As London Fashion Week recently returned for new season collection launches, technical production specialist White Light (WL) once again delivered full support to some of its most eagerly anticipated catwalk shows.

The Tanks at Tate Modern housed the Tommy Hilfiger x Lewis Hamilton show, which saw models including the Formula One driver himself and Naomi Campbell unveil the new season’s looks. Bureau Betak directed the whole creation and production of the show while WL provided under their direction a large lighting and power distribution system to transform the industrial, blank-canvas spaces. The WL team of 16 was led onsite by Lighting Crew Chief, Alan Fotheringhame, supported by WL Senior Account Manager, Dominic Yates. Over 400 moving lights and more than 350 LED fixtures were utilised to enhance the runway. These included, 114 x Varilite VL2600 profiles, 148 x Chauvet Rogue R1 FX-B moving heads, 100 x Robe 150 Beams and 80 x Astera Titan Tubes. The rig was driven by 4 x Grand MA2 Consoles.

Another high-profile event saw Preen By Thornton Bregazzi launch their Autumn Winter 2020 collection at Church House Westminster, produced by creative agency Pretty Bird. The dome-shaped Assembly Hall provided a stylish backdrop for the runway and WL worked closely with Satore Studio and Lighting Designer, Tupac Matir, supplying all lighting, rigging and power distribution. The key equipment specification included 94 x Source 4 Profiles, 48 x Astera Titan Tubes and 13 x SGM P5 Flood fixtures.

Dominic comments: “London Fashion Week always sees our team deliver multiple shows in a very diverse range of venues. Our expertise in fashion events and experience in transforming different spaces, hugely adds to what can be achieved with production to transform venues and bring the designers’ collections to life.”

Further shows delivered by WL during London Fashion Week included Victoria Beckham at Banqueting House, produced by Gainsbury&Whiting; Simone Rocha at Lancaster House produced by Karla Otto and Molly Goddard, produced by Blonstein at Central Hall Westminster.

The Pump House Theatre and Arts Centre in Watford, UK, is a thriving hub for local and national performing arts and emerging talent and a busy receiving house with a lively programme of drama, musicals and dance, working to provide “arts for everyone”. The intimate 124-seat venue has just upgraded its power distribution and dimming system with the installation of three 24-channel Zero 88 Chilli Pro bypass dimmers.

The Theatre has both a resident youth theatre group and an adult theatre company and a raft of regular and occasional external companies and clients who hire the space for their productions and events, all of which use the house technical facilities.

Jason Brameld, who is technical director at Torpedo Factory Group – a long-standing professional customer of Zero 88, has also been Pump House Theatre’s volunteer technical director since 1996, and he specified the new Chilli system that was needed to deal with the increasing amount of LED light sources now in the rig and user demands for more flexible power distribution, a trend that is set to continue.

Chilli Pro dimmers are available in 4, 6, 12 and 24 channel modules, featuring 10, 16 and 25 Amp load capacities, with optional RCD protection, relay channels, bypass switches, RCBOs and HF dimming, all contained in slimline wall-mounting enclosures.

The Pump House’s new dimmers replace older ones, some of which were also Zero 88 products still going after 30 years, a testament to the brand’s build quality! However, the change was driven by the need to update due to general advances in more sustainable light source technology.

“We needed a more flexible system with additional options for hard power, so the Chilli Pro with ‘bypass’ functionality was a perfect solution,” stated Jason.

The Theatre’s permanent lighting rig currently contains around 30 LED fixtures and about 50 conventionals. Additionally, intelligent fixtures can now be added easily as required for some of the more complex shows.

The new dimmers also look to the future, where the proportion of LED lighting and intelligent fixtures in the rig is likely to increase, so more adaptability now seemed sensible in anticipation of future infrastructure changes and transitions coming over the next decade.

The installation was completed by Jason and the Theatre’s own technical team over the festive period and is now up and running as the 2020 season kicked off with “Little Shop of Horrors” produced by the Pump House Children & Youth theatre.

Jason mentions that the service and support from Zero 88 have been “fantastic – as always”.

