Robe - LEADERBOARD - Feb 2025
PLASA Show 2025 - Banner - June-Aug 2025

Installation

Details
Russia - Moscow-based installers Light Sound Contractor (LSC) specified Robe moving lights for a project at the Tropicana Restaurant in the Arbat Entertainment Centre (AEC), Moscow which has undergone a complete refurbishment.

The AEC venue contains a club, restaurant and casino and is also used to stage boxing contests and other sporting events. It is located on Arbat Street, one of the best known thoroughfares of the city.

LSC has engaged in many design, supply and installation projects in the casino world, and have also completed several other schemes within Arbat, which is why they won the contract to kit out the restaurant.

In addition to tables, the Tropicana also features a stage for live music and cabaret performances and a dancefloor area for discos, so the new lighting rig needed to have an additional degree of flexibility explains LSC's Andrey Zhukov.

With guest

Details
Denmark - With a café, lounge, restaurant and micro brewery under one roof, La Tasca in Vejle, Denmark has become the city's most popular day and night venue for quality foods and drinks.

The exclusive interior called for a discrete speaker and 28 Cornered C6s in white were chosen to deliver the sound throughout the venue. The installer chose the version with rear mounted recessed cable terminals so that all speaker cables are hidden.

Music is distributed in zones so that the sound pressure in each area of the venue can be controlled precisely.

(Jim Evans)

Doughty - Banner - from 4 July 2025

Details
UK - PRG Europe helped Liverpool celebrate its launch as European Capital of Culture for 2008, with large format projection onto the brand new Arena and Convention Centre (ACC) and the Jury's Inn hotel, in frontof the building.

Deputy technical manager Alan Igbon says: "ACC Liverpool is sponsored by the Liverpool Echo and the Convention Centre by BT, so we arranged for PRG Europe to project the logos onto the side of the buildings.One of the projectors was sited on the top of a multi-storey car park, while the other was on top of a yet-to-be-completed hotel."

On the same weekend, PRG Europe was asked by SLS Group to project a giant Liverpool '08 logo onto the front of the scaffold wrapper covering the hotel.

Project manager for PRG Europe Loz Wilcox says, "We used a Pani BP6 projector to project the Echo Arena logo, and then the larger Pani BP12 project

Details
Germany - The 580-seat Apollo Theatre in the heart of the town of Siegen is regarded as one of North-Rhine Westphalia's most important new theatres. It has taken two years to build at a cost of around €12.8 million, after nearly 50 years of struggle. The tireless efforts of local theatre lovers have finally been rewarded with a theatre with exceptional acoustics.

The original specification had included a sound system that sadly fell far short of the standard required for musical performances and concerts. But, thanks to an anonymous €50,000 donation, the theatre team was able to commission a new audio installation better suited to the venue.

A PA system was hired in for the theatre's inaugural event, Midnight Specials with Dieter Falk and his band giving the audience an opportunity to audition the exceptional performance of the new system. Before the final decision co

Details
Syria - The FBT Modus line array was chosen by the owners of the 1001 Nights restaurant located in Damascus. Having a seating capacity of more than 1000 people in its big outdoor gardens this restaurant is rated among the best in the Middle East. Decorated both inside and outside with real scale reproductions including the leaning tower of Pisa, the 1001 Nights features an automated stage suitable for the most demanding theatre events, as well as for musical performances calling a large audience.

The installation was executed by the local contractor SADA. Al-Zayat was the chief engineer for the project, overseeing the installation of the equipment.

All the technical aspects and system designs were carried on while the restaurant was under construction; FBT provided all the sound products for this installation.

(Jim Evans)

Details
Italy - The organisers of Show-Way, the new, international trade fair for professional show technology and services which takes place in Bergamo later this month, have announced details of a three-day programme of Workshops and Forums.

During the three-day exhibition, from 24 to 26 February 2008, internationally renowned speakers and associations will talk on a variety of topical subjects, say the organisers.

24 February 2008
11:30 a.m.
LIGHT & SHADE IN CARAVAGGIO
The winner of three Best Photography Oscars, Vittorio Storaro, shares his reflections on an extraordinary career.
2:00 p.m.

LIGHT & CULTURAL HERITAGE
Reflections on the relationship between the use of light and Italy's artistic heritage.
Speakers (ACCADEMIA DELLA LUCE): Marina Vio and Francesca Storaro.

