A massive installation of 555 ADJ Encore LP5 IP LED par fixtures has transformed the nighttime appearance of Global Village Dubai, one of the UAE’s most popular cultural attractions. Installed ahead of the destination’s milestone 30th season, the fixtures illuminate more than 1,000 meters of pavilion façades, bringing vibrant color, dynamic effects and complete creative flexibility to a landmark project that showcases the versatility and reliability of ADJ’s IP65-rated lighting solutions.
Located adjacent to the Cityland Mall in Dubai, Global Village is a unique multicultural destination that brings together pavilions representing countries and regions from around the world. Alongside cultural exhibits, shopping and dining experiences, the attraction also features selfie spots, carnival rides, games, attractions, regular concerts, and spectacular weekend light, laser and firework displays. Operating from fall through spring each year, the venue welcomes millions of visitors before closing during the region’s extremely hot summer months.
For the attraction’s 30th season, which ran from October 2025 through to the end of May 2026, an ambitious façade lighting project was commissioned to enhance the external appearance of eight of the venue’s pavilions. The project was supplied by ADJ’s Middle Eastern distributor, GSL Professional, while the design, installation and project management were handled by Pure Minds for Lighting under the direction of Project Manager Armin Nefasati.
The project centered around the installation of 555 Encore LP5 IP fixtures, strategically positioned to illuminate the extensive pavilion façades. Each fixture is independently addressed, providing complete DMX control over every section of the installation. This allows each pavilion to maintain its own distinctive color palette and visual identity while also enabling site-wide color overlays, synchronized effects and custom looks for special events, celebrations and holiday promotions. In addition, conventional fixtures integrated into the façades are DMX controlled using ADJ Uni Pak II dimmer / switch packs, allowing for complete control over every aspect of illumination.
“Originally, I wanted to use color mixing LED fixtures for every part of the façade illumination, but that wasn’t possible from a budget perspective,” states Armin. “So instead, I designed a hybrid solution that combined non-DMX conventional lights, connected to ADJ dimmer packs, with Encore LP5 IPs. This means that the whole façade can be controlled via DMX with the illuminated signs, spotlights and strip lights just providing warm white, and the pars adding color. For that reason, the lime chip of the LP5 IPs was very important as it allowed us to perfectly match the color temperature of the non-color mixing fixtures when necessary.”
The Encore LP5 IP features five powerful 20-Watt RGBL (red, green, blue and lime) color mixing LEDs, delivering impressive output and a wide color palette from a compact fixture housing. Its inclusion of a dedicated lime LED allows for superior white light reproduction and enhanced pastel color mixing, making it particularly suited to architectural and façade illumination projects such as this one.
“In choosing the fixture for this project, size and weight was an important consideration,” explains Armin. “We wanted lights that would be unobtrusive but effective and the ADJ Encore LP5 IP was perfect. These are mainly facades made of foam, so don’t have the structural integrity of a solid building, and their heights range from 25 all the way up to 45 meters! It can also get very windy in this region, so we had to calculate the weight loading very carefully and it wouldn’t have been possible to use a heavier fixture for many of the necessary installation points.”
To facilitate control across the vast installation, 38 Aria X2 Transceiver units were also deployed, providing reliable wireless DMX connectivity throughout the site. Given the scale of the project and the challenging installation locations, remote fixture management was also a key requirement.
“The Encore LP5 IP’s RDM function was an essential consideration,” adds Armin, “imagine having to manually re-address 555 fixtures spread over 1000+ meters of façade at heights of up to 45 meters! The power efficiency of the LED sources was another important factor, as that aligns with sustainability goals of Global Village’s owner, Dubai Holding.”
The installation operates every day throughout the Global Village season, with the lighting system running from 4pm until 2am. This demanding schedule places significant emphasis on fixture durability and long-term reliability, particularly given Dubai’s challenging environmental conditions, which can include extreme temperature variations, high humidity and occasional heavy rain.
“The clients have been very happy with the Encore LP5 IPs,” concludes Armin, “they are very bright and the LEDs provide a wide palette for color mixing. As the season draws to a close, I can also confirm they have proved very reliable. The weather in Dubai can be extreme but, while we have seen some drops in brightness and even occasional failures from the non-ADJ lights, the ADJ fixtures have performed flawlessly with no problems at all.”
Following the success of the first phase of the project, plans are already being discussed to significantly expand the installation. Future development could see the lighting system extended beyond the initial eight pavilions to eventually encompass the full Global Village pavilion facade and landscaping, further enhancing the attraction’s immersive nighttime atmosphere while showcasing the scalability and performance of ADJ’s professional lighting solutions. Additionally, Pure Minds for Lighting aims to consult other Dubai Holding properties, leveraging the potential offered by ADJ's full catalog of outdoor IP65-rated and indoor entertainment lighting products.
Venue
Global Village, Dubai
www.globalvillage.ae
ADJ Distributor
GSL Professional
www.gslprofessional.com
Design, Project Management & Installation
Pure Minds for Lighting
www.puremindstrading.com
Project Manager
Armin Nefasati
Gear List
555 x ADJ Encore LP5 IP
48 x ADJ Uni Pak II
38 x Aria X2 Transceiver
