DWR delivers for Joburg Zoo Festival
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Many of the trees at Joburg Zoo are more than a hundred years old and contribute to the city’s magnificent forest canopy. The Festival of Lights pays homage to these majestic forest giants by bathing them in light over the festive season for all to enjoy.
Johnny Scholtz, architectural lighting specialist at DWR Distribution, worked with Joburg Zoo management and the City of Johannesburg to come up with a design for the temporary installation of lighting fixtures and audio equipment for this year’s festival. “There were a number of factors that we needed to take into consideration, such as the sheer size of the area that Joburg Zoo wanted to illuminate and bathe in sound as well as the impact of the installation on the animals that reside at the Zoo,” says Scholtz.
The DWR team deployed 60 Longman Parco R350 units to wash the Zoo’s forest in dynamic colours. The wash effects provided colour and a sense of drama when used in conjunction with the hundreds of meters of fairy lights that add that special festival-season charm to the display.
In addition to the lighting, Jaco Beukes of DWR Distribution designed an audio solution for the Festival of Lights that features Quest MX601 speakers on towers that have been strategically spaced throughout the allocated area to provide even sound distribution.
“We wanted to ensure that visitors were treated to an immersive experience, where the gentle sound of festive music contributes to the overall mood of the festival without being overwhelming,” says DWR installations manager, Andi Rodgers.
The Zoo’s Grandstand, which is positioned in the centre of the area allocated to the Festival of Lights, will serve as a stage for some of Johannesburg’s most celebrated musicians, artists and dancers throughout the festival. In addition to chamber music, choirs, jazz performances and musical ensembles, the Joburg Ballet will be performing exerts from Tchaikovsky’s Christmas celebration, The Nutcracker, on selected evenings.
(Jim Evans)
