The general contractor responsible for all electrical equipment in Legoland Bavaria is a consortium formed by ABB and Cegelec. Cegelec commissioned Think Abele GmbH & Co KG of Nufringen to supply and provide project support for the show and effects lighting. The lighting design was developed by Gallegos Lighting Design of the USA. Among other fixtures, Think Abele installed in Günzburg a variety of moving lights from High End Systems, dimmers and lighting control consoles from ETC, a DMX network, gobo projectors from Major, Diversitronics strobes and a variety of other luminaires from ETC and Spotlight. It was necessary to find alternatives for many of the devices stipulated by Gallego, as the US equipment originally envisaged was in many cases not CE-approved and obtaining the necessary certification was impossible either because of time considerations or for technical reasons.
Further challenges were posed by the need to develop special outdoor lighting masts with weather- and scratch-proof powder-coating, using Prolyte S52V trusses, and individual gobo and effects wheels for the Cyberlights and Studio Spots from High End Systems in the Lego Studios, as well as to equip the projectors in the Castle Coaster area with the coloured glass filters and gobos needed for the illumination of the fairy tale world.
Andrew Abele, the managing director of Think Abele, recalls: "The onsite project management was especially gruelling, because the opening date had been brought forward. This meant we had far less time to complete the installation than the original schedule had allowed. Furthermore, Lego had decided to include this year additional attractions that were originally only due to be implemented in the second phase of construction. In the end, we had no option but to plan, deliver and make operational the installation - all at the same time."
(Lee Baldock)
