BMFLs Illuminate Tallest Tower in Latin America

Four Robe BMFL WashBeams were used to project bright, crisp, clear artwork, logos and slogans onto the side of the Gran Torre Santiago at the Constanera Centre in downtown Santiago, Chile, for an event launching the new Chevrolet Cruze car.

At 300 metres (980 ft.) tall, the Gran Torre Santiago, designed by architect Cesar Pelli, is the highest building in Latin America.

BMFLs positioned approximately 220 metres away were utilized to achieve this goal, the brainchild of the event’s creative director Esteban Icardi, working with lighting designers Tony Amoros and Manuel Guzman.

Esteban’s technical production company, Icardi Productions, purchased 12 x BMFL WashBeams the month before the event from Robe’s Chilean distributor, VGL, four of which were used to spectacularly brand the tower.

The four BMFL WashBeams were positioned on platforms built on the west side of the tower so they had a clear trajectory to the target area, shooting 220 metres onto the dark building which came alive with the dramatic images that were visible from all around the city.

Esteban and his team had not used BMFLs before for anything like this, but they had heard about the power, brightness and projection capabilities of the fixture from multiple sources. VGL set up a demo at the site before they committed to the concept which was highly successful, so the plan went ahead.

Esteban was delighted with the results as was the client, Chevrolet Chile. “I think the BMFL is the best moving light projector in the world right now,” stated Esteban. Esteban is one of the most respected creative directors in the world of corporate and live events in Latin America and is known for the boldness and ingenuity of his concepts, for thinking ‘out-of-the-box’ and always delivering an idea that is unique and different for the project.

Icardi Productions is one of the most important rental companies in Chile and South America in this sector.

The BMFLs have so far been such a success for Icardi Productions that they are about to order another 12 and in addition to these, they will be the first in South America  to receive 20 of the brand new Spiider LED wash / beam fixture – which has just been launched.

Tony Amoroso was born in Spain, has lived in Chile for over 20 years and is one of the top lighting designers working on a host of internationals shows and with well-known touring artists both in Spain and Latam. He comments, “The BMFL is a luminaire we have not really seen before in Chile – it’s an amazing product with so much power and clarity”.

Gran Torre Santiago is the second tallest building in the Southern hemisphere and this project followed just a few months after a launch in Australia for Channel 7 News ... where BMFLS were installed at the top of the tallest – Q1 in the Gold Coast – and used to project gobos across another long distance of around 300 metres onto the beach below!

Photo: Arthur Dressler