The Australian pavilion reflects the theme of the Expo - Nature's Wisdom - from an Australian perspective. Visitors to the Australian pavilion gain an understanding that through learning the lessons of the past and using modern-day technology, we are better able to provide for the sustainable future - environmentally, economically and socially. The pavilion showcases Australia's unique lifestyle - a lifestyle that has been shaped by the harsh and beautiful continent in which Australians live and has been influenced and enriched by the diverse range of people that inhabit Australia, including indigenous Australians.
Melbourne-based Think!OTS was contracted by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs to design, construct and maintain the Australian Pavilion. Canberra-based Wizard Projects were contracted by Think!OTS as directors and designers for all technical aspects to the installation. Lighting designer was Phil Lethlean. Choosing the correct dimmers for the project was a priority for Paul van der Ent, managing director of Wizard Projects."We wanted an Australian product that was available in Japan and we wanted to stick with a product that we were familiar with," explained Paul. "LSC Lighting Systems were the only local dimmer manufacturer that had someone selling their product in Japan and for some time too. We were governed by Japanese rule that any product we shipped in either had to have Japanese approval or be sold in Japan. Besides, we use LSC dimmers all the time and they were certainly the right choice for this project."
LSC Lighting Systems designed and manufactured a custom 128-channel cabinet dimmer system based on their existing ePRO 12 channel 13 Amp models. Power management was incorporated into the racks utilising LSC's PowerGuard and specialty patching was added to the rear so that if there was a problem with a dimmer it could be replaced extremely fast. "Each cabinet came with a spare dimmer module," added Paul. "The Expo runs 14 hours per day, seven days a week for six months and our contract stated that we had to be able to have any problems fixed within half an hour."
Every light in the building, bar seven arc lights working off contactors, was controlled by the LSC dimmers. The building has very limited power and uses the dimmers to help with the power management of which the PowerGuard was an absolute necessity. "We needed to be able to ensure that we could manage the power so that we didn't go over our supply power," said Paul. "Not only did we have to ensure power for the show that everyone had come to see but also the back of house stuff such as air-conditioning and kitchens. The only way to manage how the power was worked was to make sure that we had control over everything and we could see what we were drawing at any point."
Paul reports that the dimmer cabinets were easily wired up and that the Japanese electricians soon took to them. "Initially they were a bit nervous of the LSC dimmers, as being general contractors they were not familiar with them, but once they saw them physically there was a sigh of relief," stated Paul. "I have to say that the guys at LSC did a great job of making and delivering the cabinets in the time frame that we gave them - which was very short!"
Paul also used the LSC DNANET Ethernet to DMX controller in the system so that their AMX control system could talk to the dimmers.
(Lee Baldock)
