The installation — the largest of its kind to date — involved 288 Martin Professional Exterior 410 lighting fixtures washing the 96 concave aluminum panels that ring the building’s exterior.
The four quadrants of the Superdome’s exterior also feature Martin’s Exterior 1200 image projectors. For control, the design team used a Martin Professional MaxModule Cerebrum touch-screen control unit, working through four Martin Ether2DMX8 routers, one located in each quadrant of the dome.
The lighting control system can also be operated remotely so that the color scheme can be managed and manipulated off site. The lighting was programmed on a Martin M1 lighting console.
The new lighting system links and coordinates with the lighting for nearby Champions Square, which is also equipped with Martin gear and also relied on Solomon Group for visual design.
“The lighting complements what we did for Champions Square and adds a new element to our city’s iconic skyline,” said Solomon Group president Gary Solomon, Jr. The design firm worked with local architects Eskew+Dumez+Ripple/Ellerbe Becket and electrical contractor Frischertz Electric to keep the installation as energy-efficient as possible. The entire system, when operating in one color, draws 10 kilowatts of electricity — the equivalent amount of energy used by a small home. The current system also draws only 25 percent of the system it replaced.
The lighting system runs nightly and includes the capability to customize effects, images and color to celebrate specific events.
“Exterior lighting can transform a facility and have a huge impact on the night-time skyline,” noted SMG senior vice president Doug Thornton, who operates the Mercedes Benz Superdome.
“The Superdome project has really exceeded all expectations and we are proud to be a part of it,” said Brian Friborg, president of Martin Professional US, noting that the lighting installation caps an $85 million refurbishment of the facility. “This is really about the rebirth of an iconic American venue, and a wonderful city, and we are glad to have played a small part in that.”