2:00 p.m.
ASSOMUSICA
A discussion on the problems of "live" shows

Details
USA - After completely gutting its Conference Theatre Room, the Crystal City Hyatt at Reagan National Airport approached AV/Com Integrators to give the room an audio system that provided "a truly interactive experience for presentations and collaborative conferencing". What John Bangs, owner, AV/Com Integrators and his team developed is a completely transparent sound system that allows for uninterrupted two-way conferencing, both audio and video, that some of the nation's top governmental agencies can use to exchange information.

Three Biamp AudiaFLEX with TrueSound AEC - 48 channels of AEC across 24 AEC-2HD cards - power the system that makes this all possible. Anyone seated in the room can participate in a conference taking place, regardless of where they are sitting. The audio coverage in the room is such that everyone can hear each other clearly.

"The Crysta

Details
UK - An elegant Anolis LED lighting installation is now in place highlighting the newly renovated tower of St Stephen's Church in Bath.

The scheme was designed and specified by Kieran Sturrock of locally based Enlightened Lighting, who also managed and installed the project for the vicar, the Reverend Jonathan Lloyd.

The old tower had previously been lit somewhat prosaically with white floodlights, so when the 18-month tower restoration scheme got underway, Lloyd took the radical step of applying to Bath & North East Somerset City Council to fund a new and contemporary lighting design.

The picturesque church was designed and built by local architect James Wilson in 1845, and the tower - always a controversial structural feature - was completed in 1847. St Stephen's is located on Lansdown Hill, one of the highest points around Bath, with a commanding view of the city and the

Details
Russia - Blueberry Rain Sound (BBRS) and its Moscow counterpart, LiveSound, have carried out a QSC systems installation at the Children's Performing Arts Theatre of Moscow, based around a WideLine 8 line array system.

The theatre officially began in 1989, commencing with Children's World, a group who developed a unique sound for that era, thanks to complex arrangements and skilled vocal technique. With financial and administrative assistance from several foundations, the theatre was able to stage its first musical, which premiered in January 1990.

Alongside its stage productions, over the years the theatre also developed its own recording label, putting out many albums of young, up-and-coming performers -some of which enjoyed both critical acclaim and mainstream success.

Formerly housed in an outdated facility, with the assistance of the Government of Moscow, construction of

Details
UK - London's Arcola Theatre, one of the UK's leading independent venues, has installed a hydrogen fuel cell to power its café/bar and selected main house shows. The fuel cell operates almost silently, producing nothing but electricity and clean water.

The 5kW fuel cell system takes pride of place in the foyer of the theatre accompanied by displays describing the benefits and challenges posed by this ground breaking technology. The prominent location of the fuel cell and the challenge of relying entirely upon it provide both a powerful educational tool and a source of motivation for reducing energy use.

The first show to be powered by the fuel cell, Simple8's The Living Unknown Soldier, produced by Strawberry Vale, may well be London's premier ecologically sustainable show - the environmental impact of all aspects of the production have been minimised, including

Details
Australia - Robe moving lights and Anolis architectural LED fixtures have been installed into Cocktails & Dreams, an iconic club/pub venue in Surfer's Paradise, Queensland, Australia.

The installation - carried out by JVG Sound, Lighting & Visual - is part of a lighting upgrade being undertaken at the popular nightclub. The fixtures were all supplied to JVG by Robe's Australian distributor ULA, whose HQ is nearby on the Gold Coast.

The Cocktails & Dreams dancefloor has been completely revamped lighting wise, and now features 17 Robe ColorSpot 250E ATs, two ColorWash 250E ATs and six ColorSpot 170 ATs.

The venue was challenged for ceiling height, particularly over the raised dancefloor area explains JVG's general manager Jade Golar, so he was looking for compact and neatly sized fixtures that would not take up much space or intrude. In terms of aesthetics, he also wanted to o

Details
Finland - Near the end of last year the Finnish shipping company Viking Line Abp signed a contract with Aker Finnyards Oy for the construction of a high-speed passenger ferry for the route between Helsinki (Finland) and Tallinn (Estonia), with delivery set for April 2008.

The new Viking XPRS had to be tailored for the growing customer needs that have characterised the Helsinki-Tallinn route since Estonia joined the European Union in May 2004. The emphasis was thus on providing full facilities, including a modern range of shopping and dining choices, flexible conferencing spaces and a nightclub. At the same time it needed to meet the increased requirement for passenger vehicles - 365 days of the year.

Multiple Soundweb SW9088iis DSP devices from BSS Audio were specified to create the routing flexibility.

