The grand opening of such an extraordinary edifice calls for more than a mere ribbon cutting. Argentinian art collector Eduardo Costantini, who developed the $1.3 billion sellout condo, celebrated its completion recently with an A-list event orchestrated by ACT Productions that featured star-studded entertainment, an art show and celebrity appearances. In conjunction with this event, the exterior of the building was illuminated from lobby to rooftop by a collection of Chauvet Professional COLORado fixtures supplied by The Design Oasis.
"This was really an exciting project to be involved in, because the building itself is a work of art," said Abbas Ritscher of The Design Oasis. "Our idea with the lighting was to accent the aesthetics of the building against its beautiful five-acre setting."
To accomplish this goal, Ritscher and his team relied on COLORado 2-Quad Zoom IP and COLORado COLORride fixtures placed at the front of the building and around the side of the structure that faces the roundabout drive. The throw distance of the COLORado fixtures made it easy to illuminate the top of the high-rise structure with even fields of colorful light.
Ritscher especially praised the wide (7.7? to 35?) zoom angle of the COLORado 2-Quad Zoom IP. "The COLORado 2-Quad Zoom IPs were invaluable, because their zoom allowed us to hit any dark areas at the top the building or zoom out and create a smooth and complete wash," he said. "Given that this program was so art centered, the exterior lighting had to be perfect in its coverage."
COLORado 2-Quad IP and COLORado 1-Tri Tour fixtures were also used to wash the palm trees and other foliage on the condo grounds with vividly colored light. "We used an Avolites controller on a PC to create the right colours, mainly blue and purple to complement the building and its surroundings," said Ritscher. "We limited colour changes in keeping with the understated elegance of the event. The building and its artistic sculptures remained the focus."
The aesthetics of those sculptures was accented by uplighting from Chauvet Professional Well Flex fixtures. "We positioned the uplights at strategic points around the sculptures," said Ritscher. "Our goal was to achieve a sense of balance between the lighting and the artwork itself. If I had two words for the evening, it would be 'stylish sophistication,' and I'm proud that our lighting contributed to that mood."
(Jim Evans)
