TridonicAtco SpaceLED - flexible chains create dynamic effects

In the Ster Century multiplex cinema in Thessaloniki the blockbusters are not the only reason for excitement. TridonicAtco has stage-lit the entire multiplex, placing the exciting architecture in a much better light. It starts at the box office and goes way beyond the illuminated steps in the cinema.

Visitors to the multiplex cinema in Thessaloniki, Greece's second largest city, get a lot more than "just" a movie. The multiplex contains eight screens, including a VIP cinema and an outdoor cinema for warm summer evenings. With the assistance of project manager Yaron Frame of Frame International (UK), lighting expert Thomas M. Gravanis of L+DG lighting consultants and on-site technical support from 2kappa Ltd., TridonicAtco has bathed this cinema in bright LED light.

Changing Lights
The atmosphere is constantly in flux. The box office area and the cafe are alternately bathed in violet, pink, and magenta. These colours are repeated at the sales counters and bar tables and continue in the vertical opal covers on the bar stools. The spots above the bar tables create brilliant effects for the glasses and bottles. Downlights in cardan mountings provide a counterpoint to this riot of colour and emphasise the aisles and seating areas.

The two rectangular pillars in the foyer also fight for attention. Behind their transparent membrane, they shine alternately in white and aquamarine. Round Ledos lights from Zumtobel, integrated in the floor, illuminate the pillars with blue LED lights. Similar downlights also create colourful accent lighting at the entrances to the cinemas.

A Space Odyssey
The corridors to the cinemas are lit in blue. A total of 550 metres of spaceLED chains with LED P602 modules were installed by TridonicAtco. To ensure that the modules, with six blue high-flux LED lights with COB technology, would not overpower the rest of the lighting, this system had to be dimmed and operated at about 40% output. The LED modules are controlled by four LED K210 converters and 110 LED C004 PWM boosters.

In the cinema, a low-voltage system concealed in the suspended ceiling and comprising cold cathodes tubes in red and blue provides colours sequences to get the audience in the right mood for the film. Just as the cinema goes dark, slim uplights fitted with low-voltage halogen lamps illuminate the walls from floor level. TridonicAtco has also thought about safety. Anyone wanting to leave the cinema during the film can easily find their way out thanks to LED strips along the steps.