kinetics iColor Flex LMX gen2 (now specified with Flex Compact gen3, RGB), exterior flexible strands of high-intensity nodes with intelligent RGB light, were installed in the shelters on the seafront.

The result is a fully functioning and controllable system that enhances the building’s architecture. The Beacon now forms part of a striking and mesmerizing nighttime vista and illuminates the Redcar seafront for those enjoying the area after sunset.