A variety of ADJ fixtures have been utilised at a new jump park attraction in The Netherlands built in a natural underground cave. Featuring both LED-powered static washes and moving head spots, the lighting installation fills the unique space with vibrant swathes of saturated colour and moving GOBO projections. With full DMX control from ADJ’s tablet-based Airstream DMX Pro App, operators of the attraction have the ability to easily alter both the colour scheme and intensity of the lighting effects to create the right atmosphere for the different public sessions and private parties hosted at the park.
Bounce Adventure is the latest new addition to Attractiepark Kabelbaan Valkenburg, a tourist destination in the Limburg region of The Netherlands. Based around the Wilhelminatoren, a historic lookout tower built on a hill near the picturesque village of Valkenburg, the site has attracted tourists since 1954 when a cable car was installed to carry visitors from the centre of Valkenburg to the foot of the tower. The attraction also now features a toboggan run, zip wire, tube ride, laser game, and adventure mini golf course.
Housed in a natural cave within the Attractiepark Kabelbaan Valkenburg site, the new Bounce Adventure is a large, multilevel trampoline park and cargo net course. A four-story tower in the centre of the 23-meter (75’) high cave connects together the various walkways, slides and trampolines that provide a labyrinth of fun for children of all ages. A wooden cabin has also been sited inside the cave to provide a seating area for parents to relax as they watch their children enjoy the activity.
Due to the lack of daylight in the cave, lighting is an essential component of the attraction. This was installed by TEC Audio, a local production and integration company headed up by owner/manager Ruud Pellemans. Having already carried out a few smaller IT and audio installation projects for Attractiepark Kabelbaan Valkenburg, Ruud and his company were the obvious choice when it came to seeking advice for lighting the new attraction in the most effective way possible.
“When it was first installed, the Bounce Adventure had very simple white lighting,” explains Ruud, “but the management wanted to explore the possibility of doing something more atmospheric. We took in a selection of ADJ fixtures to demonstrate how they would look in the space. Just by placing the fixtures on the floor, and shining them on the roof and walls of the cave, they were very quickly convinced by the huge impact the right lighting could have on the space. From there we designed and installed a system, using a variety of different ADJ fixture types, to completely transform the cave with colour and GOBO projections.”
To illuminate the walls of the cave, ADJ’s 15 HEX Bar IP linear LED wash fixtures were chosen. Featuring 15 12-Watt 6-in-1 HEX LEDs (RGBWA+UV), grouped into 5 independently controllable zones, these units offer a 25-degree beam angle spread across their 36” length that is ideal for up-lighting walls. Thanks to the textured nature of the natural cave walls at the Attractiepark Kabelbaan Valkenburg Bounce Adventure, this looks particularly effective. These fixtures also feature an extremely robust all metal housing with an IP65 ‘weatherproof’ rating, which makes them ideal for use outdoors or in other situations were protection from dust, sand, moisture and liquids is a necessity.
“For this project, it was important for the wash fixtures to be IP65-rated, even though they are inside, because the humidity can get very high causing condensation to drip from the walls. That made the 15 HEX Bar IP an obvious choice; the output is very good and the beam angle was perfect for lighting the cave walls. Because each fixture is multi-segment, we were also able to make nice chase patterns running across the bars. Another thing I like about this fixture is the position of the sockets; they are on the side of the rear section, not the back, with power and data input on one side and output on the other. This makes it easy to cable neatly.”
To highlight the tower structure at the center of the attraction, Ruud made use of a pair of ADJ’s 32 HEX Panel IP fixtures. Meanwhile four additional units were placed on the roof of the cabin to illuminate the higher portions of the cave walls. These compact wash fixtures each feature an 8 by 4 array of the same 12-Watt HEX LEDs utilized by the 15 HEX Bar IP. With a tight beam angle of 24-degrees, the units are ideal for creating intense pools of saturated light as well as for creating ‘eye candy’ effects using their 8 independently controllable zones. These fixtures also boast heavy duty, all metal, construction and offer an IP65 rating.
“The 32 HEX Panel IP offers a lot of output from a small fixture,” enthuses Ruud. “It is easy to mount on the floor or hang in the air, and its beam angle was perfect for illuminating the central column structure from inside. Just two fixtures, one shooting up and the other shooting down, were enough to make the tower glow very brightly. I also like the continuity between the 32 HEX Panel IP, 15 HEX Bar IP, 12P HEX IP and the other fixtures in ADJ’s HEX IP series. They all use the same LEDs, which allows for colour consistency across any combination of fixtures, which was important for this project where different fixture types were appropriate in different areas.”
A number of ADJ’s 12P HEX IP LED par fixtures are mounted to an overhead walkway running across the roof of the space. These are used to light the cargo nets and trampolines themselves, as well as the cave floor. Also offering solid metal casings that are IP65-rated, these workhorse pars feature 12 of the 12-Watt HEX LEDs and offer a beam angle of 25-degrees. By using contrasting colours on the walls, central tower and floor/equipment, Ruud and his team were able to create truly stunning lighting looks that completely transform the dark cave environment into a vibrant and dynamic space.
The finishing touch of the attraction’s lighting system comes in the form of 6 of ADJ’s LED-powered Focus Spot 4Z moving head fixtures. These are positioned roughly halfway down the central tower, one mounted to each of its supporting pillars. Harnessing the power of a 200W cool white LED engine, paired with precision-engineered optics, these compact yet potent fixtures generate a striking beam of intense light. This can be manipulated by a variety of beam shaping tools – including motorized zoom and focus, replaceable rotating GOBOs, an independent colour wheel, and two rotating prisms (5-facet linear and 6-facet circular). At the Bounce Adventure they are used to project static GOBO patterns onto the walls and floor of the cave, to add interest to the swathes of colour created by the wash fixtures, as well as to create aerial beam effects.
“As the moving heads are mounted to the central tower, away from the walls, and we were able to install covers to protect the fixtures from drops of water falling down from the roof, we were able to get away without having to use IP-rated fixtures in this case,” explains Ruud. “I have twelve Focus Spot 4Zs in my rental inventory and am really happy with them, I consider them to be ‘proven technology’, so I was happy to recommend them for Bounce Adventure Valkenburg. The footprint is small but the output is really impressive and it has all the features we needed to create a variety of different looks and effects. I particularly like the selection of GOBOs; each one is usable, which isn’t always the case for moving head spots. Everything considered, I don’t think the Focus Spot 4Z can be beaten in terms of bang for buck.”
To control the system, Ruud and his team supplied and programmed an iPad running ADJ’s Airstream DMX Pro App which connects to the DMX equipment via a 4 STREAM DMX Bridge. This provides the staff operating the attraction a simple interface for selecting from a variety of different pre-programmed looks and effects. At the beginning of each session, the wash lighting is set to bright white so that the whole area is clearly illuminated to allow for a safety briefing. After that, the lighting is used to create a fun atmosphere to enhance visitors’ experience of the attraction.
Featuring a variety of ADJ fixtures, each chosen to perform a specific function, the lighting system at the Attractiepark Kabelbaan Valkenburg Bounce Adventure has been carefully designed to enhance the attraction. Using vibrant washes in contrasting colours, striking GOBO projections and mid-air beam effects it brings the whole area to life, creating a fun and vibrant backdrop that helps to ensure an enjoyable experience for every guest.
