Flexibility is woven into the very fabric of Action, a new 15-story office complex owned by Action Mediagroup, that combines advanced technology and ultra-modernistic architectural concepts with sustainable, ecological design features that bring its occupants closer to nature in the very heart of the city. This is clear for all to see every summer, when much of the building’s stunning latticed exterior is covered with climbing plants.
Inside its walls, the impressive tower continues to strike a harmonious balance between varying needs, offering a seamless blend of efficiency and comfort. Reflective of this design concept is the building’s versatile, multi-media event space, which is perfectly suited to host business meetings and entertainment functions with equal ease and style.
Helping the 150-capacity space fill its varied roles is a powerful and versatile lighting system. Installed by system integrator AFFLO, this rig features 32 CHAUVET Professional fixtures supplied by A&T Trade, including 16 Rogue R1X Wash and 12 ÉPIX Strip Tour 50 pixel mapping strips.
“This venue was designed primarily for conferences involving video production and photography. This is why we have chosen low noise, high CRI and flicker-free fixtures,” explained Gregory Frolkin, Senior Technical Specialist with A&T Trade. “The fixtures’ animation features were also important. The Épix 50’s pixel-mapping features with their ability to handle motion graphics enabled us to make our lighting design here even more versatile and creative.”
Versatility and the ability to support myriad creative options were critically important to the team when putting this space’s rig together, as they sought to combine a spectacular interior lighting design with a theatrical lighting vibe
“The lighting rig we have designed is not only able to provide the venue with even, high-quality warm white lighting, but also spice it up with an unlimited choice of colours and dynamics,” elaborated Frolkin. “We were also looking for compact fixtures. In addition, since the venue was built to last for years, it was important for the lighting rig to be covered with a superior warranty program.”
This view is shared by Anastasia Skliarova, the head of the Action Mediagroup Webinar Department, who pointed to examples of why it is so important: “One of the main advantages of our venue is that we can easily set any lighting color we might need,” she observed. “The other day when we were filming a video, we lit the walls with various colours and created a background that looked absolutely stunning! Also a few days ago we hosted an architectural event for one of our partners; they said they had never seen an event space like this before. Especially taking into account that it’s a part of our office building, the venue is very rich indeed, both technologically and visually. Not only does it look fantastic, it’s also very user-friendly.”
The entire lighting rig is mounted on four rows of poles. All lighting fixtures, mounts and even cables have been repainted to match the colour of the ceiling to create a look in sync with the concept of the building’s design.
“According to the concept created by the client’s designer, both the ceiling and the walls were supposed to be white – just like the rest of the spaces in the building,” said Igor Kirillov, AFFLO Director. “More than that, according to this design project, the ceiling had to be absolutely clear of any gear. The question is: how is it possible at all if there is a lot of gear to be mounted, such as air conditioning, sound reinforcement, lighting rig and so on? We have found a workaround by choosing compact fixtures and repainting them to match the ceiling colour. This way we have managed to keep the ceiling white and seamless, so it does not look overloaded with gear at all,”
In addition to its lighting system, the new event space is fully equipped with sound reinforcement, video production, playback and streaming systems. Behind the doors of a small server room is a tall two-sided rack stand filled with processors controlling all the systems of the venue. “It’s unbelievable, but a single operator can easily handle all systems with a touch of a button,” said Skliarova. “The new multi- purpose venue is amazingly user-friendly. That was another key point that set this option apart.”
All systems of the venue are controlled via Crestron software. “Usually, setups like this are controlled via a professional mixing desk, meaning, three desks would be required to manage all the systems in this venue: one for video, another one for sound, and one for lighting, “ Frolkin. “Consequently, three operators would be needed. However, we have come up with a different solution for this event space. Everything is controlled via a tablet with a user-friendly GUI designed for this very venue. To simplify the lighting control for the client, we have installed three Visual Productions QuadCore processors, that provide 6,144 channels in total, and are synchronized via the network and operate as a complete system.”
Using this system, the Action Mediagroup Webinar Department team is able to support a broad array of events in a way that makes it appear as if the room was designed just for that particular type of function! That achievement is in keeping with the ethos of this remarkable building; and a tribute to how it has been able to balance old and new, natural and technical, in ways that create a unique and unforgettable experience for all.
