Miami Beach, Fla. – CHAUVET® COLORstripâ„¢ LED wash lights are the shining stars at the new upscale Off The Hookah restaurant and lounge overlooking beautiful Biscayne Bay in the Bayside Marketplace. Nearly 190 CHAUVET® fixtures—specified and installed by Lighting Designer Walter Aleman and provided by rental company Stage Equipment and Lighting of Miami—brightly light the venue inside and out. A restaurant in the morning/afternoon hours and club from 11 p.m. to 4 a.m., this one-level facility attracts customers with its subtle Mediterranean-style lounge spiced up with Egyptian accents.
A warm, predominantly red atmosphere, coming from 120 COLORstripâ„¢ linear wash fixtures, captivates as you enter. Aleman installed COLORstripâ„¢ as downlights mounted on rods from the ceiling held by unistruts in a runway style. They light the walkway from the entrance of the club to the back and VIP area. “The runway does an awesome chase,” said Aleman. “When in blackout mode it looks like an airport. These lights have a great fading feature, especially when they run in concert with the music.”
To light the VIP area, Aleman arranged COLORstripâ„¢fixtures in a series of triangles, also on rods, matching the Egyptian theme. About 50 of the COLORstripâ„¢ lights surrounds the entire facility at the edge of the wall near the ceiling, entertaining the crowd with amazing chases and adding a mysterious glow to statues of cats, camels and pharaoh busts. COLORstripâ„¢ lights also warm a separate but open dining area and light the bottles from the main bar and the smaller semicircular bar towards the back of the club.
Eight BOBâ„¢ LED flame simulators create the illusion of fire from inside Egyptian bowls placed on the heads of statues resembling curvy Egyptian women. Twenty LED Pinspotâ„¢ 2 project a subtle glow on each of the 20 Egyptian statues decorating the venue. In the VIP section, six LED PAR 64-36B fixtures placed in frosted plastic tubes between the private booths, emit sheer color, dressing the transparent gauze draperies decorating the booths. While, four DMX Mega Strobeâ„¢ III fixtures send blinder effects from the ceiling, fitting perfectly in this large venue. Elsewhere, five Q-Spotâ„¢ 260-LED moving heads, hung by ceiling rods arranged in a zigzag pattern, send sharp beams of intense color on the dance floor. “This LED moving head is low maintenance, very fast, has great easily changeable gobos and a good beam,” Aleman said of his favorite fixture.
At the DJ booth are two Data Streamâ„¢ 4 universal DMX-512 optical splitter fixtures. “Programming the lights was very easy,” Aleman said. “I do a lot of free-hand [designs], and I also do cues, going with the flow. On a regular night I use 10 to 15 cues. I have them on a timer; once the party starts going it gets faster.” CHAUVET® fixtures also light the exterior of the club—entrance, and patio—for a post-card-like panoramic night shot from a distance. Seven COLORstripâ„¢ Mini wash lights give a warm ambient look to the outside dining area along the tables. Six COLORadoâ„¢ 2 IP give a powerful wash field from on top of the awning, creating a nice cool atmosphere. For exterior lighting, Aleman replaced the traditional bulbs in nine big outdoor dome lights with COLORdashâ„¢ Accent fixtures, which are perfect for confined spaces and waterproof.
Low tables and comfortable couches furnish a cozy outdoor lounge set up toward the back of the patio, ideal for intimate conversations due to a subtle romantic lighting coming from two COLORstripâ„¢ and two COLORadoâ„¢ Ridge IP fixtures. Placed between the walls and the couches, these lights also wash an Egyptian bas-relief, resembling a tomb. “I love CHAUVET® ever since I was introduced to the brand, Aleman said. “The products have a great value and quality. Also, the warranty is awesome, they are very user-friendly and easy to install.”