Independent owners Stuart Hayles and Ian Fell, who also own The Castle pub in the town, spotted a gap in the market that they thought they could fill with their brand new 300 capacity venue concept, sited on first floor a former bank.
They wanted to combine high production values with a friendly and chilled vibe, and were also keen to utilise other local businesses and skills, so asked i-Vision's Luke Dodd to design, specify and supply environmental lighting. He had previously produced a small mood lighting scheme for the pub, which had made a real difference to the atmosphere of the room.
Dodd explains: "Stuart and Ian both fully understand the power of lighting as a mood enhancer, and that good lighting can make or break a club, particularly after the success of the pub scheme. So I pretty much had an imaginative blank canvass. "They were also prepared to be a bit experimental, so when the theme of 'liquid' emerged, we immediately discussed the option of bubble tanks, and they went for it!"
Liquid's internal décor is deliberately extremely neutral, to allowing the colour changing lighting to have the maximum impact and flexibility in creating a constantly shifting ambience. The main room is open-plan, with two seating areas either side of the DJ booth, one of which is raised, and a large central bar which also has some stand-up tables. Dodd had not personally used bubble tanks before, but he thought they'd look spectacular when illuminated lit with LED - so contacted MCI Water concepts of Burnley. As well as the mood lighting, he also project managed the installation of the water features - which include bubble tubes in the centre of the tables, panels along the entrance wall and tanks all around the centre of the bar.
Sixteen colour changing i-Vision Lumos 3 LED up-lighters have been installed around Liquid's perimeter walls including those behind the seating and table areas, all of which have a wall-washing effect. An additional eight Lumos 3 downlighters are situated in the entrance stairwell, plus two water projectors.
The five main bubble tanks behind the bar are lit with downlighting Lumos Strip 300 fixtures, forming a backdrop to that area, illuminating the bottles and reflecting light onto the shiny bar surface. The same fixtures are used for the two tanks to the side of the main entrance, and the collimated tubes running through the bar area tables are up-lit with Lumos 3s.
The main challenge, Dodd says was ensuring that the budget was used cost-effectively across all areas of the venue, and also that the mood lighting and the dance-floor effects lighting all worked together coherently.
Control for the Lumos fixtures is a Sunlight switch panel - chosen for its simplicity and robustness for a club environment. It's pre-programmed with a number of sequences which can be easily recalled and changed.
(Chris Henry)
