Robe and Anolis bring cities to life at Russian World Expo Pavilion, Shanghai

Date Announced: 08 Nov 2010 Over 100 Robe moving lights and 500 Anolis LED fixtures were supplied by Moscow based Light Sound Contractor(LSC) for the "Colorful Neighborhoods for a Better City” area of the Russian Federation Pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo. The stunning lighting design and sophisticated lighting, sound and video control for this award winning pavilion were engineered by LSC’s Denis Lyapunov and Alexey Pereverzev based on a concept from leading Russian set and scenic designer Boris Krasnov, who created the general design of the Russian Federation Pavilion.Over the course of the Expo which ran May to October, the Russian Pavilion was one of the most popular out of over 200 exhibits, seeing a total of 7.5 million visitors pass through the double storey environment. The Pavilion's themes and individual expositions were based on "New Russia: Cities & People" reflecting the transformation of urban communities, the potential of Russian cities and their relationships with neighbouring communities.The main subject of the 'City of Talents' area took the statement 'The best city is the one where children are happy' as its starting point, recognizing that today's children will shape the appearance and substance of future cities. The resulting "Colorful Neighborhoods for a Better City” exposition was located around the perimeter of the Pavilion’s central area, consisting of a massive curling walk-through section starting on the second floor. This magical and enchanted space was also designed by Boris Krasnov.It followed an all-Russian schools competition to illustrate what the best cities of the future might look like. Ideas were selected from 300 pieces submitted by 50 schools of arts and paint shops from across Russia. The dramatic theatrical setting included classic scenic fairytale castles, giant fruits and flowers, windmills, etc. juxtaposed with modern video booths and interactive exhibits highlighting young ideas about town planning, urban development and how cities can be enjoyed and also play a vital part in building communities and commerce. The highly imaginative lighting scheme enhanced the magical aura of the space and helped it 'come alive' as a stimulating and enjoyable section of the exhibition. The Robe and Anolis equipment was all supplied by LSC who are a major distributor of both brands. The account manager was Dennis Lyapunov, and the company also supervised the lighting installation in Shanghai, which was co-ordinated by one of their chief engineers, Alexey Pereverzev over the course of a month. The installation itself was done by Moscow based production company, Laser Kinetics.Inside the Pavilion, a massive trussing ground support structure ran all the way around the perimeter of the building on 2 levels – high up and halfway up – and the majority of the lighting fixtures were rigged onto this. The roof was supported by 3 giant metal structural cylinders, integrated into the set design thereby becoming part of the attraction. Each of these had a circular truss running around its top to facilitate the hanging of additional lighting and sound equipment.Additional mid level lighting rigging points were provided by the balcony on the outside of the walkway that curved around the central atrium of the pavilion. Guests started at the top and wound their way downwards, towards a complex water feature full of outsized water lilies at the bottom.The 122 moving lights were a combination of Robe’s ColorSpot and ColorWash 700E ATs - dotted all around the space illuminating all elements of the complex set in rich and vibrant colours. Robe's 700 Series fixtures were specified for their convenient size, extreme brightness and host of features and effects.The numerous Anolis LED elements – a mix of ArcLine Outdoor Optic, ArcSource Outdoor 36 RGB, ArcLink Optic 3, ArcLink 3 RGB, ArcSource Outdoor 6 RGB and ArcPad 48 RGBW fixtures plus associated ArcPower drivers were fixed to both levels of the ground support. They were also embedded in the floor and around the bases of the different scenic sections, and in some cases inbuilt into the set pieces themselves.The ArcLines provided a powerful base wash coverage around the exterior walls of the exposition, setting the general scene for the attraction. The set and lighting had a massive impact, working symbiotically to attract people into the Pavilion and retain their attention in a lively, engaging and accessible space. A custom control system was devised by LSC to integrate lighting, sound and video.Alexey Pereverzev designed a centralized control system based on ArtNet and other IP protocols allowing lighting, sound and video to be controlled together (including power control) via internet from anywhere in the world. To see exactly what was being controlled at any time, 7 cameras were installed on the venue. This was needed as LSC staff were only present during the set up, so they needed to be able to control all technical elements from Moscow and elsewhere.Lighting consumed 10 DMX universes, some being sent to other parts of the pavilion, and media servers were also part of this system. During the set up Pereverzev worked closely with Robe's technical department as it was the biggest ArtNet based installation of Robe lights worldwide to date. The Robe/Anolis brands were selected in a tender from VVC, Russia’s National Exhibition company because of their flexibility, quality and robustness, plus the fact that they are good value products with excellent service and support.The lighting for "Colorful Neighborhoods for a Better City” was programmed to morph between 'night' and 'day' scenes over a 10 minute period throughout the Pavilion’s opening hours of 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. (14 hours daily) 7 days a week. All lighting was run via a Road Hog Full Boar console, with a Hog iPC for backupThe total overall visitor figures for the 2010 World Expo, Shanghai, were a record breaking 73 million.The Russian Pavilion won a silver prize for 'Theme Development' and 'The Best Subject Interpretation' among the largest pavilions exceeding 4,000 square metres.

Contact
Robe lighting or Anolis Louise Stickland +44 (0)1865 202679 +44 (0)7831 329888 or Product and general information www.robe.cz +420 571 751 500

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