Chandelier – Coliseum Theatre – WestHQ

Provide a focal point for the entry of a theatre, a space over twenty metres high, entered at mid-level, required a bold yet balanced solution. The space has strong, clean lines and the challenge was to present a consistent form when the chandelier was seen from multiple veiwing levels & angles. The feature had to be consistent across its length, of sufficient volume to fill the large three level void , whilst being transparent enough to not heavily impose on the space. The form had to diffuse and reflect daylight and at night respond to variable lighting effects with minimal glare & maintenance.

The team examined various forms & materials, lighting & cabling systems in developing a solution that would look different by day and night yet not appeared flawed if a lamp failed. Light emitting, diffusing and refracting elements where considered before we settled on using traditional traditional crystal elements. We experimented and modelled various sizes & combinations to arrive at the selected solution and chose to downlight the crystals. By varying the angles of the downlights, their colour and sequencing we are able to light the bar below, the chandelier itself and the space surrounding it. The solution offers thousands of settings & effects.

The chandelier was less than 0/1% of the cost of the entire project and was considered a luxury during the projects concept phases. The client now considers the expenditure a bargain due to its appearance and the contribution it makes to the visitor experience.

The design was based around using the minimum size cystals with the maximum possible spacings to minimise material use and cost. 90% of materials ( by weight) are recyclable. The lighting is programmed to NOT operate during daylight hours as the building design allows daylight to reveal the chandlier durng the day. During the night the lighting levels ar kept to a minimum and run times are limited to customer attendance times.