The Auckland harbour bridge was a tired and forgotten utilitarian structure that sits in the heart of Auckland and is visible for more 30km around the city. We decided to transform it into a highly visible, global landmark that stood for sustainability. Using 96,000 individually controllable LEDs, powered by the same cutting-edge battery technology Vector offers for homes, we celebrated the potential of renewable power through carefully considered lighting design. It was important this didn’t feel like a one-off event, but instead a turning point for Auckland’s energy future and an on-going project.

To unveil Auckland’s new landmark – the bridge of lights - to the country, we created a choreographed celebration of solar. A 6-minute audio-visual experience took viewers on a journey though Auckland’s rich heritage and Maori legends centred around the sun. The story is retold through an intricately designed lighting display, where we created a typographic sheet of every possible shape the bridge could make, to build a beautiful yet restrained lighting design.

The lights were accompanied by a music track that was broadcast live through speakers and through a radio simulcast on New Zealand’s most prominent radio stations. The music was composed using audio samples taken from the bridge itself.

The story and audio weaves in NZ’s cultural diversity, referencing Maori, Chinese, Indian & Polynesian culture.

Our Prime Minister and Auckland’s Mayor attended launch night, where they congratulated Vector for supporting New Zealand’s leadership role on sustainability.

Our 6-minute launch show reached 5.4 million people in a country of only 4.5 million – garnering international media attention, as well as drawing Auckland’s Mayor and the Prime Minister to the event. Tens of thousands lined the shores, jumped in boats and tuned in live to see the unveiling of the new solar powered landmark.

Vectors website went from 60 daily visits to 24,000 on the night of the launch. An increase of 40,000%.