Highlighting the domes at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
Highlighting the domes at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
Martin Professional Middle East (MPME) has installed an impressive exterior lighting solution comprising 2,556 Martin Professional Exterior PixLine 10 fixtures to light up the glass domes of the new visitor’s centre at Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque.
Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque is the largest mosque in the Middle East, and the third largest in the world, accommodating up to 40,000 people. The mosque recently opened its new three-storey visitor’s centre, which is bookended by a pair of glass dome entrances. Abu Dhabi officials hired MPME to install an exterior lighting solution that would highlight the visitor’s centre and glass domes. MPME installed the 2,556 Exterior PixLine 10 fixtures in order to cover the domes’ curved surfaces.
‘Installing a high number of fixtures on a curved surface is a complex process,’ explained Bilal Assidi, MPME sales manager. ‘We selected the Exterior PixLine fixtures because Martin could supply them in customised lengths, which reduced installation time and cost, and also allowed us to perfectly integrate the fixtures into the structure of the domes.’
The Exterior PixLine 10 can be customised in terms of colour, as well as length. It is a linear LED video fixture often used for media facades and creative installations. In addition to lighting up the domes at the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Centre, the fixtures are used to display video content to support religious holidays, cultural events and other special occasions.
Martin fixtures have been lighting up the mosque itself since 2009. Being an official service partner of the Grand Mosque since then, MPME is responsible for making sure that every lighting installation works properly at all times. The MPME team employed four Martin P3 system controllers to synchronise the fixtures and continues to use the P3 system to remotely monitor the new media façade and respond quickly in case of errors or fallouts.
‘Mapping out video content across such a high number of fixtures on a curved surface is a demanding task which requires a reliable and user-friendly video processor,’ said Assidi. ‘The P3 system made it simple to set up the PixLine fixtures, and ensures that the installation will look as good as it does now for many years to come without having staff onsite at all times.’