The Black Diamond cultural centre in Copenhagen turned to GDS, the Bristol-based lighting specialists, to install a sustainable lighting solution, on the advice of its local integrator.
The Black Diamond cultural centre is a modern waterfront extension to the old Royal Danish Library building housing a number of public facilities, centred around its top-lit atrium. One of the main features of the centre is The Queen’s Hall, a 600-seat auditorium used for a variety of events ranging from classical and jazz concerts to literary events and conferences.
The hall’s acoustic modelling allows for sound reinforcement that can be adjusted to the specific requirements of the type of music being played. However, the existing lighting system hindered classical music performance due to the noise it generated. Lighting designer Hans Henrik Schmidt of Bico Professional was approached and as GDS’s supplier in Denmark was confident that a solution could be found.
Over the course of just two working days the old fixtures were removed and more than 100 ArcSystem fixtures, wirelessly controlled through GDS’s ArcMesh protocol, were installed on 3-phase Eurotrack system.
Henrik Schmidt, explained: “For more than 10 years the customer and I had tried to find a lighting system that could meet both the technical and visual demands of The Queen’s Hall and that search ended with ArcSystem. The customer is delighted with the outcome. The fact that the cost of the installation can be offset against huge savings in energy consumption adds even greater value. GDS offered great support and responded quickly and efficiently to customise some of the fixtures and offer assistance with any issues that arose. When we completed the work, we were able to congratulate each other on a job well done.”
Matt Lloyd, MD of GDS, commented: “It’s hugely gratifying that not only is ArcSystem fulfilling its brief at The Queen’s Hall but that at a stroke, overcame issues that had for so long prevented the venue from being used to its full potential. It was very important to the customer that in overcoming the inherent problems caused by the existing halogen system, the visual integrity of the hall remained unaltered. By customising some of the ArcSystem fixtures we were able to achieve this and so deliver all the stated aims of the system. The Queen’s Hall is now in shape to fully exploit the full range of its facilities and is of course enjoying huge cost savings in respect of its energy consumption.”
