The project was undertaken by VenuTech - who have previously installed Anolis and Robe fixtures into the bar, restaurant and night club at Melbas as well as into many other venues in the area.
The aim of Melbas' new lounge area is to provide a classy space fusing elements of neoclassical and contemporary design in which guests can relax and chill out, whilst indulging in a spot of game playing if they wish.
The lighting scheme was designed by Tony Dowthwaite of TDLD, a high profile lighting design company, and VenuTech's Mick James. Dowthwaite - who has also used Anolis products on previous projects - had originally contemplated using neon to illuminate the frescos. However tests revealed that it would be difficult to get sufficient output to do this properly, and so he consulted James and they looked into using LED. It was equally as important not to over-light the delicate frescoes in the building.
They asked Anolis's Australian distributor ULA for their help in finding a solution to get exactly the right quality of lighting ensconced into the recesses to emphasise the frescos properly.
ULA came up with custom made cool white, warm white and amber Anolis ArcLink 3 fixtures - the tungsten tint of the 'warm' white combined with the richer and denser amber tones are tempered by the coolness and crispness of the cool white to make "a perfect combination of hue and texturing for highlighting the gold leaf work".
(Jim Evans)
