Customer Success Story

Vancouver's Bloedel Conservatory Lighting Upgrade

28th July 2019       Lighting Division

Behind the Scenes of the Bloedel Conservatory Lighting Upgrade

Built in 1969, the Bloedel Conservatory is a designated heritage building at Queen Elizabeth Park and one of Vancouver’s most iconic visitor attractions. The facility is home to hundreds of unique birds and plants species such as: the timbrado canary, Amazon parrots, cacti, and tropical flowers. Some of these species are sensitive to light; therefore, an effective, non-disruptive lighting system is crucial to help maintain a healthy habitat for them within the tropical setting. The conservatory is operated and managed by the Vancouver Park Board, City of Vancouver, and the Vancouver Botanical Garden Association. In 2018, the Park Board decided to upgrade the facility’s lighting to a more environmentally sustainable and energy efficient solution. The upgraded lighting would also achieve other objectives such as:

• Reduce the dome’s energy use for lighting by 60% without changing hours of operation
• Provide a colour-changing LED lighting system to be used for public events and occasions
• Ability to manage lighting systems of multiple city facilities remotely and simultaneously
• Give the conservatory a modern and appealing look to attract more visitors, without disrupting the birds living in the conservatory

Bloedel Lighting Project Overview:

The City of Vancouver had Quantum Lighting design the lighting system and select the product, E.B. Horsman & Son supply the fixtures, and Mott Electric to carryout the installation.

Quantum Lighting along with SLS Lighting (manufacturer agent) recommended the ColorBlast system by Color Kinetics, a brand by Signify , as the ideal solution in order to maintain the conservatory’s unique environment as well as satisfy the needs of the City and the Park Board. This LED system was installed using was installed using the existing wiring of the HID floodlights. The same LED lighting system is used in other city facilities, such as Vancouver City Hall. This ensured further cost savings as the software need to manage the ColorBlast system is already being used by the city.

Lighting Fixtures to be Replaced

New Color Kinetics Lighting Fixtures

E.B. Horsman & Son, the largest independently owned electrical supplier in Western Canada, supplied the products. Due to their strong relationship with Color Kinetics and having a dedicated, in-house projects division, the company was able to provide a complete order on time.

Mott Electric, one of the largest electrical contracting companies in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, completed the challenging installation of the lighting fixtures along the facility’s unique dome structure.

It all sounds straightforward when the project is put that way, but it’s never as easy as it seems. All companies faced different challenges during the project such as:

• Finding a cost-effective and energy-efficient solution that meets the City’s budget, the Park Board’s objectives, and the conservatory’s sensitive habitat
• The dome’s unique structure and layout restricted the electrical crew’s movement for the installation
• Design and technical lighting challenges that meet the City's requirements to manage multiple facilities simultaneously.