Robe and Anolis illuminate the Cologne Cinedom multiplex cinema

For lighting the glass atrium of the Cologne Cinedom have been used 14 moving heads Robe Long live CMY.

To illuminate the glass atrium of 30 meters high of the Cologne Cinedom multiplex cinema, architectural lighting specialists Kardorff engineers lighting planning They chose Robe moving heads Long live CMY and the floods Led of Anoles.

Cologne Cinedom was inaugurated in 1991 and it is one of the largest cinemas in Germany with more than 3.000 seats and 14 screens, located in the MediaPark in the Neustadt-Nord district of Cologne.

Jan Wichert He was the main lighting designer for the Berlin company Kardorff Ingenieure, to which the venue commissioned the lighting of the atrium. The client already had some ideas about what he wanted, so Jan and his team added their imagination and experience and worked with the interior architects Maas & Partner to create a new versatile facility, contemporary and cost effective.

“The client wanted dynamic lighting that changed atmosphere to adapt to the different films or other events for which the space was used.”, Jan explains., and added that, especially for regular visitors, they wanted to be able to change the environment and the look. Their goal as lighting designers was to make the building look attractive both inside and out..

The atrium had two main architectural features. The first is a four-story high media wall - covering approximately 1.000 square meters-, which was previously painted with images of movie stars throughout history.

Although the architects Maas & Partners had initially raised the idea of ​​projecting images that would transform, This option was also complicated, so they were very open to Kardorff Ingenieure's proposal for a different solution that used moving lights to provide the state change vibrations..

Luminaires for an immersive environment

The idea was to assemble eleven of the 14 Robe Viva CMY luminaires so that they could reach all sections of the wall and, by tilting heads and moving closer/away, could execute patterns and textures throughout the area.

They were also able to cover the second element - the central area of ​​the dome of the main atrium- with the same luminaires and thus transform the entire space into a totally enveloping and different environment for parties, presentations and other times when the atrium is used as an event space.

“We knew what devices we wanted”, Jan comments., having worked with Robe and Anolis luminaires on previous occasions, and for this installation the quality of the white light source was crucial.

They also wanted flexible fixtures that could work architecturally and for events., and they were interested in using a type of moving light throughout the place, both for continuity and to make things easier for the technical team on site.

The wall itself was painted in a gray tone, selected from a list of three possibilities in an on-site mock-up test, ensuring lighting effects have maximum impact.

The Viva CMY was also selected for its rotating triple prism effect, which allows gobo projections to be treated in different and intricate ways, as well as combining them with refined movement chases, allowing for some magical and subtle texture effects. With this idea in mind, some carefully chosen custom gobos installed.

To ensure that the luminaires are in the correct positions to hit the wall and the large dome of the atrium, CMY Viva are mounted on special supports and frames fixed to the existing columns of the building.

Above the atrium is a large dome that was previously painted blue and illuminated with fiber optic devices.. It has now been repainted in a gray color, specially adapted to lighting, and has been illuminated with 12 Anolis spotlights ArcPad 48 RGBW equipped with lenses 26 degrees. “We wanted a completely uniform blanket of light throughout the area”, declares Jan.

The remaining three Viva CMY are fixed to the frame structure, around the columns in positions where they can be shot vertically upward and used to overlay projection effects onto the ArcPad-lit dome.

All ArcPads are attached to the building using hangers around the dome, and the venue has provided the control system for all the atrium lights.

“This project is a good example of how efficiently placed dynamic lighting components can maximally transform a multifunctional space - in terms of perception, mood and use- with the push of a button”, resume Jan.