Retail: Sanya duty-free mall corridor
The brief
The project is an enclosed glass walkway at the Sanya duty-free mall in Hainan, China: a long, curving corridor framed by a row of bronze-colored arches. The design called for every arch to carry a line of cool white light, so walking through feels like passing under a series of glowing rings.
People see those lines from every angle: from below, from the side, and again in the polished stone floor. The light had to look solid all the way around, and the fixtures themselves had to disappear, with no bulky ends and no cable running along the arches.
What we supplied
Unitop supplied about 1,640 ft (500 m) of UT-ND40-360 round LED neon flex in 6000K cool white, at 24V DC and 15 W/m (4.6 W/ft).
The ND40 is a fully round profile, 40 mm in diameter, that glows all the way around. That is what keeps the line looking even whether you see it from underneath, from the side or reflected in the floor.
Everything shipped as finished pieces of 1.5 m (4.9 ft) each, sized for the arch frames, so nothing had to be cut on site. We left the end caps off: the strip inside each piece was glued in place, and each piece has one straight cable exit at one end. On site, that cable runs back through the metal tube behind the light to the power supply, so no wiring shows along the arches.
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| Model | UT-ND40-360 round LED neon flex |
| Profile | 360° round, Ø40 mm (1.57 in) |
| Color | 6000K cool white |
| CRI | Ra ≥ 90 |
| Voltage | 24V DC |
| Power | 15 W/m (4.6 W/ft) |
| Minimum bend | Ø 200 mm (7.87 in) |
| Piece length | 1.5 m (4.9 ft), finished at the factory |
| Ends | No end caps; strip glued in place; one straight cable exit at one end |
| Cable route | Through the metal tube behind each piece to the power supply |
| Total quantity | About 1,640 ft (500 m) |
| Completed | May 2024 |
The result
The corridor was completed in May 2024. Each arch now carries a clean ring of cool white light, and the rings line up one after another down the walkway, doubled in the stone floor.
For contractors, the lesson is about where the work happens. When the frame can hide the cables, order the neon as finished pieces sized to the frame, with the cable exit where the frame needs it. The terminations are done in the factory, and installation becomes fitting and plugging in rather than cutting and sealing on a ladder.
