Jands has supplied a major part of the lighting systems for Hamer Hall at the heritage listed Arts Centre Melbourne. Hamer Hall is the concert hall within the Arts Centre Melbourne, one of the largest and busiest performing arts complexes in the southern hemisphere.
The AUD$135.8 million redevelopment of Hamer Hall was part of a larger revitalisation project for Arts Centre Melbourne and the first step in the Southbank Cultural Precinct Redevelopment plan. The project was overseen by theatre consultants Schuler Shook, and designed by architects Ashton Raggatt McDougall.
Jands supplied much of the venue's lighting including 20 Vari-Lite VLXs, 28 ETC Desire D40 Vivid LED Pars, and over 50 ETC Source Fours.
Adrian Sterritt, head of lighting at the Melbourne venue explains that the VLX Wash luminaires were chosen following a shoot-out between the Vari-Lite fixtures and other brands. Criteria such as speed, quality of light and operation modes in the lighting fixtures were considered with the VLX Wash zoom coming out ahead as its quality of light was similar to what they were familiar with while the colours were more suited to their desired colour palette. The green credentials of the brand were also an advantage.
One of the key decision drivers for the Hamer Hall technical team when choosing lighting fixtures for their new venue was the ability of the VLX Wash to colour match with conventional luminaires. According to Sterritt, lighting designers love them as the fixtures have a lot of punch, especially with the saturated LED colours, in addition to producing the more subtle pastel hues required in a theatre environment.
The ETC Desire D40 Vivid LED Pars were chosen primarily for their colour range, which Adrian explains better suits the theatre environment palette. Not only do the Desire D40 Vivid luminaires give Adrian a broad colour range for spectrally-balanced saturated and tinted light, they feature no-noise, fan-free convection-cooling for acoustically sensitive installations such as Hamer Hall.
The ETC Source Fours supplemented the stock already owned by the Arts Centre. Adrian comments that the ETC Source Four is a standard tool in performance and architectural use across the globe, as they come with a wide range of useful accessories and lenses combined with high reliability.
Ten Chroma-Q Color Force 72 LED battens were installed to ensure smooth and even coverage across large areas. With their smooth washing effect, even colour mixing, and lack of hotspots, the Chroma-Q Color Force 72 LED battens are ideal for diverse applications, ranging from subtle hues for theatre and opera lighting to vibrant effects for live events.
