Lu Kao Hwa theatre is located in the International Christian School in Hong Kong. Opened in 2007, the theatre is heavily used as the centre of the spiritual and cultural life of the school. The school is a K to 12 liberal arts school, and has chosen to distinguish itself from the other international schools in Hong Kong by excelling the performing arts. The theatre is shared by the four schools and in addition to the normal day to day assemblies and meetings found in a school; the theatre is the venue to multiple choral, orchestral and concert band concerts. In addition the middle school and high school produce 5-6 dramas/musicals per year. Each school also has a weekly chapel with a contemporary worship experience.
The decision to replace the house lights in the theatre came from a concern over the amount of power used by the current lights and the amount of maintenance needed due to the lights overheating.
We started to look into alternative solutions for our house lights to address a these issues. The current lights were fourteen 1000W halogen cyclorama lights. That reflected off the ceiling and also skimmed the side walls. The lights were contained in a recess just above eye height running parallel to the slope of the seating, and consequently there was quite a lot of glare from the lights
Hugh Chinnick of Pacific Lighting (HK) Limited (www.pacificlighting.net) proposed a creative solution of using a single Braq 4C focused on each acoustic ceiling panel as a soft reflector, creating an even diffused light throughout the whole theatre together with the flexibility to change colour depending on the atmosphere required and also the potential of extending the mood on-stage into the auditorium. We replaced the current lights with 20 Rosco Braq Cube 4C fixtures, corresponding to the number of ceiling panels, mounted on a Eutrac single circuit data bus track system. The ability to use track was appealing as it provided an elegant clean way to interconnect the lights while avoiding the tangled mess of wires often found with power and control cables. Chinnick also proposed incorporating Top Hats for each of the cubes to dramatically reduce any glare to the audience. Each fixture comes with a set of three diffusers allowing us to tailor the beam spread for each acoustic panel.
Power savings were significant
The theatre is used a lot during the day by classes and rehearsal. The old design used 14,000W and generated a lot of heat. The new design consisting of 20 Rosco Braq Cube 4C fixtures which use a maximum of 100W each giving only a maximum total of 2000W. In addition the heat generated by the fixtures is is significantly less, and there has been a noticeable improvement in the comfort levels in the theatre as the ambient air temperature remains cooler throughout the day.
Reduced Maintenance
As the old halogen lights were used in an upward orientation their heat flow was not optimal and they were overheating; this meant that they required constant maintenance and bulb changes. With the new fixtures this is not an issue saving maintenance hours, and the need for workmen to access the lights which was difficult as there is not an aisle along the walls requiring the workmen to work over the seating area.
Previously the house lights reflected off the ceiling and also the side acoustic panels. This coloured the light as well as creating an uneven and uncontrolled lighting of the theatre. In the new design light is reflected only off white acoustic panels on the ceiling. This gives a much more dramatic feel to the lights, and the house lights themselves become less of a distraction, allowing them to blend into the the decor of the theatre. Controlling the light significantly also reduces glare for the audience and also allows us to have brighter much house lights before compromising the brightness of our projectors.
We have had very positive comments about the improved brightness and even coverage of the lights. Students love the ability to change the colour of the house lights to match the mood of the evening.
This blog was written at the request of ROSCO, and the published blog can be found here http://www.rosco.com/spectrum/index.php/2016/12/braq-cubes-light-up-the-house-from-below/