The lighting designer for The Wharf, Debra Gilmore of Gilmore Lighting Design, conceived of the idea of floating illuminated rings as a signature element of this multi-billion dollar redevelopment.
照明设计师黛博拉·吉尔莫构思的“浮空魔环”是这个价值数十亿的港区重建项目里的标志性元素。
Perched along the Potomac River, within a short walk of the National Mall was a mile-long stretch of waterfront property underutilized by residents and ignored by tourists. That all changed with a $2.5 billion development that transformed the area into a new and bustling 24-acre neighborhood known as “The Wharf” or “District Wharf.” It is now an attraction for local residents and tourists alike.
重建前的港区坐落在波托马克河边，与国家广场毗邻，是一块长达1.6公里的狭长滨海区域，但因为此地居民不善经营，未能发展成旅游景点，美好的景色被人们忽略，但25亿美元的开发项目彻底改变了这一切，该地区变成了一个崭新的千亩繁荣社区，以及富饶的港区，不论对当地居民还是游客都具有相当的吸引力。
Features include concert venues, retailers, restaurants, hotels, residences, businesses, and the restored, historic Oyster Shed, now part of the new Washington Fish Market, and adjacent to the floating Municipal Fish Market, the oldest continuously operating open-air fish market in the United States. The main public plaza is the perfect spot for taking in the scenic views, both of the water and also overhead, where fifteen rings of iLight Plexineon seem to float aloft at night time.
新建的特色项目与场馆包括：音乐会馆、大型超市、餐厅、酒店、住宅区、商业区，以及一些经过修复，具有悠久历史的牡蛎棚，现在已经成为新开设的华盛顿海鲜市场的一部分，与全美最古老的、现在仍在经营的水上海鲜市场比邻。
新建的滨海公共广场则是欣赏风景的理想场所，而每到夜晚，不论在水上还是在岸上，都能看到15个“浮空魔环”在广场上空高高漂浮。
A close up of a Plexineon Catenary Vertical Ring.
熄灯时的“魔环”，可以看出是以悬链垂挂着的。
One Design Challenge (of Many)
充满挑战的设计
The idea for the floating circles of light was conceived by Gilmore Lighting Design after the firm was brought onto the project by landscape designer LAB.
吉尔莫照明设计公司中标这个项目后，在景观设计实验室中进行了仔细研究，最后提出了“浮动魔环”的设计概念。
Debra Gilmore, president and principal, utilized layers of light for the different scope locations (architectural, landscape, and site) to establish a visual hierarchy relating to activity within the locations. One challenge was selecting entry plaza lighting. Functional light using a minimal energy footprint was needed, and Gilmore wanted to create a solution more unique than typical festoon string lighting.
“Our philosophy and attitude about solving egress lighting is to also create a beautiful night environment,” Gilmore says.
公司总裁兼项目负责人黛博拉·吉尔莫利用不同范围内的照明层（建筑物、景观和场地）建立了整个区域内灯光活动的视觉层次模型，当模型建立好之后，她立即发现了该项目的第一个挑战：该照明项目建立在广场的入口处，只能使用能耗最小的功能性照明灯，传统的解决方案是使用花彩灯串，但吉尔莫希望创建一种比灯串更为独特的解决方案。
吉尔莫说：“我们不仅是要创建一个照明工程的解决方案，更想创造一个美丽的夜晚环境。”
The Gilmore team developed an innovative entry solution, comprised of an angled catenary system using suspended, glowing custom LED rings that provide functional egress illumination, while adding an artistic moment and a memorable site location by day and night. When they pitched their proposal, it was met with enthusiasm. Next came bringing the rings to life.
于是，吉尔莫的团队开发出了一种创新的解决方案，其中包括一个倾斜的悬链系统，定制的LED灯环悬挂其上，既能提供功能性的照明，且不论白天和夜晚，都能彰显出独特的艺术气息和令人难忘的观感。当团队确定下这个方案后，他们开始满腔热情地着手将“魔环”代入生活了。
An additional challenge was that Gilmore and her team were brought aboard in the final stages of the project. With a sign on the construction site counting down the days to completion of the project’s first phase, a deadline was looming.
