Heidi The Ride - themed after the highly successful Heidi TV show produced by Studio 100, who own the park - is a new 6m euro investment built by Great Coasters International. She soars up to 22m high with a track of 618m, and her construction involved 56,846m of wood, 95,723 bolts and 181,198 nails with 784 mainstays holding everything secure.
"It was a really amazing honour to be invited to light this beautiful and intricate structure" explained Painting with Light's Luc Peumans, whose concept involved highlighting the detail of the structure which resembles an artwork in its own right ... as well as giving Heidi an iconic overall appearance that will stick in the minds of all who visit the popular theme park.
"The interesting shape immediately evoked a range of different lighting treatments," he said.
In addition to the imaginative elements, there were the practicalities of the installation - the fixtures needed to be IP rated for outdoor use, tough to withstand the general environment ... and accessible for maintenance.
After considerable research and testing, Luc created a lighting scheme which involves three layers - internal (inside), external with a selection of fixtures grazing up the sides of the structure, and thirdly some oblique lights to illuminate the drama of the ramps.
Heidi's commanding position at the end of the park also demanded that she had a beacon-like appearance for all - both park visitors and passers-by - to see at night.
Luc and the team decided on Chauvet's IIluminarc architectural range. The 74 fixtures are a combination of the Colorist Pod 7QAs, Colorist Panel 8QAs and 36QAs and Colorist Line 12QAs and 6QAs.
"The whole Iluminarc range is ideal for exterior illumination projects like this," says Luc. "With the floods, lines and small pods there is a great choice for filling lots of different areas and spaces. For continuity of colour, output, etc. we wanted to use just one manufacturer."
He adds that these Chauvet fixtures also represent great value which is also important for any long-term installation.
Most of the lights are positioned on the ground, embedded into or rigged on concrete blocks so they can be easily reached and serviced as necessary.
The lighting installation was completed by electrical contractors Delimo and the exact positioning was overseen by Painting with Light's crew who then focused, fine-tuned, commissioned and programmed an initial series of looks and effects. They received great support from Chauvet's Benelux operation in Ghent.
(Jim Evans)