The Theatre has enjoyed a great long-term working relationship with the Cwmbran, Wales-based manufacturer Zero 88 as a technical partner. Three years ago, they purchased an FLX console, and at that point, Zero 88, which also has an office in Watford, started using the Theatre regularly for product training sessions.

The FLX was actually Pump House’s third Zero 88 console, so, as with the dimmers, there is a consistent track record of Zero 88 control.

The desk has been a big hit. “It’s powerful enough to handle the bigger shows, yet logical and easy to use,” commented Jason, making it ideal for their crew of volunteer technicians and operators with mixed levels of experience and knowledge.

Photo 1074: shows Pump House Theatre’s Jason Brameld on the left with Zero 88’s Tyler Holpin

Nottingham-based civil and electrical engineering firm McCann has been approved to deliver a range of new training under the Highways Electrical Registration Scheme (HERS).

The company recently received the necessary qualifications from the HESA to deliver two new courses to the wider civil and electrical engineering industry, local authorities and its own employees – covering IET Wiring Regulations and Initial and Periodic Electrical Inspection and Testing for public lighting.

The majority of McCann’s courses are delivered at its training head office in Bramcote, Nottinghamshire – although the team also delivers training across the UK.

At the end of 2018, McCann pledged significant additional investment into its approved training organisation after seeing an increase in demand for its range of industry-wide courses.

Over the last two years, the business has been approved to deliver ‘Highways England Common Induction Course’ by awarding body Lantra. It also regularly delivers HESA accredited courses covering areas such as health, safety and environment, control of hazardous substances, electrical safety, manual handling, Cat and Genny, hand and power tools, safe isolation and G39.

McCann’s Training Manager Ersoy Errol, is delighted to see the company continuing to go from strength to strength by growing its portfolio and becoming recognised as a trusted UK civil and electrical engineering training provider.

“The number of enquiries we receive from clients, businesses and local authorities has grown significantly over recent years,” says Ersoy.

“We’re committed to continuing to grow our offering in order to meet skill shortages and maintain the highest industry standards across a number of areas,”

He continues, “Businesses in need of training can speak to me to find out more about how we can assist going forward.”

To find out more about McCann and the company’s portfolio of projects, visit www.mccann-ltd.co.uk/training.php.

Applauding top-performing organisations across both the EMEA and APAC regions, Control4 presents 30 awards for distinction in projects, performance, and customer service.

Image – ISE 2020 – ATI Group – Dealer of the Year.

Control4, the smart home brand for SnapAV, today announces the Control4® Dealers and Distributors awarded for exemplary project work, business growth, and commitment to their customers at its annual dealer party at Integrated Systems Europe 2020.

Control4 Dealers were recognized across three categories, Dealer of the Year, Circle of Excellence, and Top Volume. This year, eighteen companies were awarded as Dealer of the Year and two companies were awarded as Distributor of the Year in their respective regions.

Image – ISE 2020 – Aonyx – Dealer of the Year & Top Volume.

“Dealers around the world are advancing their businesses and serving customers by leveraging Control4 Smart Home OS 3 as well as the Neeo Remote. Our dealers have done tremendous work in the last year,” said Bryce Judd, chief sales officer of SnapAV. “Each of the 30 award wins highlights dealers who have exceled either in project excellence, business practice, as well as exemplary customer service.”

The full list of dealers recognized by award category and country include:

Dealer of the Year, by country:

• Belgium: Marechal
• Finland: Digisähkö Oy
• France: Elite Integration
• Germany: ib company GmbH
• Germany: Radio Wuntke
• Gulf Countries: Metric Technologies
• Italy: Amadeus Network Solution
• Netherlands: Van Maanen
• North Macedonia: Kodi
• Norway: SoundPeople
• Portugal: Deritec Exclusive
• Russia: ART-IN
• Spain: TD Sat & Sound
• Sweden: Hages
• Switzerland: So Smart Sàrl
• United Kingdom, Watford: Aonyx
• United Kingdom, Weybridge: ATI Group
• United Kingdom, Nottingham: Trusted Technology

Distributor of the Year, by region:

• Asia Pacific: Homemation
• Europe & Middle East: Canseda

United Kingdom Circle of Excellence:

• Leeds: Bespoke Home Cinemas
• Sunbury-on-Thames: Homeplay
• Woodmancote: Seven Integration

Top Volume Dealers:

• Croatia: Smart Touch
• Germany: Better Connected – Audio Video Network GmbH
• Germany: Radio Kox
• Switzerland: Olvision SAGL
• United Kingdom, Tonbridge: New Wave AV
• United Kingdom, Watford: Aonyx
• United Kingdom, York: Art of Smart

For more information on Control4 visit www.control4.com.

