The new 100 million euro development in the Czech Republic's third largest city is one of the largest inner-city development projects in the country and part of one of central Europe's largest urban revitalisations .
The spacious multi-level environment was designed by architect Har Hollands from Dutch company T+T Design, working with Czech architects K4 from Brno.
It includes hundreds of high profile premium brand and designer stores, quality food and drink outlets, a multi-screen cinema complex and sports and leisure facilities.
The frustum (truncated triangle) shaped centrepiece ('Komol? Jehlan' in Czech) creates a sense of drama and spectacle right at the heart of the busy space.
Hollands proposed an initial lighting design for the 36.5 by 35m conical shape which has a height of 22m, and for specification of the right fixtures, main construction contractor Gemo recommended Anolis.
Anolis' Brand manager Petr Kolma?ka embraced the project with characteristic enthusiasm, producing several options - all of them energy efficient - to achieve the dynamic effect that Hollands wanted.
The requirement was for a fixture bright enough to register during the day, and the entire installation also had to be energy efficient and 'green'.
Mikola Parma, head of the Anolis Research Lab at their HQ in Valasske Mezirici, produced detailed visualizations and data for both interior and exterior systems, complete with customized elements to get the exact effects and coverage from the available positions for the lights.
The interior is illuminated with 32 pieces of Anolis ArcPad 94 RGBW EPS, a special fixture with separate (rather than integral) power supply. These are positioned on four ledges at ceiling height around the base of the space, and the beams focused to cross one another and wash up the space, giving a beautiful, smooth even colouration right up the fascias, with eight ArcPad 94s per side.
With all 32 ArcPad 94s on at full, they use 8.5 kW of power, however the standard power consumption (for 97% of the running time) is just 4kW for all fixtures on - which is definitely carbon conscious!
Another stipulation was that the lighting scheme should generate minimal heat and not increase the need for extra air conditioning. The Anolis LED scheme once again ticked that box.
Two standard colours - blue and white - have been programmed initially, representing the corporate colours of the Czech owners / managing company MULTI Development.
Outside, 16 ArcPad Xtreme RGBW units with custom optics (half fitted with 23 degree optics and the other half with asymmetric 23-6 degree lenses.) are lighting the exterior of the centrepiece on all four sides - so it can be seen from several kilometres away.
Petr Kolma?ka remarks, "I am extremely proud to be involved in this project. Anolis is a Czech brand seen in some of the highest profile installations worldwide, and so it is very special to see it in action on its home territory. It's also good that proper attention is being given to the importance of lighting in Ostrava's on-going redevelopment plans."
(Jim Evans)