Jouni Sironen, AV co-ordinator for Viking Line Abp, developed an archite

Details
USA - The Christian Faith Center in Seattle is one of the latest large houses of worship yet to install a Midas XL8 digital mixing system. The church is located on two main campuses in suburban Seattle - one of which is a state-of-the-art facility completed in September 2007 - and 8,000 people a week now attend services at the two sites.

When it came to improving its sound reinforcement system, the church worked with AV specialists Michael Garrison Associates to install two XL8 systems in the 5,000-seat sanctuary at their new campus, a 550sq.ft octagonal space with stadium seating.

Kris Hillstrom, technical director at Christian Faith Center, described how the church is sounding better than ever: "We knew that we wanted to make a substantial investment in our new sound system. Seattle is a very music-savvy part of the world, and we all felt that, as one of the largest hou

Details
UK - Stirling-based professional sound and lighting specialist, Scotaudio, selected Community I/O8 loudspeakers for the new Hydrotherapy Pool installation at Raploch Campus, Stirling. The pool is designed for children with special needs, and comprises innovative interactive lighting which can be controlled via floating radio switches. The install presented some challenges in terms of controlling both sound and lighting within an IP rated environment.

Scotaudio technical director, Andy Greig, commented: "We needed loudspeakers that were aesthetically pleasing and could cope with the high humidity environment whilst delivering a solid and accurate reproduction in an acoustically live room - the Community I/O8 was a perfect choice. For some of the children who will use this facility, sound is one of the main senses they use to explore their environment, and we needed the best

Details
UK - Located between Trent Bridge ground, home to Nottinghamshire's county cricket team, and the City Ground, home to Nottingham Forest FC, is the Southbank Bar. When there's a big match in progress, football or cricket, the venue fills to capacity.

Nottingham-based design and installation company OneBigStar has rejuvenated the venue for its owners Great Northern Inns.

Although OneBigStar has subsequently provided AV and lighting systems to other venues in the Great Northern Inns portfolio, the Southbank Bar was their first collaboration. An extensive refurbishment at the end of last year has produced an impressive video network of 12 HD plasma screens plus two large drop-down projection screens.

The screens are complemented by 12 Electro-Voice ZX1 full-range loudspeakers. "On a match day, this venue is absolutely packed with people," explains Simon Taylor of OneBi

Details
USA - Arup is providing theatre consulting and acoustic design services to Sn°hetta, interior architect for the Ashland Center at the Brooklyn Arts Tower, in the BAM Cultural District of New York.

The new centre is part of a commercial development designed by Behnisch Architects and Studio MDA, providing street-level retail space with a high-rise residential tower. The plinth houses the performance, studio spaces, administration and technical support program for the cultural component of the development.

Arup is leading the programming and planning process for the fit-out of the new centre with architect Sn°hetta. A main flexible performance space with facilities for dance and movement, and an inventory of large studios for rehearsal, workshops and production creation is being planned by all the stakeholders of the organisation, including the client, the Downtown Brook

Details
UK - Through dealer White Light, lighting manufacturer ETC has installed lighting at London's Arcola Theatre in Hackney. But the installation was the easy bit for the theatre. The difficult bit was keeping the show's peak power consumption below 4.5kW. And the reason why they had to do that was because the venue has recently had a hydrogen fuel cell installed, as part of its bid to become the world's first carbon neutral theatre.

ETC's technical director Adam Bennette, who happens to live just a couple of streets from the theatre, assisted with the installation, which includes nine 375W ETC Source Fours and a SmartFade ML control desk - which is also able to control the LED and fluorescent lighting on the show. "I have a pet hate of West End shows which are over lit and can even end up dazzling the audience," explains Bennette. "So it was nice to be able to work o

Details
UK - Adlib Audio has completed it's first School Tutorial Event of 2008. Adlib's Andy Dockerty says, "The way to learn how to become a live sound engineer and system technician is to actually be involved in the environment.

"Many young people are pushed into 'live audio' and 'technical' courses by career advisors at schools. Whist sounding superficially exciting, these courses are obviously bringing in funds to educational establishments, but "live" production cannot be taught in a classroom or a one space environment.

"You need to be able to anticipate venue-to-venue problems and nuances and experience true working days - including load-ins and outs before you leave college."

Dockerty adds that apart from highlighting technical issues, the Adlib Schools Events are realistic about the fact it's not an especially glamorous career at the outset, a

Details
Korea - A number of new QSC Audio ILA line array installations have been carried out in Korea recently by territorial distributors, Sama ProSound. The long-established Seoul-based company reports that applications vary from auditoria in educational establishments to places of worship.

The main auditorium at Wooshin High School in Seoul is used for a variety of functions and its long rectangular shape would generally have dictated that a large number of subwoofers would be required to complement the main full-range main speakers.

