Lighting one of the highest buildings in the world

Canton Tower, formerly known as Guangzhou TV and Sightseeing Tower, is a 604-meter observation tower in Guangzhou, China and now the second tallest tower in the country and the fourth-tallest freestanding structure in the world. It was topped-out in 2009 and became operational in 2010 for the Asian Games. The tower briefly held the title of ‘tallest completed tower’ in the world, replacing the CN Tower before being surpassed by Tokyo Sky Tree in 2011. It reined as the tallest structure in China prior to the topping out of the Shanghai Tower in 2013.

ACE – Advanced Communication Equipment Co Ltd., MA Lighting’s exclusive distributor in China, has just installed 1 x grandMA3 light, 1 x grandMA3 replay unit, 6 x grandMA3 processing units and 16 x grandMA3 8Port Nodes, all running grandMA3 software to run the tower architectural lighting, which was previously controlled by a grandMA2 system.

One challenge was the tower’s height. Achieving smooth lighting in real-time and stability were key to the project. The main body of the Canton Tower is 454 meters high, so the network system had to deal with these distances.

“The grandMA3 light and grandMA3 replay-unit are used as master and backup. The console and the network cabinet realize the long-distance signal transmission via the network with the nodes set up on the tower body – on floor 7F, 16F, 29F, 33F, 65F, 74F, 110F– to send DMX signals to the luminaires," explained Long Zhiyong, technology manager from ACE’s Guangzhou Lighting Department. "The grandMA3 system is trustworthy, and the stability of the system plus the convenience of programming made our work more efficient and straightforward."

Lux Li, in charge of marketing at ACE’s lighting department, added, "A grandMA2 system was chosen when the Canton Tower was built, and after 10 years of great service this was upgraded with MA lighting’s latest products. This is an affirmation of everyone’s great trust in the MA system as well as our technology, services and commitment to providing the best solutions."

Photo: © Huang Chongzhi, Lux Li

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