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Asia

Moonta Street

A creative lighting installation infused with culture reinvigorates Adelaide’s Chinatown to elevate and enliven the urban space.
External shot of Chinatown entrance with red pagoda

Sectors

Location

Adelaide, Australia

Client

City of Adelaide

Located in the heart of Chinatown, Moonta Street is both a recreation and tourism destination and an important pedestrian throughway in the Adelaide Central Market precinct. A $4 million upgrade project is improving visual appeal, tree cover for shading, public safety, stormwater management and the outdoor dining experience. The creative lighting upgrade is the keystone element in the overall revitalisation and highlights the cultural immersion for visitors.

Our lighting team worked closely with the Chinese community and City of Adelaide to understand the significance of the lane and develop a visual language for the lighting design based on Chinese culture. The colour scheme of gold, ochre and red interacts with daylight to form appealing patterns and at night a dynamic colour-changing sequence invites the community into the space.

"A story is told using light and art. The entrance appears as if a gust of wind has blown Lucky Envelopes into the air, floating down the street, whilst the core represents water and waves that respond to the wind. The ordered form of densely spice coloured, metal panels create an overhead structure that provide a safe, intimate closed space." Bettina Easton, Associate.

Key fact

Two Pagoda gates at each end and their guardian lions are uplit to create an invitation to enter.

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Key fact

A local graffiti artist ‘Vans the Omega’ created culturally-infused street art, which is illuminated with focussed evening lighting.

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Key fact

The overall design is lower in brightness than the previous metal halide flood lights and creates a harmony of light and shadow.

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Bettina Easton in middle of park with blurred grass and small trees in background

Bettina Easton

Associate, Lighting Design

View bio

Lighting can transform ordinary urban spaces into vibrant, culturally-distinctive destinations – this is the essence of place-making.

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