The Printworks entertainment and leisure complex in Manchester features a 1,000 sq m LED ceiling screen – the largest in Europe. The project was overseen by multi-disciplinary consultancy Cundall, which brought Pharos Architectural Controls on board to specify and supply the control element of lighting that works in harmony with the animated ceiling. The brief evolved from a white-light solution with no colour-changing fixtures to a fully dynamic and immersive show including RGBW fixtures.
Each piece of video content on the ceiling has a unique lighting sequence that runs parallel to the visuals. The lighting effects are achieved by deploying a Pharos Designer LPC 4 alongside two Designer RIO D devices. These deliver the feature lighting for the internal mural, working in harmony with a set of gobo projectors.
The LPC has been designed for delivering fully customisable pre-programmed lighting effects, as it features individually controllable and independently running timelines and scenes. The Designer RIO D provides a convenient and scalable way to control DALI fixtures and ballasts from a Pharos Designer control system. Each RIO D supports a single DALI bus, which can be used as an output for control and as an input for triggering.
The entire Printworks site is connected to Pharos Cloud to provide simple and secure remote lighting control and management from any internet-connected device. Systems integrator Experience Lighting designed the control system and provided support to electrical contractors Performance Electrical, which carried out the onsite works and provided the hardware. The digital ceiling was installed by AV specialist ADI, which animated the content in collaboration with CGI, animation and visual-effects specialist Flipbook Studios.
Ryan Sainsbury, regional sales manager for the UK and northern Europe at Pharos Architectural Controls, said: “The addition of this vast digital ceiling has brought Manchester Printworks to life. It’s drawing in the crowds to this entertainment spot and is a visual that must be seen to be truly appreciated. “Effects like these can only be achieved with impeccable synchronisation of lighting and video content.
The solutions from Pharos are ideally placed to deliver this, as they provide everything needed for this large-scale, dynamic AV show.”.
