Specially modified canopy lighting from Whitecroft Lighting is being used to light the world's third largest indoor ski slope at Ski Dubai.Located at the Mall of the Emirates in Dubai, the recently opened Ski Dubai facility uses 6000 tonnes of snow, which is replaced constantly, and features 400m ski slope with runs of varying difficulty. The area under snow is the equivalent of three football pitches.
To meet the requirements of the project, Tecon Whitecroft's representatives in Dubai worked closely with designers Hyder Consultants to produce a bespoke version of its popular Canopy Master CM49 fitting. In particular, the fittings had to be able to withstand freezing conditions while providing optimum light output with minimal glare, as well as being easy to maintain.
The snow is made by shooting water at high pressure into an atmosphere maintained at around freezing point. To cope with these conditions, Whitecroft incorporated a special unit into the standard Canopy Master, thus minimising temperature fluctuations within the luminaire.
Potential problems with lamp replacement have been prevented by recessing the fittings into the roof. The fittings have been modified by the addition of a special back access hatch for re-lamping and maintenance. In this way the fittings can be maintained from above so that problems of access are minimised.
Each fitting uses a Venture 400W metal halide lamp, as well as an auxiliary 150W tungsten halogen lamp to provide an even illuminance of 350-400 lux across the slope area. Complete relay control has been designed into the system to meet the client's requirements.
