Roland Greil Lighting Design installs impression FR1, FUSION X-PAR 12Z, impression X4 Bar and KNV Cube

Back in September last year, a creative pop-up location for MINI was created for interim use in a department store in Stachus, in Munich city centre. The technical planning for the temporary project was created by NIYU GmbH, on whose behalf Roland Greil Lighting Design took over the lighting design and planning.

Associate lighting designer and planner Michael Kuehbandner specified 315 GLP luminaires to provide lighting for the multi-purpose rooms. Fifty-five FUSION X-PAR 12Z, 108 impression FR1 TM, 54 impression X4 Bar 20 and 14 KNV Cube – all of which are from GLP – were installed.

This was not an easy project, as Michael Kuehbandner recalls: “The lighting had to be attached to suspended ceilings without using the existing cabling in the false ceilings. The glass sprinkler system, which is also located in the false ceilings, was not permitted to be damaged under any circumstances.

“Since there were only imprecise building plans, or none at all, the project remained in progress for a long time. In fact the biggest challenge was to continuously update the creative, budgetary and technical plans over a period of around three months and to continuously coordinate them with all those involved. Since this was also a listed building, we were dealing with a complex fire safety situation.”

Effect light and all-purpose utility on the power rail

Installed on the ceiling, the extremely compact GLP moving lights, with RGBW colour mixing and super-fast 1:10 zoom, serve as front and back lighting for artist positions. However, the majority of the fixtures are used in the club area as effect lighting for the dance floor and as all-purpose in various areas to highlight architectural elements.

“I like the high light output and quality of light in this handy form factor and relatively low weight,” says Kuehbandner. “With the fast zoom and continuous pan rotation, beautiful effects can be achieved when the lamps hang freely from the ceiling.”

However, controlling it via WDMX was quite a challenge in the low room with a metal ceiling – especially since there are over 250 other WDMX devices in the building. “The colleagues from [technical service provider] AMBION did a top job here by dividing the floors into individual radio cells and thereby achieving completely trouble-free operation,” emphasises the designer.

“The installation was extremely well received by the customer, and we and our client NIYU are also 100% satisfied with the result. We succeeded in transforming a former department store into a first-class event location and not only thrilled visitors, but also artistically ‘deceived’ them – for example in an installation on the first floor, where we created subtle lighting and colour changes with the impression X4 Bars. The room itself, the striking colours, and the typography on the wall constantly transform to such an extent that it challenges the visitor to ask where the room begins and where it ends.”

Roland Greil Lighting Design implemented this project as a cooperation within the 360° Collective, which includes Roland Greil and NIYU GmbH. The goal of the 360° Collective is to offer customers tailored turnkey solutions for their respective projects that combine creation and production. Behind the 360° Collective are a number of internationally successful and proven partners from the creative and technical trades, who have been working together on ambitious projects around the globe for years.