QSC's Installation Line Array (ILA) offers 140° horizontal coverage, and 12 enclosures have been specified (in two hangs) with four WL118-sw subs. This necessitated adding only a pair of QSC's AcousticDesign AD-S82's in each of the corners of the auditorium's second floor to ensure that an evenly-dispersed sound can be experienced from any location

Details
New Zealand - Audio networking for Skycity's new Vue Bar in Hamilton, has been placed entirely in the hands of the Soundweb London DSP platform from BSS Audio.

The Soundweb system, comprising a BLU-80 signal processor and BLU-32 I/O expander, forms part of a Harman Pro integrated system, designed and specified by James Greet from Greet Consulting of Auckland, in consultation with Paul Edlin of JANDS NZ Technical Resource Group (TRG). The system was supplied and installed by Security Specialists of Auckland - and all network design programming and commissioning was handled by Robson Birch, of JANDS NZ TRG.

The 600-capacity Vue Bar has been designed specifically to provide world-class entertainment in the city centre, and marks the end of a multi-phase development which also saw the opening of the Rebo Restaurant and Bar in May of last year. General manager Geoff Hogg confirms t

Details
UK - BDP Lighting won the special projects category and had a further entry short-listed in the workplace category in this year's Lighting Design Awards. The awards were presented at the London Hilton on 6 March. BDP's Guerilla Lighting events in London and Manchester won in the special projects category and Westminster Academy, London was short-listed in the workplace category.

The concept of Guerrilla Lighting was created by Martin Lupton, director of BDP's lighting group, to promote lighting design and create a platform to discuss key issues such as professional design, waste and sustainability. The power behind the exercise was the participation and collaboration, which was what particularly impressed the judges.

Under the guidance of a team leader, the teams created transient lighting designs by using high powered torches, battery powered LED projectors, luminous dot ligh

Details
USA - Spectra, is one of two art pieces commissioned during the construction of the Lynnwood Convention Centre north of Seattle. It is a 35ft outdoor sculpture created by Seattle artist Doug Hansen. The tower is made of steel fitted with fused colour glass panels, reflecting light from PixelArc C LED fixtures uplighting from the base.

Director of operations Mohnie Mangat explains: "We looked at a lot of fixtures before choosing PixelArc. It was the perfect choice for our needs: simple, easy to use, low energy and very powerful."

When the existing fixtures specified by the construction architect were found to be insufficient and the intended water feature did not work - the Lynnwood PFD who own the building, asked the Center's management company SMG to look at ways to make the sculpture more dynamic.

SMG's Mohnie Mangat has a lighting design and theatrical backgroun

Details
Oman - The visual effects for the opening of the new Lexus showroom in Oman were created by Tim Riley, video designer from XL Video. The opening took place outside the new showrooms with grandstand seating for around 500 and the Lexus building as a backdrop.

Running the full length of the showroom are eight metre high windows which allow the passers-by, or in this case the audience, to look into the floor and view the array of new, cars. But around dusk, this all changed when a large section of the windows came to life. They were lined with 72 Martin LC2140 LED panels covering a total of 144 sq.m.As the LC panels moved through colourful stages of intensity, beginning with images gently floating on glass, the cars inside the showroom slowly disappeared and the focus became the staged area outside.

"I had been looking at several other LED products, but when I saw the LC2140

Details
Austria - When the Grand Casino Baden reopened in 1995 - as part of the resplendent Congress Casino Baden - it not only became the largest casino in Europe but one of the most prominent event centres in the country. A subsidiary of Casinos Austria AG, the venue was set up to handle around 240 events a year (in three different function spaces) 365 days a year.

Back in 2002 Andreas Gallé, Congress Casino Baden's senior technician, decided to install a CobraNet digital backbone. "When we started to evaluate new amplifiers two years later it was logical to look for network-based audio devices," he explained.

The technician specified quantities of QSC PowerLight PL6, PL236, PL230 and PL218 amplification, networked via seven QSC BASIS 922 units. To this the Casino subsequently added a further three BASIS 922 DSP's, linked by the DataPorts of two QSC CX 168's and and

  1. First Tiger spotted in South Africa
  2. Dynacord XA PA powers State Club
  3. Martin lights up Battersea Power Station
  4. Suzhou Science Centre Chooses RTS
  5. Stage One sets the scene for Hitachi
  6. Arcadia Multiplex installs EV system
Page 149 of 192
LSi 40th sponsors - Large MPU - July-Aug

Latest Issue. . .