Sheffield Covid Memorial

The Sheffield Covid Memorial stands as a poignant sculpture in the heart of Sheffield city centre in Balm Green Gardens, designed by George King Architects, with lighting design by ARUP. Our specialist team supplied lighting elements to integrate into the Sheffield steel, based ARUP’s original design, inspired by the beauty & strength of a willow tree.

As the team at ARUP describes, “Formed from bent stainless steel tubes, the branches of the tree, twist and turn before coming together to create the trunk, a symbol that as a community we are stronger together and that by supporting each other we can withstand adversity.

The lighting design was developed to support and enhance the architectural inspiration and focuses on using reflections within the sculpture to enrich the materiality and forms. The lighting scheme consists of an unbroken glowing ring uplight within the heart of the sculpture which strengthens the concept of resilience and creates a canopy of reflections within the protected space. Around the perimeter 11 grazing spotlights frame the space and illuminate the intricate forms of the sculptural branches.

Each lighting element is controlled individually to create dynamic effects reflecting the themes of the Covid pandemic. Soft dimming of the ring symbolizes the rhythmic breath of mechanical ventilation, while a “intermission mode” portrays the pause in life during the pandemic with spotlights changing intensity clockwise in a gentle chase.”