The SFERA restaurant is a prestigious multi-functional environment which is part of the Tower-2000 project inside the MOSCOW CITY Business Centre in Moscow. It occupies the ground and first floor of the tower, and with its enormous glass surfaces, it gives the impression of lifting the tower from the ground. The internal layout of the restaurant, that the architect has divided into a combination of rooms, areas and corridors arranged on different levels, is extremely atypical, and constitutes a complex intersection of figures and profiles realized in shiny stainless steel, thick plates of glass, luminous columns.
At the centre of the entire composition there is the decorative element called the “Globe.” The metallic scaffolding of the globe is found on a glass bridge that connects the two balconies of the first level of the restaurant, and gives the impression that the globe is hovered in the air. Above it, an enormous metal cone rises upwards, at the base of which there is a support ring that makes it possible to fix the lighting system. Another original element of the fittings is represented by the luminous “river” inserted into the floor on the first level, which opens in depth the space of the lower room.
The technical lighting project
The technical-lighting project and its realization were finalised by”DOKA Media”, thanks to its pluriennial experience on the Russian market of technical lighting.
The complexity of the plan was determined, to begin with, by the internal architecture of the restaurant, that was very high (in just one room there are two rooms for guests), with two side glass walls. Furthermore it was necessary to elaborate and realize the project when the rooms hadalready been completed, without the possibility to intervene on the finishings, to assemble further support structures or to fix elements to the existing fittings. A further problem was represented by the necessity to choose products for illumination that could be used, not only when the area would be used as a restaurant, but also on occasion of shows or events of other types: presentations, seminars, concerts, dances. The main purpose of the project consisted in integrating the technical lighting solutions into the environment, creating an active interaction that at the same time had a certain harmony.
The most famous designers and lighting designers from all over the world were invited to collaborate as consultants on this project. Despite their multiple experiences and the use of techniques already used in other projects, they nevertheless had to completely re-interpret many aspects of the project resorting to new approaches and new technological solutions.
As the base of the technical lighting project, projectors with Clay Paky Stage Zoom 1200, Golden Spot 1200 effects were used further to the Clay Paky Golden Color 1200 washlight. The choice of these 1200 Watt projectors was dictated by the architectural features and the layout of the room, that had rather wide dimensions and a very high density – that we could almost define as a” viscosity “– of the structures to be illuminated, or even to be pierced with light. The walls were also usedas projection screens.
The high reliability levelof the Clay Paky products, their possibility to work in any position, as well as the use of long-lasting lamps, made it possible to position the projectors extremely high up, that is at the top level of the side walls and on the side shelves under the bridge, in the centre of the room. Using the Clay Paky projectors, it was also possible to achieve notable savings on maintenance costs. Their capability of projecting luminous graphics, using a multiplicity of gobo, makes it possible, when necessary, to change the aspect of the surfaces and the other internal architectural elements, resorting to an extremely wider range of lighting solutions. The graphic potential of the projectors is increased in fact by the rotating prisms, that confer volume and movement to the image. The atmosphere comes to life, the aspect of the surfaces can be coloured, modified, enriched in a dynamic way and at the desired speed, as foreseen by the project of the Lighting Designer. The unlimited number of combinations of the different colours, of special effects, gobo and prisms of these projectors provides an incredibly vast range of creative choices.
Furthermore the Stage Zoom 1200 and the Golden Color 1200 are projectors with a CMY trichromatic system, that allows you to create the most varied tones of colour in gradual sequence achieving the entire chromatic spectrum with intense or pastel shades.
To conclude, a special apparatus was installed which is capable of creating a series of rays which continuously change and form fractal images. The projection of these rays on the complex three-dimensional structures of the Sfera restaurant Sphere has subsequently made it possible to widen the range of instruments at the disposal of the Lighting Designer.
All the lighting products are managed from a LightMaster Controller control unit: a lighting operator has programmed in loco the special light sequences, aimed at creating in the environment a wide range of moods and situations, to emphasise the right emotional participation for a large variety of events: presentations, shows, exhibitions, or a simple dinner in company. This control panel is easy to use and it also allows personnel without special training to reproduce a lighting show synchronized to music.
Therefore, the flow of a soft light creates a pleasant atmosphere, that predisposes relaxation, but the guests at the restaurant can move from the computer graphics to tropical jungles, to admire the northern lights and to listen to the depth and the immensity of cosmic space. Sfera is an attractive and mutable space, capable of providing any situation that one desires, and the increasing popularity of the restaurant confirms the validity of the adopted technological solutions.
Technical data – Lighting:
4 Stage Zoom 1200
4 Golden Spot 1200
8 Golden Color 1200