Led by the systems integration team at Barbizon Australia, the Abbotsleigh boarding school renovation project has upgraded the house lighting systems in the concert hall using Chalice LED 150W downlights from Altman Lighting.
Paul Lewis, Systems Sales Director for Barbizon Australia, said: “The overall scope involved upgrading the fixtures to LED and updating the associated control systems as well. Stage one was previously comprised of installing Altman PHX 250W LED profiles in a few difficult to service front-of-house positions, along with Spectra Cyc 100 LED fixtures installed in the main assembly hall and the concert hall. Stage two was now being able to replace the existing house and work lighting fixtures in the concert hall with the new Chalice LED.”
He continued: “For the replacement of the house lights in the concert hall, the main challenges were needing to utilise both the existing house light positions and the existing power infrastructure, including dimmers and mounting methods. Additionally, we had the challenge of accessing the overhead concrete slab that would prevent the installation of any new DMX infrastructure. The fittings needed to dim smoothly on mains power, plus be able to be suspended from the existing penetrations in the slab. The Chalice LED downlights were ideal for this type of job, and since we are the Altman distributors for Australia, it was a natural choice.”
Needing the lighting system to operate efficiently within the control protocols already in place, the Chalice LED down lights offered a powerful yet simple, retrofitted lighting solution. “There are now 24 Chalice 150W Mains Dim 2700K luminaires suspended on aircraft cable in a one-for-one replacement of the tungsten fixtures from the original build,” added Paul. “They are all being dimmed via the existing dimming system, and they are easily controlled by either the architectural, A/V, or stage lighting control system.”
The new house lighting system inside the concert hall at Abbotsleigh is providing performance capabilities and design aesthetics desired. Paul concluded: “With its single source and reflector optic, plus its clean and simple lines, the Chalice downlight allows a venue to upgrade to LED lighting using their existing infrastructure and conventional dimming, or allows a venue to control via DMX, or a combination of both. Also, the optional dimming curves available on the DMX model allow for a very smooth dimming that replicates very closely the smoothness of a fade on a tungsten lamp, minus the color shift of course.”
