The Arcade building contains Buxton’s famous spring, and originally served as the old bathing house buildings. In the mid 1980s, a large arched stained glass roof was added along one section of the arcade. At the time, it was the largest continuous stretch of stained glass in Europe. Below and at one end of this barrel-ceilinged stained glass section, is the wall in question - a flat and dull expanse of stone. Following discussions with English Heritage, owners Willowlake Properties were allowed to install a white PVC banner in front of the wall, then approached various companies for suggestions.
Enter CGA: Chris Gunton came up with a simple, effective solution - projection - and arranged an on-site demo with Peter Coles. The arcade needed something small, powerful and good looking that could be installed with minimum impact on the building. The discharge version of the LDR Suono profile fixture proved ideal for the main projection - a coloured glass gobo of the Cavendish Arcade logo. This is permanently beamed across one half of the 14m x 7m arch. The images projected across the other half of the arch change throughout the day, utilizing four more LDR Suono profiles rigged to a small gutter along the wall edge. These units contain halogen lightsources, and are finished in white to blend in with the architecture. They project four different slides depicting scenes from the history of the building.
CGA also utilised the new LightProcessor Dimension 610 dimmers on the project, picked because of their tough build quality, cost-effective price and pre-heat facility which helps reduces damage and enhances the longevity of the lamp. The show is run by a LightProcessor QReplica replay unit. The four left-hand images crossfade between each other, and the system is activated and de-activated by a time clock and light sensor system. When light levels drop below a certain level, the show starts, and when they rise again, the lights are extinguished to save lamp life.
(Lee Baldock)
