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Iceworks Design select ARDIIS for Visitors' Centre
Rivercity Motorway is the North South Bypass Tunnel Project - a massive undertaking which, upon completion will run for 5.8km from Woolloongabba to Bowen Hills and include dual twin lane tunnels, approximately 4.8km in length underneath the city of Brisbane. This vital piece of infrastructure will be the longest and most technologically advanced tunnel in Australia. The Project is managed by Rivercity Motorway Services with Leighton Contractors & Baulderstone Hornibrook Bilfinger Berger Joint Venture undertaking the construction.
Keeping the public informed and updated about the project is an important part of the process and design company Iceworks Design Pty Ltd completed a conceptual design project for a visitors' centre and mobile education unit for the initial project pitch.
Rivercity Motorway were successful and Iceworks Design staff started work on the centre itself. Their team undertook a mammoth task in a short timeframe, from first concept sketch to finished centre, of a mere 7 weeks.
All design and delivery of elements including graphical content, set pieces and technology installation was managed by the Iceworks team. The lighting system is controlled by a Pharos LPC1 unit with LSC Eplates, LSC EPRO Dimmer Rack with Eutrac lighting tracks and monopoints.
"The lights we selected are 150W Aureol Fresco Floods, Aureol Beamshapers, Astral Floods and Astral Fresnels. The overall project has been very successful with positive feedback from our client, Brisbane City Council and the media. Special thanks to David Nemeth (Production Shop-Brisbane) for great sales support", said Jason Raft of Iceworks Design.
The Rivercity Motorway Visitors' Centre is located at Kangaroo Point and provides access to the latest concept designs, project website, models of the route and interactive video displays.
Photographs: courtesy and copyright of Iceworks Design Pty Ltd, 2006
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Georgia Children's Museum
On the 1st April 2005 the first two floors of the Georgia Children’s Museum were opened in an historic building in Macon, GA. The basement of the museum houses hands-on exhibits so that children can learn about theatre in different cultures with a black box theatre playing center to the exhibits.
Plans were made to layout lighting throughout the first two floors of the museum with the ability to upgrade as additional floors were completed. Barbizon Atlanta’s Systems Integrator, Amy Lee, used WYSIWYG by Cast Software to create renderings of what the completed project would look like.
Because of acoustical issues, the black box theatre could have no rigging attached to the ceiling structure. Barbizon turned to Total Structures Inc. who designed a truss system which attached to the walls of the theatre and allowed for a pipe grid to be constructed within the truss members.
The project was turned over to Barbizon’s Project Manager Rob Dillard, who was responsible for insuring the measurements of the space were exact and that the truss would fit once delivered to the space.
The lighting is comprised of a substantial theatrical fixture package which includes a number of Selecon Acclaim Fresnels.
In addition, Selecon ARDIIS fixtures mounted on track are used to provide highlights and patterns throughout the exhibit areas.
With four additional floors left to renovate, Barbizon provided a complete lighting system which not only serves the immediate needs of the Georgia Children’s Museum, but will also serve its future needs.
Images and background courtesy of Barbizon.
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A Not Too 'Complex' Solution
The newly developed Melbourne Central has quite a few surprises up its sleeve, including the innovative new 3on3 complex; the latest instalment from leading entertainment developer EDG. Located on level 3 of the Centre, 3on3 is a complete entertainment venue that incorporates Kingpin Bowling centre, Barcode ‘Game Bar’ and the Van Gogh Vodka bar. But what separates this location from your typical bowling alley and games venue, is the atmosphere. From the LCD screens playing music video clips above the lanes, to the funky and comfortable décor scattered around the place; you feel more like you have stumbled into some Hollywood star’s lounge room rather than a commercial entertainment venue.
A major contributor to the overall ambience of the place is the stunning lighting effects. Andrew Livingston, lighting designer of Bluebottle 3 Pty Ltd, was able to incorporate the necessary branding elements that EDG put into all their venues, with slick, colourful and unique effect and decorative lighting. “Having several different venues on site, we wanted to make sure they all looked different but still complimented each other. We also wanted the venue to be constantly moving with different looks or moods. Some of the changes are subtler than others, but over the course of a day, the entire venue has several different feels to it.”
Lightmoves of Melbourne supplied all of the dimming, lighting control, gobo projection, effect and decorative lighting through-out the venue, including forty-one Aureol BeamShapers which are used for their gobo projection capabilities in a variety of applications, including the lane numbers in the bowling lanes and a number of logo projections for both the Van Gogh Bar and Barcode.
