Lightfactor also supplied AVR colour-changing down-lighters and special connection cables, surface-mounted UV fittings, chandelier bulbs and several hundred metres of three-circuit tracking. LightProcessor Power Station II dimmers powered areas where fixtures were not powered by the track. For the entrance area downstairs from the exhibition, Lightfactor supplied ETC Source Four profiles and PARs, mounted on specially fabricated curved IWBs - again supplied by James Thomas to the client’s specification. One of the more offbeat touches is the admissions price list in the entrance. This is created by rear-projection onto a piece of frosted glass by an LDR Soffio profile, which uses the Phillips CDMT 150W lamp, containing a high-resolution glass gobo. A High End Technobeam is used for secondary imaging in the entrance, whilst another Power Station II dims the generic lighting in that area.
The £2.6 million project was the first major refurbishment work at the exhibition since it opened in its prime-site Dam Square location in 1991. The entrance area and the fifth floor of the exhibition were completely gutted, and a new mezzanine sixth floor was added, plus kitchen and fast food facilities. As the exhibition had to be closed for the work to be completed, the pressure was on to do it as quickly as possible, and only 11 weeks was allocated for the installation process. Suppliers, installers, designers and the client therefore all collaborated closely as a creative team from the project’s inception. The Tussauds Group’s technical project manager Tim Coucher based in London, co-ordinated the technical specs.
The new exhibition build was divided into three separate technical areas - lighting hardware, AV and electrical installation (including lighting) - all of which went out to competitive tender. Lightfactor won the contract to supply the lighting hardware whilst Dutch companies VHS and GTI, won both the AV contract and electrical installation contracts respectively. Steve Wentworth - who designed the original lighting scheme in 1991 - came onboard again in the same role, whilst John Leonard of Aura Sound did the audio design for the new exhibition areas. We’ll feature more on this in the June issue of Lighting&Sound International.
(Ruth Rossington)
