"Tower light, tower bright, will you guide my way tonight?" A three-building project under way in Baku, Azerbaijan, gives a new twist to a familiar lyric and a new look to the Caspian Sea city's skyline.
The Baku night sky first brightened on May 13, when the team flicked the switch on the thousands of red, green and blue LED lights on the nine facades of the three buildings, named the Baku Flame Towers. The lighting system, in the shape of a raging fire, is interlinked and controlled by one source, according to Hill International, the project management consultant.
"The effect is [that of] a screen of pixels, much like the Harrah's building in Atlantic City, only it spans three buildings," says Kevin Denton, project director in Baku for Hill International (Azerbaijan) Ltd.
The facade lighting system, with its approximately 10,000 custom fixtures, is the work of Francis Krahe and Associates. Traxon Technologies is the fabricator. The three towers, designed by HOK London, are the tallest in the city. The tallest of the trio is 39 stories. Completion of the project is set for Jan. 13.
