Light as the last layer of the public realm.
Victoria Place had already been rebuilt. Eastbourne’s new pedestrianised precinct — fresh paving, planting, seating and tables spilling out of the shopfronts — was finished and waiting. What it did not yet have was a reason to stay busy after dark. Your Eastbourne BID approached LITE Ltd to light the completed beautification works on behalf of Eastbourne Borough Council; after site visits, product demonstrations and a full project presentation, LITE were awarded the turnkey contract.
What was delivered works on two levels, literally. Overhead, 430 metres of MaxiULTRA festoon carries more than 700 MaxiBATCAP globes, criss-crossing the full length of the main street on a catenary system. MaxiBATCAP is MaxiLED’s own DarkSky Approved festoon globe: its solid upper hemisphere is a fully integrated optical baffle that blocks the upper 180° and redirects every lumen toward pedestrian level. Measured uplight is 0.0%, with a BUG rating of B0-U0-G0 — higher light levels underfoot and a stronger sense of security, with nothing at all going into the sky. At 2951 K and Ra 91.6 the light renders the new paving, planting and shopfronts properly rather than flattening them.
At tree level, 640 MaxiRGBW globes are threaded through eight trees using tree-friendly fixings, turning the avenue itself into the colour instrument. Every RGBW globe is individually addressed via DMX 512, and power and data share a single two-core cable at 48 VDC — no parallel control run to hide among the branches.
Show control is delivered from the cloud, driven by content mapped to the client’s event calendar — a single warm scene on an ordinary Tuesday, a full colour programme for a festival weekend. Because addressing is per-globe and control is remote, changing the character of the whole street is a scheduling decision, not a site visit. The festoon holds the street steady and safe; the trees do the talking.
“Victoria Place now proudly boasts 430 m of MaxiULTRA Festoon (over 700 globes) with the unique DarkSky Approved MaxiBATCAP… offering increased light levels and security without increasing light pollution. The real fun begins with the trees — 640 MaxiRGBW globes across 8 trees add colour, interest and animation, increasing footfall and night-time custom and creating a safe, open, vibrant space.”
Lawrence Hayes · Specification Manager, MaxiLED Lighting