DUBLIN: The Mellow Bridge

Mellows Bridge, also spanning the Liffey River in Dublin, hosted a historical mock-up demonstration for Dublin's Corporation. This demonstration successfully convinced the city engineers that LEDs were the ideal technology for making the balusters visible at night. For this project, I aimed to use a light source that was mechanically attached to its support. I had previously observed a different technology: Xenon lamps mounted with a bayonet clip system. However, I discovered that these could not withstand the vibrations from passing vehicles while illuminating bridges in Paris. During the preliminary design phase, the only available LEDs were the Orange T 1-1/4 from Hewlett-Packard. A company in Lyon, LEC Lyon, was producing devices that utilized this component. Pioneer Jean-Pierre Valencogne provided me with a 90 cm sample, which he claimed changed the course of lighting history. For more information, you can visit their website: LEC Lyon History https://www.lec-lyon.com/company/history# Photo: Jorge Parra, 2008.