Located on the Brighton seafront, Brighton i360 is the world’s tallest moving observation tower. It allows visitors to glide up to 450 feet in a fully enclosed futuristic glass viewing pod to admire stunning views of Brighton and a beautiful panorama of the South Coast and English Channel.

The viewing pod is ten times the size of a London Eye capsule and can carry up to 200 passengers. ‘Flights’ are approximately 20 minutes long. Optelma worked closely with Marks Barfield Architects, creators of the London Eye, to light this new record-breaking attraction. Optelma was a subcontractor to Pomagalski, the French leading player in ropeway transportation solutions in charge of the pod design and build.

Selected for it’s ability to match the exact dimensions required, Optelma’s Quad Curved Linear System lights the interior of the pod with a continuous ring of light more than 30 Metres in length. An RGBW colour-changing light source allows the lighting to change dynamically during the ‘flight’. Embarkation and disembarkation require the pod to be illuminated in white for safety reasons, whilst at night the colour fades to blue. This allows stunning views for miles around to be enjoyed, uninterrupted by glare or reflection.

David Marks and Julia Barfield described – “Built at the landward end of Brighton’s historic West Pier, Brighton i360 is a modern day vertical pier. Just as the West Pier invited victorian society to ‘walk on water’, we invite visitors to ‘walk on air’ and gain a new perspective of the city and it’s setting between the land and sea. The lighting supplied by Optelma forms an integral part of the pod design and is key to its success.”
Graham Watkinson, Sales and Marketing Manager of Optelma Architectural Lighting comments: “It was a privilege to witness the vision and world-class engineering involved in creating this new landmark. Lighting the British Airways i360 glass pod allowed Optelma to demonstrate our Bespoke & Made to Measure approach and we are delighted with the result.”
CLIENT: Brighton i360 Ltd
ARCHITECT: Marks Barfield Architects
CONTRACTOR: Hollandia Infra b.v.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT: Helmsley Orrell Partnership
STRUCTURAL ENGINEERS: Jacobs UK
POD, DRIVE & CONTROL SYSTEM: Pomagalski SAS
FAÇADE CONSULTANT: Mott Macdonald
LIGHTING CONSULTANT: Do Architecture