这时，第二个挑战到来了，吉尔莫和她的团队，在整个港区改造项目的最后阶段，才被带到实际的施工场所准备安装作业，吉尔莫注意到施工现场的标牌上正在对完工进行倒计时，最后期限迫在眉睫。
Fortunately, Gilmore already had a product in mind to form the circles. She had used iLight Plexineon on previous projects, where curved fixtures were always mounted to a surface. She hoped iLight could help her create the circles—and suspend them.
好在吉尔莫早已选定好制作“魔环”的LED模组产品，那是在她以前的项目中曾经接触过的iLight Plexineon，这款LED模组非常适合弯曲的灯具使用，她希望iLight公司可以暂缓其他业务帮助自己全力创建“魔环”。
“I sent iLight drawings and they responded quickly,” she says. The iLight team confirmed that Plexineon could be bent to form the circles and suspended from aircraft wire. With all of the cables angled, rather than horizontal, a custom mounting would be needed. Gilmore and her team also worked with iLight to determine electrical component sizes and how the connections would work.
吉尔莫说：“我将图纸发送给iLight公司后，他们很快给了回应。”回复中iLight公司表示，Plexineon产品的确可以弯曲成环状并悬挂于缆线上，但是如果所有的缆线都需要做成倾斜造型而不是水平的，就需要定制化安装。于是，吉尔莫团队继续与iLight合作，确定电气组件的尺寸以及连接方式。
Photos can’t do justice to the optical richness of the rings reflecting on other surfaces.
仅从照片上无法看出“魔环”为整个场景带来的照明价值，事实上它们极大地提升了光学丰富性。
The iLight Advantage
极具优势的iLight
The close collaboration paid off when it was time for installation, which went smoothly. The result is a stunning feature that creates a formal, monumental pedestrian entrance to the fish market and serves to attract both business tenants and customers. “I was thrilled. It’s a gem. It’s iconic,” Gilmore says.
紧密无间的合作让整个项目在预期时间内顺风顺水地完成了，其展示效果与具有的功能性也是令人惊叹的，海鲜市场正式而又巨大的人行入口，加上这充满神秘感的艺术照明，迅速吸引了众多商业租户和客户。吉尔莫说：“看到其效果超乎想象地好，我很激动，这个照明项目是整个港区的一颗明珠，具有标志性意义的明珠！”
Something she could not have predicted was how well the light of the Plexineon luminaires would work within the context of all the surrounding elements.
虽然吉尔莫设计并创建了“浮空魔环”，但她也没有想到，“魔环”的神秘美丽会有多大···Plexineon灯具的光线，竟然以周围所有元素为背景，产生了不可思议的化学反应。
“During design, building tenants adjacent to the entry were unknown. A Tiki bar added a lot of colored lights that reflect on the rings in a unique way,” Gilmore says. The way the Plexineon Rings interact with blue lighting along a nearby overpass is another happy surprise. “The reflections are really fun,” she adds. “The serendipitous quality of light never ceases to amaze me.”
吉尔莫说：“在整个设计阶段，与入口以及‘魔环’们相邻的建筑还未确定，因此对它们今后会使用的灯光效果是未知的，但在以后很可能会对我们的照明项目产生影响。事实上，这样的影响的确产生了，但却是出乎意料的正面影响，后来开设的TiKi酒吧，增添了许多彩色灯光，这些灯光以独特的方式反射在‘魔环’上，并与附近的立交桥所发出的蓝色灯光相互作用，形成了非常有趣的视觉效果，为其添加了另一重魅力色彩···对此我只能惊叹，光的奇妙之处难以想象。”
Gilmore is glad that, once again, she turned to iLight to help make her vision reality. “iLight has always been very supportive of lighting designers. They made it easy to work with them from the very beginning. Plexineon is a playful product. I was an early adapter.”
吉尔莫很高兴能再次获得iLight的帮助以实现自己所期待的视觉效果，她说:“iLight一直非常支持照明设计师所生产的独特想法，所以这个设计打从一开始，合作就不再是一个问题了，而我们所用到的Plexineon则是一款非常好玩的产品，我从入行的早期就一直喜欢使用它。”
Gilmore’s success on the project was recognized by the industry—the project won a DC, IES Illumination Award of Merit.
这个优异的项目设计成功收官，它也让吉尔莫在业界获得了高度认可，该项目获得了IES照明评选中的DC优异奖，可谓实至名归。
All involved in the project were thrilled with the final outcome.
该项目的所有参与者窦唯最终的成功与成就激动不已。
