For the long-awaited inauguration of the Elbphilharmonie concert hall located on the
harbour-side in Hamburg, a massive light and video setup was installed. It all
culminated with a spectacular show in the evening of January 11. As a crucial part
of this show, no less than 500 pcs. of P-5 and P-2 wash lights from SGM were
applied.
Hamburg’s new concert hall is one of the largest and most acoustically advanced in
the world. It is popularly nicknamed Elphi. The 108 metres/354 ft. tall building
consists of two sections. The new glassy construction resembles a hoisted sail,
water wave or quartz crystal, which is constructed on top of an old warehouse
building. A terrace placed in middle, ties the new and the old sections together. This
is where most of the P-5s were installed. Furthermore, all balconies on the upper
part were also equipped with P-5s.
The overall concept was thought-out by the global agency, Jung von Matt. Their task
was to visualise the concert taking place inside the opera house on the outside of
the building in real-time. Jerry Appelt was the responsible Lighting Designer that
ensured that the light was synchronized with the music and video content displayed
on the bottom part of the building.
All lighting was supplied by PRG and their Account Manager for the event, Michael
Casper, here explains why they chose to apply P-5s over other wash lights for this
event: “They are water resistant, bright and reliable – that’s why we have a lot of
them. They absolutely live up to all our expectations. The role of the P-5s was to
bathe the new part of the building in deeply saturated colours, changing dynamically
in time with the music. They certainly delivered that – and even more.’
The result of all the different elements coming together as whole truly was a
breath-taking experience.
