Fusion is the latest destination restaurant/lounge bar/club venue to open in Northampton, UK, and has been an instant success with its blend of accessible international cuisine, elegant interior design and cool energy-efficient lighting.
Owners Rochmills initially approached the UK office of leading LED brand Anolis when they were looking for environmentally-friendly, low maintenance interior and exterior lighting schemes for this new-build project. Anolis had come highly recommended to them, and, explains Anolis's Scott Callis, "They in turn have the foresight to consider green issues and be prepared to invest money now to save in the long term".
The brief then expanded to include lighting for the downstairs VIP lounge and after-party area, which was designed by Nathan Wan of Robe UK.
Exterior
This was the first area to be lit. The building is situated on Northampton's busy downtown artery of Wellingborough Road, right in the middle of the action for anyone heading into town for a night out.
A basic scheme had already been suggested for the outdoor elements, so that was followed through with 50 Anolis ArcLine Optic K2s that are tucked underneath the soffits running around the outer edge of the building.
These smoothly down-wash the walls creating a rich colour-changing beacon-like effect, marking the building out from all others in the street, where it is the only one imaginatively lit. It has become a great magnet for attracting people - even if it's only to watch the lightshow whilst passing down the street!
Lounge Bar/Club
The "latest" technology was requested in here, to help create a 'fabulous' champagne bar vibe explains Nathan Wan, who duly spec'd 6 of Robe's new ROBIN 300 Plasma Spots. These are eco-friendly and have a lamp life in excess of 10,000 hours. They are also extremely compact, so ideal for the intimate nature of the space.
One of the visual ideas is that these can produce dynamic, changing and gently undulating breakup effects around the walls and across the ceiling, bathing the room in "subtlety and sophistication" when the space is in 'lounge mode'. However they can also 'party out' when the mood is right and the dancefloor is packed and where it's at, complete with a full selection of zappy chases and exciting colour mixing effects.
Robe's package for this area also offered a Media Fusion server system and an integrated video control solution to run content for all the plasmas screens dotted around the room and an LCD projector.
Wan specified Anolis RGBA ArcLink4 strips to trim the front of the bar, and inside a ceiling feature above the bar are non optic ArcLine 36s .... making a highly effective light box look.
Additional ArcLinks skim around the front of the DJ console.
The room has 2 large steel structural columns going through it ,which have been made into bar 'rest' tables. Above each of these are 4 Anolis ArcSource6 Warm Whites, adding ambient down lighting.
The karaoke booth to the side of the dancefloor is glammed up with 8 x ArcSource 3s ensconced in the ceiling.
All the lighting is controlled via a Jands Vista PC with touch screen control, and Robe also supplied one of their super efficient Haze 400 FT fog machines.
Restaurants
Fusion has two large dining areas on the first and second floors. Lighting for these plus their associated serveries, corridors and toilets was co-ordinated by Scott Callis.
Between them, the 2 restaurant areas contain nearly 300 Anolis fixtures - primarily a mix of ArcSource 12 Warm and Cool Whites in recessed fittings and ArcSource 3 Cool Whites. They are divided into 5 zones.
The Warm Whites are installed in the ceiling areas throughout the dining rooms providing soft down-light on the tabletops and food. The ArcSource 12 is a bi-directional fitting and a direct replacement for the standard AR111 lightsource. Spec'ing these also gives inbuilt contingency for the tables to remain properly lit even if they are moved into different configurations for functions, etc.
The corridors, toilets and buffet areas are all lit with Cool White units.
The contrast between the warm and cool white colour temperatures adds an almost imperceptible atmospheric differentiation to the spaces. "This is one of the beauties of properly thinking-through the design, positioning and the functionality of the room" confirms Callis, who comments again that it's refreshing working with a company like Rochmills, who have a full understanding of the economics of installation and appreciate that quality is not the cheapest route.
The Anolis fittings are all powered by ArcPower SmartWhite drivers with an ArcControl 1024 fully programmable DMX controller on each floor that gives separate control over the different zones and a master dimmer to tweak levels at any time.
For more press info. on Robe Lighting and Anolis, please contact Louise Stickland on +44 (0)1865 202679/+44 (0)7831 329888 or Email ‘[email protected]'. For more product and general info, check www.robe.cz or call + 420 (0)571 751 510.
For more Anolis product information and direct contact details, please check www.anolis.eu