Located in the picturesque city of Red Deer, Westerner Park is Central Alberta’s largest trade show, agriculture, entertainment and sports facility. For more than 125 years, it has been a destination of choice for locals gathering to celebrate all kinds of community events. Just recently, it has also become home to some of the biggest Bluetooth mesh lighting control networks.

Each year, Westerner Park hosts approximately 1,500 events and 1.5 million visitors. It is a 320-acre complex with multiple venues tailored to meet the diverse needs of the local community. From weddings and banquets to hockey games and agricultural shows, they are ready to host any event you can possibly imagine. Knowing that quality lighting is an important part of the experience offered by Westerner Park, its managers decided that the time had come for a major lighting retrofit. The goal was to address recurring maintenance issues with the existing T5 fixtures, as well as to increase the light level and reduce energy consumption.

The first stage of the retrofit covered the following five facilities:

Stockmens Pavilion (42,400 sq feet)

Prairie Pavilion (31,000 sq feet)

Parkland Pavilion (37,000 sq feet)

Salon A (3,300 sq feet)

Salon B (3,300 sq feet)

First, the existing T5 fixtures were replaced with EiKO LED high bay luminaires. All installation works were carried out by 1st Star Electric Systems LTD, a local expert in electrical construction. Once installed, the luminaires were divided into groups, with each group controlled by a Bluetooth SIG-qualified Fulham EliteControl fixture controller. In each of the pavilions, a single EnOcean wireless energy harvesting switch was deployed to allow for controlling all of the luminaires at once. 1st Star Electric Systems LTD took care of the commissioning process, using Fulham’s eliteBlue app to set up the entire installation. Developed in cooperation with Silvair as the company’s technology partner, the eliteBlue app allows for easy and time-efficient commissioning, customizing, and monitoring of Bluetooth mesh luminaires.

The first stage of the lighting overhaul was completed quicker than expected, and the flawless performance of a wireless control system proved that choosing Bluetooth mesh was a great choice. This encouraged Westerner Park to immediately launch preparations for another stage of the project. As part of it, fluorescent fixtures will be replaced in all of the remaining pavilions. This stage will also cover all the exterior area lights. Like previously, the lighting control system will be entirely wireless and based on the globally interoperable Bluetooth mesh standard. This allows Westerner Park to minimize the cost and disruption caused by the retrofit.

Details:

Category: event facility

Wireless technology: Fulham EliteControl fixture controllers

EnOcean wireless energy harvesting switches

Deployed strategy: manual control

Total area: 120,000 sq feet, 11,150 m2

Location: Westerner Park

4847A 19th Street, Red Deer, AB, Canada

Year: 2019

Zumtobel Lighting has supplied over 1,000 Tecton luminaires for the refurbishment of Clipper Logistics plc warehouse located at the M1 Junction 15 near Northampton. Both companies have an unrivalled reputation for always getting the job done no matter how challenging or complex and that was certainly the case on this project. In order to fulfil the brief, Zumtobel had to find a solution to switch each batten individually instead of the entire row and the battens also had to have corridor function with the capability of switching off.

As one of the UK’s leading logistics provider, Clipper Logistics plc has 10 million sq. ft. of warehousing space over 46 sites and a fleet of over 300 vehicles, with a nimble and effective approach that adapts to the changing demands of retail with cutting edge logistics solutions. The company’s specialist warehousing services include handling/boxed storage, high value security cages, customs warehousing, seasonal relief warehousing and picking to customer requirement.

