This breezy configuration makes for good times, but it also creates a challenging environment for a lighting system. Aside from contending with wind and sand, any fixtures installed at this club have to stand up to the rain. (Averaging 69 inches of precipitation a year, Fort Walden is the rainiest city in Florida.).
Sohail e. Najafi and his team at Najafi Design Group (Los Angeles, Las Vegas) were well aware of this challenge, which is why they designed the lighting rig at Al's around a collection of IP-rated fixtures from Chauvet Professional and its sister company Iluminarc.
"This is an incredibly beautiful site, located directly on 500ft of pristine white sand beach," said Najafi. "The open air structure contributes to the overall beauty of the venue, but our client was having a hard time finding fixtures that could last in their harsh marine environment.
"We specified fixtures that we knew were engineered to withstand the conditions that would be encountered here. Everyone involved in this project - the client, the contractors, as well as the electrical and integration teams - were all impressed with the solid feel of the Chauvet and Iluminarc fixtures."
Najafi and his team installed linear and panel LED fixtures from Chauvet's Iluminarc Colorist line. These included 30 Colorist 12Qa linear and 26 Colorist 6Qa linear units (both of which are RGBA) and two Colorist Panel 8Qa fixtures. Also included in the rig are 22 COLORado 2-Quad Zoom IP, three COLORado 1-Tri IP and four Q-Wash 260-LED fixtures, as well as two Vesuvio RGBA LED foggers from Chauvet Professional, plus four Intimidator Wave 360 IRC four-headed moving fixtures from Chauvet DJ.
"I am very pleased with the performance, versatility, durability, and value from these COLORado and Colorist fixtures and cannot wait to see how they wow audiences for many seasons to come," Najafi concluded.
(Jim Evans)
