Light sculpture could brighten up Shoreditch this winter

An illuminated sculpture designed by leading artists who create light displays around the world could brighten up Shoreditch during the festive season.

Brookfield Properties has applied for temporary planning permission for the spherical steel artwork, Singularity by Squidsoup, at Principal Place off Worship Street.

It is part of the Illumino City Festival, which will lead people on a trail of bright spots as dusk falls. It aims to ecourage visitors to see London in a new light this winter as people continue to return to the city and offices.

The other bright spots planned by Brookfield Properties are London Wall Place and Citypoint, the 36-storey tower on Ropemaker Street in the City.

If approved, the sculpture at Principal Place will be lit up from 3pm to 10pm from 6 December until 19 January.

The 15-storey office block near Liverpool Street was designed by Foster and Partners and has shops and restaurants on the ground floor. The office block is let to online retail giant Amazon.

The development also includes a 50-storey tower block of flats and a 25,000-square-foot public piazza.

According to UK-based artists Squidsoup, a singularity in maths and physics is a point of extreme variability where normal rules no longer apply and change and unpredictability become the norm.

They said the light sculpture represents a time “at which technological growth becomes uncontrollable and irreversible, resulting in unforeseeable changes to human civilization”.

The developers teamed up with Amsterdam’s pioneering Light Art Collection, which makes illuminations for events worldwide, including the Toronto Light Festival in Canada and Sea World Light Festival in Shenzhen in China.

Other projects include Starry Night in Amsterdam, featuring the famous painting by Vincent van Gogh.

According to the planning application, the LED light used in the sculpture is dimmable, so “can be displayed at varying illumination levels that are suitable to the site and surroundings”.

The  temporary licence will run from 29 November to 30 January next year if the application is approved under delegated powers by Hackney’s planning department.