A further 90 Aureol BeamSpots, with the optional snoot for beam control, are scattered around the complex providing general spot lighting.
Photographs: courtesy of Lightmoves, Melbourne.
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Shedding Light on the Cradle of Humankind
Maropeng is a Setswana word meaning “returning to the place of origin” – and a very appropriate name for the world class visitor entertainment attraction designed to tell the story of the history of humankind through interactive and educational exhibits. Located in the Cradle of Humankind in Gauteng, South Africa the Maropeng Interpretation Centre is comprised of four distinct areas, all of which required specialist display lighting and a design brief that called for a dynamic and flexible lighting infrastructure.
Paul Pamboukian, leading lighting designer in conjunction with Fuse Design chose Selecon luminaires due to the extensive range of purpose designed fixtures at an affordable price knowing that he was also guaranteed that supply, installation and back-up service would be provided by an established and reputable company, Electrosonic SA – Selecon’s exclusive dealer in South Africa.
Upon arrival at Maropeng visitors enter an enormous atrium filled with natural light and the sound of thundering water, and walk down a ramp lit with blue fluorescents lining the walls where an Astral Zoomspot with gobo/gobo rotator and Aureol Beamshapers also fitted with gobos project onto the floor.
The expedition of discovery begins with a ‘boat ride’ through artificially created environments depicting the four natural elements of water, air, fire and earth where most of the lighting is long life (8,000hrs) metal halide discharge fixtures. Embarking in circular ‘boats’ visitors pass through a Water Tunnel which leads on to the Ice Scape featuring an enormous iceberg eerily lit with Astral Floods, WallWashers and Axial Zoomspots.
The boat then moves through to the Cloud Scape and Hurricane Area, drifting past a huge cyclorama which projects clouds moving across a blue sky. The clouds are created using animation wheels which have been adapted to fit Selecon Pacific Zoomspots.
The Fire Scape, an artificial grotto fitted with fire effect projectors, mist machines, underwater lights and heaters is followed by the Earth Scape. This is the final leg of the ride where clever lighting effects are used to simulate natural light emitted through cracks in the rock, and more Selecon profiles and washes are used to highlight various features of the cave.
Following disembarkation from the boat, visitors progress through a narrow passage filled with ultra violet light to the Birth of the Cradle. This circular area uses Astral Wallwashers for illumination and provides an audio visual depiction of how the earth was formed millions of years ago on a large video screen.
A short walk through a circular tunnel lit with Astral WallWashers ends in the Exhibition Space which is more than 100m long. Approximately 90 Selecon Astral and Compact Fresnels and 25 Astral Axials and Pacific Zoomspots were installed in this area designed to guide visitors along a time line following the evolution of man.
Parallel to the Exhibition Space is the Fast Track where time-pressed tourists view numerous displays and panels telling a similar story to that revealed in the Exhibition Space. Lighting these panels, as well as creating patterns on the Fast Track exhibits are 28 Pacific 90º Fixed Beam luminaires.
From start to finish the journey through the Maropeng Interpretation Centre is truly marvellous and Selecon, together with Electrosonic SA are extremely proud to be part of this unique evolutional experience.
Photographs: courtesy of Electrosonic SA, South Africa
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Creating fantasy windows for Myer, Australia
Storefront windows at Christmas radiate magical, intriguing and enticing visions which sometime raise the question of ‘how did they do that?’ from those who have been compelled to stop and stare for a while.
The 2005 festive presentation celebrated the 50th presentation for the Myer Melbourne department store. The Bourke Street Institutional Christmas Window displays were created in stunning style for the 12th consecutive season by Stage One Promotions P/L led by: John Kerr, Creative Director proudly using the following Selecon stock: 30 x Selecon Acclaim 650W Fresnels, 30 x Selecon Acclaim 650W profiles 24 – 44, 14 x Selecon 1kW Compact 6 Fresnels with the main special effect fixtures being 12 x Selecon Pacific 90º 1kW luminaries fitted with DHA gobo rotators.
”When these arrived on the market, my prayers were answered,” said John. “Building on top of the basic work horse rig, are an arsenal of “specials” or better known as “my expensive toys”, from flame lights, fibre optics, LED fixtures, moving mirrors, water effects, DHA wheels, gobo rotators, candle effects etc.”
All of this equipment (combined with other luminaries) is used predominantly for the windows - they are stored for 9 months a year and then called upon for a demanding 18 hours a day for 8 weeks straight schedule.
