Working with Cuningham Group Architecture, the architect turned to The MH Companies to create their dynamic new lighting design which consisted of 18 Showline SL PAR 150 ZOOM luminaires, seven Philips Selecon PLprofile1 LED luminaires, and a 250ML lighting control console from Philips Strand Lighting.
"We moved into this site a long time ago and with two services every Sunday and multiple events consistently taking place during the week, we needed a full lighting renovation," began David Dillon, music director, Centennial Covenant Church. "In the early stages of the design, the church was mainly looking at the architectural lighting, but we also needed to address the entertainment lighting as well. We were looking for fixtures that could provide great colour and clean gobo patterns, and the lighting and controls package from Philips Entertainment is working great."
"We had previously worked with the architect on the project, Timothy Kathka, and we knew he had a particular interest in energy-saving projects," said Tom Seymour, controls engineering manager, The MH Companies. "With a house full of incandescent PAR cans and a layer of HID's that were part of the original construction, the old lighting was anything but energy conscious, so we really had to do a full renovation and Philips Entertainment had the perfect package of lighting and control."
To give the church to complete design needed, Seymour placed all the SL PAR 150 ZOOM luminaires and four of the PLprofile1 luminaires in the main front-of-house position. He then placed two PLprofile1 luminaires on the stage, and one PLprofile1 further out in the house to be used as a spot for the centre stage area.
Seymour continued, "When we started talking about the entertainment lighting, I brought down two LED fixtures, the Showline SL PAR 150 ZOOM and a Philips Selecon PLprofile1 luminaire, for a demonstration to the renovation committee. Since they were already familiar with using PAR type fixtures, I wanted to show them what these LED luminaires could really do and they were immediately impressed."
Seymour explained further, "For their lighting control console, they previously had a two-scene preset desk. Since we were now replacing the old rig with LED fixtures we needed more control and the 250ML was the best option. With operators who were excited to run a system with LED fixtures, the intuitive nature of the 250ML was a great advantage and makes the system easy to program and run."
"With our new lighting system, it's a night-and-day difference," concluded Dillon. "Previously, our worship services were static light with only an adequate stage wash. There was no creative color and the system was basically on or off. Now, we have a completely transformed system and it's opened up a new ministry opportunity for someone with an eye for lighting to truly create on Sunday mornings."
(Jim Evans)