Principal contractors for the refurbishment work was by AGF UK Ltd of Welwyn with Whitton Electrical Limited of Hemel Hempstead invited by AGF to design and install a suitable energy efficient lighting system. Whitton worked to a brief by Clipper to light the racking aisles as efficiently as possible whilst providing a level of escape lighting that was compliant with BS5266. The original lighting system incorporated individual emergency bulkhead fittings with a single test key per lighting row meaning that servicing the emergency lighting was time consuming and costly. Whitton looked at several different systems on the market but not all offered the efficiency, quality and flexibility that the Zumtobel’s Tecton provides, alongside the automatic emergency lighting testing that the eBox Central Battery system offered so it was decided that Zumtobel had the product of choice.

With such an immense operation, it was crucial that the lighting met all the criteria required including good colour rendition, low maintenance, energy savings and flexibility – Tecton LED provided the perfect solution. Used throughout the racking areas and open spaces, Tecton LED continuous row system merges light source, batten luminaire and reflector into a single visual, functional unit that provides uninterrupted light lines. Quick to install, this end-to-end solution has a service life of 50,000 hours at 70% luminous flux and an efficiency of up to 168 lm per W, resulting in less expenditure on maintenance, fewer interruptions to work, and reduced energy consumption. An integrated sensor pre-programmed to the required functions was also incorporated.

In addition to Tecton, Zumtobel’s Resculite PRO, small, energy-efficient LED spots with finely optimised optics provide the emergency lighting throughout the space. This emergency solution can be perfectly adapted to suit the requirements of different spatial environments and trusted to maintain maximum safety. The system is used in conjunction with Onlite central eBOX, the unobtrusive system that offers building safety with maximum flexibility. eBOX allows simple commissioning, combined with highly efficient operation and a nominal environmental footprint. More than just a control centre for the emergency power supply, eBOX has been optimised for use with LED technology ad can operate up to 30 electrical circuits and 600 safety and escape sign luminaires.

Jon Whitton, Managing Director of Whitton Electrical Limited, commented “The installation of the Tecton system and luminaires was extremely quick with no time wasted cabling separate fittings and installing retaining brackets onto luminaires. The installation literally clipped together simultaneously enabling the lighting to be illuminated as and when a row was complete. This can easily be altered if required in the future with little or no re-cabling. Whitton Electrical have worked with Zumtobel products in the past and will continue to champion their use in the future. They offer a great range of products with an experienced design and technical team offering readily available support should it be required”.

In view of the increasing spread of the coronavirus in Europe and after intensive consultations, Messe Frankfurt has decided to postpone Light + Building. The world’s leading trade fair for lighting and building-services technology will now be held in Frankfurt am Main between the middle and end of September 2020. The cooperation partners of the international trade fair, ZVEI and ZVEH, support this decision.

The unexpected appearance of Covid-19 in Italy since last weekend demanded a new analysis of the situation in close cooperation with the public-health authorities of the City of Frankfurt. A multi-stage health check on guests from China has been called for, the implementation of which would be extremely challenging for Messe Frankfurt. Additionally, more and more travel restrictions are being put into place thus making it difficult for both visitors and exhibitors to attend the fair. Therefore, the organisers have decided to postpone Light + Building. This decision is supported by the cooperation partners of Light + Building, the Electrical Installation Systems and the Light Working Groups of the Central Association of the German Electrical and Electronic Engineering Industry (ZVEI) and the Central Association of German Electricians (ZVEH). The foremost Italian associations also back this decision. After Germany, the largest groups of exhibitors and visitors come from China and Italy.

