James Thomas PixelPAR 90 (A) architectural LED fixtures have been installed to illuminate the upstairs function room at Oran Mor, Glasgow’s new and funky arts and entertainment center, set in an nineteenth-century church. The room’s 12.5m ceiling features a breathtaking mural by artist Alasdair Gray, and is the largest piece of public art in Scotland.
During Oran Mor’s two-year £6 million redesign, LD Svend Pedersen created create a special scheme to highlight Gray’s intricate work on the ceiling, that would also to illuminate the unique space. Pedersen’s final design retains all the original arches, stained glass and rose windows, stonework, gargoyles, and revealed structural roof girders, and has its own energy and atmosphere.
Working in such a beguiling space, Pedersen needed to create a very magical and dynamically lit environment, and he immediately thought of using PixelPARS. "The peculiar quality and sheer strength and vibrancy of the light output was exactly what I wanted," he says of the PARs.
Aside from the more artistic reasons for specifying the Pixel range, there were also many practical considerations. The fixtures had to be located along the roof beams and up in the apex in the ceiling, and were largely inaccessible once fitted, so Pedersen was attracted to the little maintenance the PARs require. At one point, the designers contemplated installing moving trusses to bring lights in and out for maintenance, but found this unnecessary due to their long lamp life.
The availability of such a wide range of lenses for the James Thomas PixelPAR, which can shape the beam definition from a tightly focused collimated beam to a wide flood, also appealed to Pedersen. Since the function room is used for quiet events like weddings or poetry readings, Pedersen benefited low-noise of the PixelPARs. The lights are also discreet and imperceptible to people using the space.
The function room can be bathed in millions of color combinations at the touch of a button; or the ceiling can be highlighted and energized into a multi-dimensional canvas; or the PixelPARs can be used in conjunction with the conventional practical environmental lights.
The 14 PixelPAR 90 (A)s are controlled via a Hog PC and a playback wing, and are looked after by Oran Mor’s house technician Duncan Taylor.
The Pixel installation has been such a success that Pedersen has designed an external illumination scheme to be completed in the next 2 months that uses more PixelPARs, the brand new PixelPAR daylight temperature tungsten white fixture, plus some small white Pixel fixtures to highlight details of the building’s incredible architecture.
Open just a few weeks, Oran Mor has been a massive success already. The function room is being used for diverse events, including comedy nights, band showcases, and private functions.