Not just for winter!? The expanding "Summer Illuminations"

Tokyo Midtown held its annual summer event, " MIDTOWN ❤ SUMMER 2015," from July 17 to August 30, attracting numerous visitors and concluding successfully.
This column introduces the illuminations that colored summer nights at the main event, " SUMMER LIGHT GARDEN."

Reporting & Editing: Aki Kanahara, Dentsu Inc. Event & Space Design Bureau

 

Why are illuminations mostly seen in winter?

When you hear "illuminations," what scene comes to mind? Most people probably imagine romantic scenes during the Christmas season, snuggling up with family, lovers, or other special people. The biggest reason illuminations are held during the winter season is likely because "commercial illuminations" created the trend. Various commercial facilities implemented them as a mechanism to trigger consumer action during the year-end shopping season, including Christmas. As examples accumulated and became customary, the image became firmly established.

 

The Rising Trend of Summer Illuminations

However, the effectiveness of illuminations as a crowd-drawing device isn't limited to the winter season (though winter's dry air allows light to travel farther, and the earlier sunset and longer nights provide more operating hours, offering advantages specific to winter in some regions).
Challenging the notion that illuminations are solely a winter tradition, more and more facilities have begun implementing illuminations during the summer season in recent years, and the term "summer illuminations" is starting to gain acceptance.

 

Tokyo Midtown's Unique Summer Illumination

Tokyo Midtown, located in the heart of Tokyo, held "SUMMER LIGHT GARDEN" with the theme of "enjoying the coolness of Japanese summer."
One of the concepts of Tokyo Midtown is "On the Green," and its greatest uniqueness is its vast 2,000-square-meter lawn plaza. Using this open space overflowing with greenery as a stage, an illumination show was held that allowed visitors to experience the original Japanese scenery and cool summer nights while still in the city.

The "clear stream of light" and "light fireworks" evoked nostalgia in some and excitement in others, creating an entertainment show unique to Tokyo Midtown that harmonized nature and technology.

 

"Stream of Light"

At the far end of the lawn plaza, a waterfall of light appears, measuring approximately 8 meters high and 30 meters wide.
Continuing from the waterfall, a river of light flows gently downstream across the lawn plaza for about 70 meters. Speakers at the venue play the sound of water, recreating the scene of enjoying the evening breeze by the riverbank. This creates a momentary escape from the muggy urban night.

 

"Light Fireworks"

With the sound of launch, trails of light streak across the night sky, blooming into large, vibrant bursts.
These are colorful fireworks that appear once every 20 minutes as a special feature. This approximately 6-minute show recreates fireworks, a representative summer tradition, with illuminations. Various light fireworks, such as large blooms up to about 8 meters in diameter, 10-shot star mines (continuous fireworks), and impressive Niagara Faure (fireworks flowing down from above like a waterfall), are launched to music.

 

Behind the scenes of "SUMMER LIGHT GARDEN"

The wall where the fireworks and waterfall appear is composed of approximately 24,000 full-color LEDs, enabling expressions that look as if images are being projected onto a large screen.

There are expressions that are only possible because it is illumination rather than real fireworks. The photo shows heart-shaped fireworks, which are popular with women and children. Various other original fireworks are also launched.

 

Finally

While illumination is a hallmark of the winter season, there are themes and expressions uniquely suited to being realized during the summer season. Technological advancement is one key factor making this possible.
Next time, we'll explore the cutting edge of illumination from technical and design perspectives, discussing future possibilities in a roundtable discussion with Mr. Amada from Dentsu Tech and Mr. Watanabe from Komaden, both members of this project.