PID supplied 1500 25mm square Versa Pixels, a VersaDrive C1 driver and a, Pharos LPC1 architectural lighting controller for the project, which was co-ordinated for them by Sam Douglas.
PID also designed and manufactured custom steel mounting brackets for the VersaPixels which are installed in the room's ceiling panels, and created 17 special clips of digital content, working to a brief from Indigo's Paul Nulty and gym staff.
Paul Nulty's brief from project managers Logitek was to transform the former car parking space in the building's basement into a vibrant, funky, inspirational relaxation and work-out area for staff.
The shape of the 'front' end of the gym (a 'stepped' space that has been scooped out from the former car parking decks) immediately lent itself to being fitted with some sort of visual feature, says Nulty, with most of the work-out machines are lined up to face this.
The pitch of the VersaPixel ceiling varies across its entire surface area and starts above the first row of gym machines where it is a sparse 1,000mm. This gradually increases in density until the ceiling drops vertically, creating a wall of pixels at a 125mm pitch.
The installation process was co-ordinated for PID by lead engineer Rob Smith and Sam Douglas.
The 1,500 Versa Pixels are controlled from a VersaDrive C1 controller. The C1 is connected to 11 PSUBB units, connected and addressed via a 6 pin Element Labs data cable leading back to a number of Pharos PHUB32s each of which connects to up to 32 VersaPixels.
The video content is stored on the VersaDrive C1 which is then triggered by the Pharos architectural control unit, which was timeline programmed to fit the gym's opening hours.
In charge of content was PID's digital services manager Nev Bull using After Effects. The design team saw an initial preview, fed back comments and then a final list was agreed upon. Each clip is tailored to suit the pixel pitch of the screen, offering a wide variety of visuals including rainbows, spirals, Tetris space invaders, graphic equalizer effects, runners, clouds, weather symbols, lines and rings, birds, stars, heart traces, flying boxes, water, plus a retro 1970s clip.
The full story appears in the October issue of Lighting&Sound International magazine.
(Jim Evans)