“The Selecon Pacific 90º Fixed Beams were a great investment, as we swap from metal halide bases utilized for trans seasonal windows to incandescent bases for full dimmer control for the Christmas institutional windows. In the past we have hired narrow lens trays from Clearlight Shows Pty Ltd when tight dramatic downlight has been required for launches of fashion seasons etc.
I must admit, the Selecon workshop I attended last year was invaluable, for refining the art of focusing a Pacific luminaire”.
The Myer windows create a fantasy 3D environment within a confined space, and the tools to create this need to be masked from the audience. The sightlines are extreme and must be accounted for, as there is a moving audience; from a standing 4 year old through to a 4 year old sitting on the shoulders of an adult, so from the initial design of set & scenery, lighting plots are developed in unison. “I love combining technology with aesthetics – combining these mediums from the very conception of the idea successfully in order to achieve my dream.”
The windows were lit theatrically, similar to dance/ballet techniques, utilizing low cross light and lots of overhead projected gobo textures and effect wheels as there is no “front of house” opportunity. Colour is always an issue, as the traditional saturated colours are lost during the daylight hours and gel replacement daily becomes extremely tedious especially within the confines of a crowded window.
Some people are surprised that entertainment equipment is employed within a display window environment, however with daylight pouring in from outside, only theatrical lighting tools can offer the high lumen output, the shaping and control demanded to achieve the magic.
Although Stage One maintains a moving light inventory, their use is dictated by the seasonal theme. “I won’t use a mover just for the sake of it - I still prefer the art of focusing a profile and the magic that a controlled beam, a texture break up and some split colour gel can create,” John said. “I find that too much moving light and associated effects can actually distract and camouflage the actual crafted animated movements within the windows.”
The Myer Melbourne and Brisbane windows are manufactured annually in Melbourne by a team of over 40 artisans over an intense 7 month production season.
So, now you know.
Photographs: courtesy of John Kerr, Stage One Promotions P/L
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Finding the Royal National Theatre Made Easy!
When the Royal National Theatre, London wanted to project their name on their iconic South Bank home they turned to the Selecon Pacific range using the 575W MSR light source.
Utilising a Pacific 23-50 MSR Zoomspot the gobo projection is precise and powerful enough to cut through the washlights on the south side of the theatre in dramatic style.
Housed in a simple custom enclosure this project joins the many others around the world where Pacific luminaires are used for external lighting projects.
These include the over 100 Pacifics lighting up major landmarks in Paris, several of the bridges across the Seine and the Lion de Belfort statue; the Hong Kong city light up and many others demonstrating the superior optical performance, versatility and low cost of ownership intrinsic to the design of the Pacific range.
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Pacific Lighting solve design problem for Hong Kong Science Museum
Pacific Lighting (HK) Ltd recently won a design, supply and installation contract with the Hong Kong Science Museum for lighting of the new Telecommunications Gallery. As well as over 100 Aureol BeamSpots, Aureol BeamShapers and Aureol Fresco Floods, Pacific Lighting also chose the Pacific 90 degree Fixed Beam to overcome one major design problem. "The entrance to the gallery has a long glass wall with a Time Line running from one end to the other. A second glass wall, with identical Time Line was set back from the first. The museum required both lines to be lit, without shadow from the first line being cast onto the second. Using four Pacific 90 degree fixtures meant we could locate them close to the glass, and light both lines from a high angle without shadow. In addition, we were able to clean up around the glass with the shutters. Obtaining an even coverage across the wall was easy. No other fixture would have been able to achieve this" explained Company Director Hugh Chinnick. "Reflection from the light source in the glass was also kept to a very acceptable minimum due to the smaller aperture of the rear lens of the 90 degree lens tube".
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New Lighting for St. Mary Magdalene
The Church of St. Mary Magdalene, sitting in the middle of Hucknall, is the final resting place of the Poet the 6th Lord Byron. The church attracts many visitors during the day, sitting at the end of the new Nottingham tram line, and is used for concerts and performances as well as the usual Sunday and midweek services. Like so many churches the lighting was very poor with lots of glare from the basic 500W halogen floods and insufficient light at floor level.
Design Innovation was commissioned to design a new lighting scheme to improve energy efficiency, light levels and controllability as well as provision for concerts and mood lighting to suit the different services. For Lighting Designer, Nick Gale it was an ideal opportunity to bring in both techniques and products from the world of theatre lighting. He explained “the boundaries between the different lighting sectors are becoming more and more blurred; many fittings used in theatres can easily be adapted for use in large spaces like churches. Church lighting often calls for the controlled projection of light and that’s something we’ve been doing in the theatre for many years”.
