Prize(s) Winners in Industrial Building Lighting Design
Lighting Design/Product Company SEAM Design
Lead Designers Emory Smith, Revan Li
Other Designer's names Mike Tonkin, George Gil
Architecture Company Tonkin Liu Architects
Client Sunderland City Council
Photo Credits David Valinsky Photography, Revan Li, Emory Smith
Completion Date 2024
Project Location Sunderland
Entry DescriptionA landmark multi-storey car park in Sunderland is reimagined through art and light. The project transforms a typically utilitarian building type into a civic participant, embedding it with meaning, identity, and delight.
Inspired by Sunderland’s long-standing connection to the sea, Tonkin Liu’s mesmerizing façade artwork becomes a living expression of water and light. Dynamic coloured illumination, delivered through a simple battery of RGB luminaires with DMX control and Pharos programming, animates the 100-metre façade in waves of colour and movement. This biophilic design draws from the city’s history of shipbuilding and its new role as a gateway to offshore wind energy, connecting past and future through the metaphor of the river and sea.
The programmable system enables the building to participate in the wider life of the city, with lighting scenes that can be customised to celebrate holidays, commemorate significant events, or raise awareness for charitable causes. In this way, the car park becomes more than infrastructure: it becomes a responsive, inclusive landmark.
At night, the lighting brings joy and wonder to a building type often dismissed as dull or off-putting, reframing it instead as an artwork in the public realm — a symbol of Sunderland’s renewal, and a beacon of civic pride.
Sustainability ApproachArt and façade lighting are rarely linked with sustainability, yet Sundersea shows how strategic design can achieve civic impact with minimal energy demand. The 100-metre façade is illuminated in full colour using a simple, efficient system of floodlights with two different elliptical beam angles. This dual-beam approach ensures even coverage while reducing the number of fittings, lowering power use, maintenance, and extending system life. A robust DMX/Pharos control system integrates with Sunderland City Centre’s wider network, enabling the façade to act as a civic asset with programmable scenes for holidays, commemorations, and community events. The result is a utilitarian building transformed into a vibrant urban landmark that unites art, community, and sustainability.
Company DescriptionOperating globally with high-profile projects and collaborations in 30 countries, SEAM is a design practice led by Marci Song and Emory Smith, each bringing over two decades of international design experience. SEAM integrates light as a defining component of the architectural vision—shaping spatial clarity, atmosphere, and human experience. Through a research-led, collaborative approach informed by diverse cultural and geographic contexts, SEAM’s work synthesises architecture and light to reinforce spatial intent, enhance materiality, and create meaningful, memorable environments.
