The Opium Group, known for its glamorous South Beach clubs, turned a 6,500-square-foot empty space into a Louis XV inspired, over-the-top lounge and relied on modern CHAUVET® LED lighting to illuminate the hot new venue.
Louis Bar-Lounge, designed by noted Miami designer Fransois Frossard, opened in December and is located on the ground level of the Gansevoort South, a luxury beachfront hotel and spa.
Todd Small, a lighting technician and designer with The Opium Group said the company wanted to give the illusion of taller ceilings. "Most clubs have 14-foot ceilings," he said. "Here, with the 8-foot height, we even mirrored the ceilings to make this space grander."
Len Rowe, also an Opium lighting director who worked on the project, said the solution proved to be CHAUVET® MiN™ Spots and Vue™ VIs because they offered the right intensity for the venue’s size and height requirements. He added that the lights were bright, but not overwhelming as a 575-watt lamp-fitted fixture would be in the club-lounge. "A number of my design friends came through here and said they loved the lights," he said.
The club ordered 32 CHAUVET® MiN™ Spots, whose compact size allowed flush mounting some of the spots where the ceiling was taller. The remainder was suspended in channels between the ductwork that runs the length of the ceiling. Suspending all MiN™ Spots allowed beams to bounce off the mirrored tiles, Small said.
While heat wasn’t necessarily a factor, he said, some patrons can easily reach up and touch the fixtures. "A discharge light would create heat and that would be a big issue because the lamp could burn them," he said. Because the MiN™ Spots are fitted with LEDs, heat and potential burns are a non issue.
"I’ve been aware of CHAUVET® for quite some time, but it was the MiN™ Spots that were exciting to me," he said.
"I think they look good; they are small, lightweight and fit well into nooks and crannies," he added. The Vue™ VI LED moonflower effect lights intermingle with the MiN™ Spots and splash the floor with red, green and blue colored dotted patterns.
Louis Bar-Lounge offers all the glamour and luxury that the A-list celebrity crowd has come to expect. But Opium added another novelty -- a mid-18th century Parisian decadence theme. The lounge, which can accommodate up to 425 patrons, is a hit with a nightly waiting list.
The entryway leads to the first of two bars that features a life-size marble bust of one of the club owners. The adjacent seating area features sleek modern couches and cocktail tables with built-in gold-colored champagne chillers. Flush-mounted MiN™ Spots sweep the room with rich red, green and blue gobo effects.
What could have been just a hallway between the two bar areas was converted into more seating. Couches create private and cozy conversation areas along one wall. On the opposite wall, covered in fleur-de-lis motifs, several pairs of Louis XV chairs upholstered in silk leopard print await patrons.
The second bar is just ahead with its own intimate seating area. The focal point of this area is a floor-to-ceiling glass panel containing an etched passage by the controversial 18th century French writer Marquis De Sade. More channel-mounted MiN™ Spots and Vue™ VIs saturate the floor and furniture with color.
Also in this area is an elevated DJ booth where up-and-coming DJs mix electro pop and rock sounds for the crowds. While there is no dance floor per se, said Rowe "People dance throughout the entire lounge."
Small said he likes the sleek MiN™ Spot fixtures so much that he ordered two dozen more for another Opium Group nightclub. The switch from incandescent to LED lighting is also due to cost effectiveness and to management’s adoption of a green energy policy.
to the top
All rights reserved