New dates: Light + Building in September 2020

Light + Building is the sector’s most important meeting place for architects, the industry, the installation and retail / wholesale trades, and planners. As an innovation forum and interdisciplinary market place, it not only facilitates business and making contacts but also helps ensure a sustainable future. The industry has left no doubt that it absolutely needs this platform for doing business. Accordingly, Messe Frankfurt wants to ensure that the opportunities created by Light + Building remain available to all market participants in the current season. Therefore, Light + Building 2020 is being postponed and will be held in Frankfurt am Main between the middle and end of September 2020.

light-building.messefrankfurt.com

Founded over 40 years ago by the current owner, Dextra Group plc boasts some of the most up-to-date and largest array of specialist manufacturing equipment to service its client base of installing contractors and direct corporate accounts. Its wholly-owned liveried fleet is an integral part of the company’s industry leading service. The latest addition to the Dextra Group plc fleet of vehicles are two new Mercedes Actros.  Not only are they fitted with Mercedes new mirror-cam technology which replaces old fashioned mirrors, but they are also fitted with drive and brake assist. The mirror-cam offers great improved all-round visibility removing blind spots problems and consists of two cameras on the cab mounted on stalks and two 15inch display screens on the A-pillar inside the cab. The active drive and brake assist were added as a safety feature for their drivers on overcrowded roads, featuring automatic distance control, electrically assisted steering and Lane assist whilst the brake assist can perform partial or emergency braking for the truck if the traffic comes to a standstill.

The 25th anniversary edition of Prolight + Sound in Frankfurt am Main (31 March to 3 April 2020) will offer a highlight for all professionals from the lighting-technology sector right on its opening day. Award-winning lighting set and content designer Mikki Kunttu will give a keynote speech at the show. In this lecture, the designer will offer insights into his work and milestones of his career whereby particular emphasis will be given to his internationally acclaimed work on the ‘Swan Lake’ ballet at the Royal Danish Ballet. The initiator of the lecture and organisation partner is Lightpower GmbH, which will be represented by an extensive presentation at Prolight + Sound.

The keynote lecture will be given at the ‘Theatre + Light Stage’ in Hall 12.0 at 16.30 hrs on 31 March 2020. Afterwards, Mikki Kunttu will answer questions from the audience. “We are proud to welcome one of today’s most influential personalities for the creative use of professional event technology as our keynote speaker”, says Prolight + Sound Director Mira Wölfel. “With his innovative ideas and readiness to branch out in extraordinary directions, Mikki Kunttu has generated valuable impulses for the sector over recent years.”

“For all of us in the entertainment industry Prolight + Sound is the top event of the year and it’s a great honour to be invited for a keynote.

I’m very happy to deliver a speech about a project so dear to me, where the elements of lighting design, set design and screen content came together in a very special way.”, says Mikki Kunttu.

Mikki Kunttu: Spectacular designs in Europe and around the world

Finnish designer Mikki Kunttu has been active in the field of theatre, live-entertainment, television and visual arts since the end of the 1990s. In the course of his career, he has created the designs for over 100 modern dance productions. Moreover, Kunttu is also renowned for his work in the tour and concert sector with designs for artists such as Nightwish, Michael Monroe, Hanoi Rocks and Apocalyptica. For television, he was an influential member of the design teams for the Eurovision Song Contest in 2007, 2013 and 2016. Kunttu has also cooperated on visual-art projects, as well as lighting and projection installations, such as ‘Reflections’, ‘Oratoribus’ and ‘Grace’ for Helsinki’s ‘Season of Light’ Festivals from 2009 to 2011. He is the joint founder and initiator of the festival together with the City of Helsinki.

Mikki Kunttu has received numerous awards in the course of his career. They include the New York Dance and Performance Awards (‘Bessie Awards’) in 2006 and the Koura Award of the Finnish Broadcasting Company in 2007. At present, he lives in Canada, where he has created designs for Cirque du Soleil’s ‘ALEGRIA – In a New Light’, ‘Scalada: Stelar’ and ‘Vitori’.

Mikki Kunttu is the production designer (sets, lighting and video) for Finnish National Opera’s new production of Wagner’s ‘Ring’. The first of the four operas, ‘Das Rheingold’, opened in August 2019. The next ones are set to follow during 2020 and 2021.

All Prolight + Sound visitors and journalists are invited to the keynote lecture.

The Prolight + Sound will take place from 31 March to 3 April, 10 to 18 hrs.

Full details about Prolight + Sound and ticket booking can be found at www.prolight-sound.com. Further information about the life and work of Mikki Kunttu at www.mikki-kunttu.com.