LED lighting solutions brand wins Smart City award!

Schréder, the global leader in LED lighting solutions, has won the first design competition in The City Centre’s A Smarter City competition.

Entered in partnership with design consultancy, Atkins Global, the aim of the competition was to highlight the potential benefits of implementing smart technologies in London’s Square Mile.

The city of London has long been a hub for technological innovation and as infrastructure continues to evolve, the vision of a connected ‘Smart City’ moves closer to reality. Schréder’s Key to the City entry uses an augmented reality smartphone app and smart-enabled street furniture to celebrate London’s network of more than 150 Green Spaces, providing on-screen information to help residents and visitors engage with their surroundings.

The proposal provides a new strategic vision for urban planners to help unlock hidden layers of the city through connected infrastructure. The adoption of smart lighting technology is a key component in shaping the Smart City vision of the future.

Benjamin O’Connor, Director of The City Centre, said: “Many people think of ‘smart’ as purely technological and whilst technology plays a big part, the key to a truly ‘smarter’ city is innovation. Atkins and Schréder’s ‘Key to the City’ celebrates the unique nature of London’s green spaces whilst keeping innovation at its heart.”

Simon Newcombe, Business Development Manager & Designer at Schréder UK, and Neil Manthorpe, Principal Landscape Architect at Atkins comments: “It was great to work together developing this unique and innovative strategy on such a challenging and important brief. We hope this promotes the smarter cities agenda and encourages the realisation of healthier, more active streets and spaces across the City of London.

“Technological innovation in augmented reality, air quality evaluation, provision of electric vehicle charging and improved safety will be critical to unlocking the hidden layers of city streets and spaces.”

Schréder has been at the forefront of the adoption of smart lighting technology all over the world. Smart lighting columns, such as the Shuffle by Schréder, have been designed to encourage interactivity and social connectivity in public areas.

The Shuffle, the UK’s first ever Wi-Fi connected streetlight, has been installed outside Stadium MK in Milton Keynes and combines energy-efficient LED lighting with CCTV cameras, public address (PA) systems, internet connectivity and a range of electric charging applications, in one unified column.