Creative projection specialist The Projection Studio has won a bid to create a mapped video projection on the facade of Blackpool’s famous tower as part of the city’s 2015 Illuminations.

Led by Ross Ashton and collaborating with Edinburgh based War Productions, Projection Studio will be producing all the creative content for the LightPool project, while Alistair Young and War Productions will design the projection system and hardware set up.

The two companies have previously worked together on Ross and artist Maria Ruud’s AniMotion live painting and projection performances in Scotland.

LightPool will be the first semi-permanent projection mapping project in the UK and also the first time that the large red brick building concealing the base of the 158 metre tower – built in 1894 – has been used as a projection surface.

Projection Studio won the bid – put out to tender by Blackpool City Council – against ‘stiff competition’.

Ashton and his team were chosen for their artistic credentials and the strength of their creative concepts, which will see a radical transformation of Blackpool’s Illuminations this year.

They also impressed the selection panel with their extensive experience in producing mapped projection shows onto other high profile buildings worldwide.

Ashton said: “I am delighted to win this commission. Blackpool illuminations are one of the oldest and most original ‘festivals of light’, so being asked able to produce something completely new in a city renowned for pushing the boundaries of light art is very exciting.”

The work will be created in conjunction with Blackpool Illuminations, the Arts Department of Blackpool Council and arts organisation Left Coast who are also delivering a number of other installations around the town for the 2015 Illuminations.

Full details of the project are under wraps until the opening nigh but Ashton revealed that eight Panasonic 17K projectors will constitute the hardware and that the results will be ‘super bright’ and ‘highly visible’ amidst all the other attractions. The projectors will also be rigged so they can be easily struck during the daylight hours and then reinstated for the next evening’s show.

The project is part of an ongoing goal to attract 2.5 million additional visitors to the city over the Illumination period, commencing 4 September.