Robe DigitalSpots for Soho Shanghai

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Robe DigitalSpots continue to be specified into new and exciting venues, and CD Soho is no exception - the buzzing, recently launched nitespot in downtown Shanghai, is located on the Heng Shan Road, right at the heart of the City's busy clubbing and social hub.

It's trendy young crowd enjoy a mix of cocktails, rock and hip hop music in a large modish loungey environment designed by Mr Chen Gang, complete with a large central bar surrounded by a series of stylish white fluted scenic columns.

Twelve Robe DigitalSpot 3000DTs were specified by Technical Manager Mr Ah Gang to create special projections onto the pillars and around the room, allowing a quick transformation of the room's dynamics and mood according to the music, time of night and accompanying vibe.

With quality and elegant aesthetics to the fore, Soho's owners, the CD company, wanted to create something completely different, resulting in highly visual space that can change colour and ambience throughout the evening, which also includes 3 or 4 nightly live performances by 3 or 4 singers.

Ah Gang also oversees the technical elements of CD's 3 other bars in Shanghai, and when Soho was planned as their new flagship venue, he immediately saw an opportunity for DigitalSpots. "The idea of having a modern and 'digital' bar was really at the essence of Soho, so it made sense to install fixtures with the flexibility to be able to run all types of digital media," he explains.

The DigitalSpots are used not only to enhance the look and feel of the space with colourful and interesting 'wallpaper' effects, they are also a central feature of the high octane lightshows that kick in to accompany the singers, with stunning effects like fire chasing from one end of the room to the other. They are also used to project logos and to advertise promotional offers.

Originally, they looked at alternative digital moving light fixtures explains Ah Gang, but when the DigitalSpots came on-stream from Robe last year, he realised that they were a highly reliable, well engineered and more cost-effective option. "They are the perfect fixtures for what we're doing here," he comments, adding that they are run constantly throughout the club's opening hours, so it was vital to have "mechanically robust" units.

The DigitalSpots are rigged in the ceiling around the bar and are controlled - via ArtNet - by a Road Hog Full Boar console, which also runs a number of other lighting fixtures in the room.

They have been programmed with bespoke media created especially for Soho in CD's own art and design workshop.

The fixtures were supplied by Robe's Chinese distributor Leifull, via their Shanghai office, to installers and integrators Shi Kai.

Leifull's international trading manager Steven Cai says, "It's great to see Robe's Digital series products being used in more and more innovative and diverse ways as atmosphere creating tools".

It is Ah Gang's first time using the DigitalSpots in an installation. They have impressed him greatly, and so he's now considering them for forthcoming projects.

Soho Shanghai's high tech environment has become a big hit with the regular clientele and also a talking point that draws in many others.