Fans attending the first day of this weekend’s Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix were the first to witness an icon of Bahrain in a whole new light, as the BIC Tower showed of its incredible new permanent video and lighting installation.
This landmark of the Kingdom, which today is one of the most recognisable structures in Bahrain, now rises from the Sakhir desert boasting a brilliant lighting and video façade wrapped around the eight-storey building.
In addition to providing an incredible show for fans at the circuit, the new lighting enhances the BIC Tower as the key visual element of the international television broadcast of the race.
Its dynamic and colour-rich features enhance the tower, set alongside the bright lighting that illuminate the track during night races.
The design explores the geometry of the spectacular building and articulates its elegant circular form, but also gives the tower a dynamic that reflects the speed and power of the motorsport that surrounds it.
The concept was designed by international lighting designers Woodroffe Bassett Design and comprises bands of high-resolution LED panels fitted to the front of the handrails and sun louvres on the top 7 levels of the tower. A complimentary lighting system is fitted to the sail canopy that tops the tower and the sunshade on the ground floor, which match the colour and tempo to the video on the screens.
The content that plays on the tower façade is a mixture of Bahraini cultural elements, abstract patterns, and effects and information which reacts to events over the race weekend.