The Gran Casino Aranjuez is an ambitious project which stands 40 km south of Madrid, in the outskirts of Aranjuez. It has been built by the Spanish company Comar, which owns a chain of 19 casinos all over the world and this is its largest and most prestigious one.Three companies were awarded the project to fit out the casino: Stonex, for the lighting, audio and video systems and Ferrovial and Sigarci for the building and architectural plan.
The structure of the casino has two main areas: the large gaming room and the area for performances. As far as the technical equipment is concerned, the latter area is of particular interest: it is a multifunctional auditorium with a stage measuring 31×7.5 metres and a seating capacity of up to 400, where it is possible to reserve a table for dinner and see theatrical and circus performances by actors and artists of international fame.
There are also four other adjacent multifunctional areas: the particularity is that they can all become communicating with the main auditorium thanks to mobile walls, resulting in one maxi-auditoriumwith a seating capacity of up to 2000!
Outdoor lighting
For the lighting, the project is made up of two distinct parts that can be analysed separately: outdoor lighting and indoor lighting.
The project for the external architectural lighting is by the Lighting Designer Daniel Fayolle, assisted by a team of engineers from Stonex. To liven up the external side-walls, only575W Clay Paky colour changers have been used: 68 CP Color 575 have been installed on special supports created ad hoc, at a distance of about 10 metres from one another. The CP Color 575 are CMY colour changers, with a watertight seal (IP65 protection) which for the occasion have been fitted with special ovalizer filters, to obtain the chromatic effect desired by Fayolle.
34 Stage Zoom 1200 and 12 Alpha Spot 575 have been placed on two levels at the back of the entrance balcony and project images in rotation on the front wall: the logo of the casino, images and promotional phrases and static and moving graphic effects.
The Lighting Designer
Daniel Fayolle is a French Lighting Designer with to his credit great experience in architectural, outdoor and casino lighting.
To illuminate the external walls of the Aranjuez casino, Fayolle made a detailed commercial analysis of all the products available on the market.Of all of them, he put those that seemed to fit his requirements to rigorous tests in the field: the Clay Paky products were the ones that offered the best guarantees of reliability, quality and versatility.
In collaboration with Stonex, the distributor of Clay Paky for Spain, he installed and defined the lighting project, which received the full support of the Chairman of the Casino.
Interior lighting
Stonex dealt with all the aspects relating to fitting out the stage, integrating the mechanical systems, the electrical circuits and the audio and video system. In collaboration with 3D Scénica, it also installed and designed the stage lighting.
The lighting design comprised the use of 12 Stage Zoom 1200 SV, 8 Stage Profile Plus SV, 12 CP Color MH, as well as other fixed theatrical lights. The system was designed in line with the multifunctional character of the premises: the lighting is excellent for everything fromtheatre and musical performances to conventions or an evening of cabaret. Stonex opted for the “Silent Version” models with a moving body to have the guarantee of maximum silence in use, a fundamental requirement for the place where they are installed.
Another 40 projectors from the Point range have been used in the small discotheque on the lower ground floor. In particular, embedded Point IN have been used for the leisure area and the bar, andPoint MH for the lighting of the dance floor.
Technology at all levels
In the area under the stage, Stonex has designed and built the largest spiral platform for stages in the whole of Europe. The platform measures 12×5 m, for a possibility of upward movement of 10 metres,at a variable speed from 0 to 9 metres a minute and for a maximum supported weight of 40 tons.
Stonex has also installed 18 motorised stage bars, most of which with adjustable speed (up to 0.9metres per second), 32 metres long, which can each support a weight of 1500 kg.
The Gran Casino Aranjuez promises to be a new pole of international attraction. Built near an urban area vowed for rapid development (with shopping centres, hotels, a railway station and a golf course planned in the immediate vicinity), it is distinguished by the multiplicity of the offer, including in terms of pure entertainment, the technology and quality in every detail.
Lighting summary
External lighting:
68 CP Color 575
34 Stage Zoom 1200
12 Alpha Spot 575
Theatre lighting:
12 Stage Zoom 1200 SV
8 Stage Profile Plus SV
12 CP Color 400 MH
Discotheque:
48 Point and Point MH