“By using long life lamps in theatrical fittings we’ve lit large spaces with minimal glare. Lamp life has also been extended by the use of dimmers with top setting facilities to ensure the lamps are always under run.”
The high roof areas of the Nave, Transepts and Chancel were lit using Selecon Acclaim Fresnels with M40 lamps, these give a very controlled beam of light with minimal spill, allowing the designer to get light where it’s needed. Aureol BeamShapers are used to good effect to frame works of art and monuments, whilst Aureol Fresco Floods up-light the Nave roof.
The installation was carried out by Leicestershire based Hawthorn Theatrical Ltd who won the contract under competitive tender. Project management and commissioning was by Design Innovation.
Commenting on the installation Nick Gale said “Everyone at the church has been so enthusiastic about the project and the result of the re-light and redecoration is a transformed interior, I am very pleased with the whole project. Light has such a huge impact on people particularly where beautiful buildings are concerned, nowhere is this more so than in a church; some regular members of the congregation have been touched emotionally by the transformation of the building.”
Design Innovation is a smart home and lighting design practice based in Nottingham.
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Aureol Frescos Light Up Harvey Nichols
The Shambles is the latest development in the Exchange Square area in Manchester, U.K., which was the worst hit by the IRA bomb in 1996. With 11 new stores including Harvey Nicols it is set to confirm its status as the retail heart of the city.
For the Harvey Nicols project lighting designers Campbell Design were presented with particular challenges in adapting the interior to be suitable for a high end retailer.
Part of their brief included providing 3-circuit track on all sides of the display window (pictured above) to allow the Harvey Nicols in-house team to do what they wanted. The result is a striking display featuring Ardiis Aureol Fresco asymmetric wall wash floods that are ideal for both washing the wall and controlled area lighting. The Fresco's contemporary design achieves its flowing, understated lines from a combination of pressure die-casting and extrusions. This was particularly important, the in-store team felt, when the units were in full view of all passers-by.
Thanks to Mondo arc Issue #15 for project details and photograph.
For Your Eyes Only
The International Spy Museum opened its doors to the enquiring public in Washington, DC in June of 2002. Principal Lighting Designer, Ted Mather specified the Aureol Beam Shaper as part of the comprehensive lighting design for what is the largest collection of spy-related artifacts in the world. The Beam Shaper 1.0 fixtures are mounted above a diffusion glass panel at the top of a display case. They are used to highlight individual antique radios inside a display case as the audio program cycles through the radios.
Barbizon Capitol installed the lighting systems under the supervision of Mark Fink who comments - "The fixtures' compact size and easy beam shaping made them a perfect fit for this application".
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IBM choose Selecon at the South Bank
At their UK e-Business, marketing suite and design studio on London's South Bank, IBM have installed around 40 of Selecon's Aureol Beamshaper to provide special architectural lighting effects in certain areas of the building.
From past experience, Lighting Designers Spiers & Major, part of the Lighting Architects Group knew that Selecon's Aureol would provide the ideal solution. "We used the Aureols to provide textural lighting, tree pattern effects and as flexible spots in meeting areas," said Project Designer Colin Ball. "While compact in size, the Aureol Beamshaper produces an effect equivalent to much larger lights".
Principal Designer Jonathan Spiers chose Selecon's Aureol for a variety of reasons not least because of its small size and this, combined with the excellent quality of the product, convinced the team at Spears & Major that these were simply the best lights for the job.
IBM were so impressed with the Aureols that they diverted money from another budget to provide extra lighting in their meeting room to project graphics onto the walls instead of fixed artwork. (Photograph below courtesy of Spiers & Major).
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Lighting the Lion
Panavision Lumiere, France recently provided the lighting for a well known Parisian monument - the Lion de Belfort (below) using 2 Pacific 12/28° CDMT 150W luminaires and 1 Pacific 12/28° CDMT 70w luminaire - spectacular result!
The Paris based company have also sold 20 x Pacific 12/28° Blue Pinch luminaires to the Bastille Opera, to whom they have already supplied 90° Pacifics which the Opera are extremely happy with.
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Night Vision at the National Museum of Australia
Norman Korte from Sound Advice, Selecon's dealer in ACT, Australia, took up the challenge to manufacture exterior enclosures for the Pacific for the new National Museum of Australia in Canberra . Pole mounted in a galvanised finish, the design features 90 degree tilt range to enable the units to focused anywhere on the 30 metre high loop in the forecourt.
