This project marks the place of Chinese settlement and activity within the Haymarket setting. Through lighting, the key ideas of place, street definition, night-life and theatre are expressed. Urban design and Feng Shui principles established a framework for the layout, form and lighting colour.

The “heaven and earth” lantern is central to the whole composition and placed at the symbolic centre of Chinatown, the intersection of Little Hay and Dixon Streets. A shallow dome structure supports a web of fibre optic cables that morph through the colour spectrum. Walking under the lantern, pedestrians experience and complete the cosmic diagram: heaven (circle), earth (square) and person.

2 light types were developed for the 2 street types. Firstly transparent bamboo like screens, made up of coloured light sticks traverse the length of the north south streets, changing in colour according to the feng shui framework. Secondly richly patterned wall lights traverse the length of the smaller east west street. By layering the patterns over an inner and outer box, a kinaesthetic effect is achieved when walking down the street.

In association with Hassell