Western Australia’s Burswood Resort

Western Australia´s tourism, hospitality and leisure industries have received a major boost with Burswood International Resort implementing a major upgrade of its Resort facilities.

The project is the biggest redevelopment of the Resort since its inception in December 1985 and involves new restaurants and nightclub and ballroom, as well as upgrades to the rooms.

The atrium area of the resort has also been refurbished with the addition of commercial retail areas. As the atrium is housed under a large glass dome the resort management were concerned about heat gain and light glare in the area. Architects Silver Thomas Hanley decided to address this problem by hanging large perforated reinforced PVC sails internally over the atrium thus providing heat and sun control to the lower areas of the atrium.

PVC sails ideal canvas for colored light

"The atrium is approximately nine stories high and it faces north-east so there was a real glare problem that had to be dealt with," says Silver Thomas Hanley. "The sails have achieved our design intent very successfully."

The sails, designed and manufactured by Membrane Structures, are suspended by wire cable strung off existing steelwork back to the balustrades and concrete area of the hotel. The resulting effect is that the sails appear to be floating in mid air.

From the beginning of the design process, Silver Thomas Hanley were aware that the sails would make an ideal canvas for colored light.

"As the sails are of a significant size the idea of coloring them or using them to project logos on to was immediately obvious," says Silver Thomas Hanley. "The project was quite complex but it actually went remarkably smoothly. We are extremely happy with the result and, most importantly, so is our client. We would most certainly consider this type of lighting creativity in future projects."

Lighting consultant Kevin Harris of Pro Design was commissioned to design and implement the sail lighting. "Kevin created the lighting concept for the sails which provided the required results for the client and for us," says Silver Thomas Hanley. "The final result is very close to the effects originally conceived and documented by computer simulations during the design phase."

Exterior 600 chosen for aesthetics and functionality

Essential to the project were six Martin Exterior 600 fixtures used to light the lower level sails. "The Exterior 600´s were chosen for their aesthetic appeal as well as functionality," said Kevin Harris, Managing Director of Pro Design. "As they are fixed and visible to the public, it was important to use a fixture that had no external moving parts because they could be reached by inquisitive fingers!"

Two Exterior 600´s are fixed to a pillar in the lounge, two are mounted on the concierge baggage storage area and two more are mounted over the cocktail bar. The Exterior fixtures were supplied through Show Technology, Martin’s Australian distributor.

"As we commissioned the Exterior 600´s we found they were flexible to configure and worked nicely," said Kevin. "They come on each evening at a predetermined time and have an automatic setting which staggers the start up sequence. We´re not using all the features of the units although I could certainly see them working well outdoors particularly as they are totally self-contained. They really don´t need any control system, but because of the site conditions we´re using a combination of cable and radio DMX/Ethernet interfaces to minimize data runs and manage the overall look."

Instant impression

The impact of the sail lighting was instantaneous and so impressive that management requested the system be rushed into use well before the rest of the construction works were completed. Because of this, there was dust and dirt in and over everything, but the Exterior 600s (with their IP65 rating) just kept on going even though construction continued only meters away.

At present the lighting sequences are quite simple with continuous changes between 6:00pm and 11:00pm each night. After 11:00pm, the look fades to a deep Congo blue that stays through till morning. Once construction in the lobby is completed, plans are in place to create a small light show that will run on the hour. Themed looks will be available for special occasions such as Valentine´s Day, St Patrick´s Day, Christmas, etc.

Burswood Resort are so pleased with the results the Exterior 600´s produce on the sails, they have decided to install two Martin MAC 300 fixtures to achieve a similar display in another area of the hotel.

Architects: Silver Thomas Hanley
Lighting Consultant: Kevin Harris, Pro Design