The housing consists of a base plate that has integral bolts which match slots in the pole's top plate, allowing swivel or pan control once the unit is mounted. All control gear is mounted on the base plate which also houses a high temperature high cycle fan drawing air into the unit.
The Pacific is mounted standing on its yoke onto the base plate and can be focused over the 90 degree tilt range. The cover which has punched and stamped vents in the rear (protected with fine grille, to take care of a Bogong Moth problem) has a slot in the curved fascia into which a perspex window using high temperature silicon was glued.
Steve Brown, Vision Design Studio was also delighted with the result: "There were a number of features which impressed us. Not only did we have up to 90 degree tilt and effectively 360 degree rotation, the design of the housings provided excellent glare control. In addition, the curved window means that the perspex is self-cleaning."
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NATIONAL
MUSEUM OF AUSTRALIA
ASTRALS, AUREOLS AND AUSTRALIANS
 Located
overlooking Lake Burley Griffin in Canberra is the new National
Museum of Australia, painted in bright greens, yellows and
reds and filled with the iconic and quirky, the trivial
and profound.
All of the displays within the NMA are lit with Selecon
display luminaires – over 600 Astral Fresnels, PCs,
Wallwashers and Condensers, all in a sophisticated chrome
finish plus Pacifics, Acclaims, 1200s, Accents, Auroras
and 300 Aureols grace everything from champion racehorse
Phar Lap’s enormous heart in a jar, a chunk of rabbit
proof fence to explorer Charles Sturt’s leatherbound
telescope, bushwalker Jessie Luckman’s boot and a
tragically-preserved corpse of a Tasmanian Tiger.
Selecon’s ACT distributor, Sound Advice supplied all
of the Selecon display luminaires whilst the Aureols were
supplied through Inlite to Lawrence and Hansen in Canberra,
electrical contractors were Tyco. Vision Design Studio,
Melbourne provided lighting design, commissioning and focusing
by Steve Brown, Project Leader with assistance from David
Bird. The project architects were Ashton Raggatt McDougall
in association with Robert Peck von Hartel Trethowan.
The development of this national museum has not travelled
down an easy road – first mooted before federation
100 years ago and given form in a 1975 enquiry which was
followed by 25 years of controversy and a perpetual political
storm.
 Created around the concepts of
land, people and nation, these three themes can be explored
throughout the museum's five galleries: First Australians
Gallery, tracing indigenous life from pre-European culture
to land rights; the Stolen Generations and the fight for
reconciliation; Tangled Destinies, Land and People in Australia;
Eternity, Stories from the Emotional Heart of Australia;
Nation, Symbols of Australia and Horizons, tracking European
settlement.
Steve Brown comments:
"Selecon luminaires have played an important part in creating
dramatic and inviting interior and exterior spaces. They
have brought a sense of theatre this landmark project, and
enabled the lighting designers to achieve excellent results
within some of the most challenging spaces in the country."
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FROM
AROUND THE WORLD
Selected venues and installations using Ardiis luminaires include:
- Adelaide
Museum, Adelaide, Australia
- Madam Tussauds, New York, USA
- The Museum of Natural History, Brussels, Belgium
- Melbourne
Museum, Melbourne, Australia
- Nordstrom Department Stores throughout the USA
- Auckland
Museum, Auckland, New Zealand
- Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA
- British Science Museum, UK
- Mercedes World, Berlin, Germany
- Araluen Arts Centre, Alice Springs, Australia
- The Naval Stores, Newcastle, Australia
- Melbourne Sports Stadium, Melbourne, Australia
- ANA Hotel Lounge, Tokyo, Japan
- Wearable Art Museum, Nelson, New Zealand
- London Offices of Slaughter & May, U.K.
- Sport & Olympia Museum, Cologne, Germany
- Cathay Pacific Lounge, Hong Kong
- Crown Casino Gaming Area, Melbourne, Australia
- The Seine Bridges, Paris, France
- Singapore Tourism Board, Singapore
- The Kohler Design Centre, WI, USA
- Academy
of Fine Art, Wellington, New Zealand
- New
Zealand Army Museum, Waiouru, New Zealand
- Academy
of Performing Arts (foyer), Waikato University, New Zealand
- Te
Papa Tongawera Museum, Wellington, New Zealand
- Otago
Museum, Otago, New Zealand
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