The heritage listed State Library of Victoria, an Australian iconic building with classical architecture comes alive with dynamic and vibrant LED illumination. Viento luminaires spaced strategically out of sight around the facade provide a seamless wash of light and colour. A beautiful display of coloured illumination from warm whites to vibrant hues glow spectacularly, highlighting the striking architecture. Special occasions call for something different, programmable sequences of colour changing effects both subtle and impressive are revealed on appropriate days.

The State Library of Victoria opened its doors in 1853 with a collection of 3,800 books. Today the iconic heritage building holds more than 2 million books and 16,000 serials, including the diaries of the city’s founders, John Batman and John Pascoe Fawkner. An $83.1 million redevelopment is currently taking place and includes a new outdoor lighting installation designed by award-winning lighting design firm NDYLight.

The building is now beautifully lit at night with Megabay Viento linear projectors in 1000mm and 500mm modules. The lighting designers specified the luminaires in RGBW, which are controlled by remote DMX drivers to produce colour changing light scenes at night. The IP66 projectors are attached end-to-end and mounted on a ledge of the building facade, creating a continuous linear lighting effect that illuminates the top section of the library. Several Viento projectors are also mounted behind four large columns to add vertical illuminance to the front facade. NDYLight designed the energy-efficient lighting installation to highlight the architectural features of the historic landmark without the need for large floodlights or intrusive luminaires.

The library is embraced by many Melbournians and visitors throughout the year. It is a hive of activity during the day with people coming and going all the time, while others are happy to sit around the premises for hours. The new lighting upgrade will certainly attract more social interaction and community activities in the CBD area at night.