NORTHAMPTON, U.K. – Fusion, a restaurant/lounge bar/club that opened here recently by Rochmills, blends international cuisine, interior design and an energy-efficient lighting design that includes gear from Robe and Anolis. Anolis's Scott Callis credited Rochmills for having "the foresight to consider green issues and be prepared to invest money now to save in the long term."
The brief expanded from interior and exterior architectural lighting to include lighting for the downstairs VIP lounge and after-party area, which was designed by Nathan Wan of Robe UK.
The exterior was the first area to be lit. The building is situated on Northampton's busy Wellingborough Road. 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 down-wash the walls creating a color-changing beacon-like effect.
The lounge/bar/club was lit to achieve a "champagne bar" vibe, according to Wan, who spec'd six of Robe's new ROBIN 300 Plasma Spots. These eco-friendly fixtures have a lamp life in excess of 10,000 hours. They are also compact in dimension, well-suited to the confines of the space.
The ROBIN 300 Plasmas are used for 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, Wan said. They can also "party out" with chases and color 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 two large steel structural columns going through it ,which have been made into bar 'rest' tables. Above each of these are four Anolis ArcSource6 Warm Whites, adding ambient down lighting.
The karaoke booth to the side of the dancefloor is glammed up with eight 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.
Fusion has two large dining areas on the first and second floors. Lighting for these plus their associated serveries, corridors and toilets was coordinated by Scott Callis.
Between them, the two 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 five 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 and so on.
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," said Callis.
The Anolis fittings are all powered by ArcPower SmartWhite drivers with an ArcControl 1024 fully programmable DMX controller on each floor, which gives separate control over the different zones and a master dimmer to tweak levels at any time.
For more information, please visit www.robe.cz and www.anolis.eu.
