Illuminating Africa’s Largest Shopping Mall

October 2000 saw the auspicious opening of the Canal Walk complex in Cape Town, South Africa, the largest shopping mall on the continent and a magnet that drew a million shoppers in its first 3 weeks.

Putting it all together took 3 years of planning and the expertise of some of South Africa’s best architects, engineers and lighting experts.

The all-important lighting installation was entrusted to a team drawn from Electrosonic SA and Paul Pamboukian and Associates.

Chosen for his ‘different’ approach, Lighting Consultant Paul Ramboukian was tasked to create something theatrical that would not detract from the Classical and Victorian themes of the architecture.

Considering the sheer variety of events staged at Canal Walk, Paul felt that intelligent lighting was ‘an absolute must’.

Electrosonic SA supplied and programmed the Martin lighting package which included: 12 Martin Pro 918s, 20 Martin MAC 500s, 12 Martin MAC 600s, 12 Martin MiniMAC Profiles, 16 Martin Pro 400s, 18 Martin switch packs, 2 Light Jockey Club versions, and 1 Light Jockey DJ.

“One aspect of the installation that has really proved invaluable is the flexibility of the rig”, said Paul. “A particular rig may be constructed for one event and then be very easily changed to accommodate another at very short notice”.

Commenting on the size of the project, Duncan Riley from Electrosonic said, ” It was just very big – double, almost triple the size of anything we’d worked on before.”

“In terms of entertainment this is a first”, added Paul. “It is more than just a shopping centre. It is ultimately theatre entertainment.”