The Inverse Lighting Design studio based in London has sent us pictures of his latest project, Sound Club, Phuket (Thailand). The project, recently awarded with the coveted Lighting Design Award 2010 in the International Projects category, in my opinion is really great and since the blog I give my most sincere congratulations.

Bstieler Bernhard, director of Inverse Lighting Design, also awarded as Lighting Designer of the Year, was described by the judges as “an emerging talent” in lighting design, commended for his “inventiveness” and diverse range of schemes. “Regardless of the budget, Bernhard Bstieler exhibits great attention to detail, while understanding balance and composition”.



Design Concept / Challenge / outstanding design
Seamless integration of music, light and space is the main concept for SOUND, an upscale night club in Phuket. The interior space employs curved lines and organic forms, inspired by the ear which enables us to perceive sound. The integration of
light that responses to the rhythm and pitch of music, in turn, manipulates perception of space and the way spatial and conceptual boundaries are experienced. These features can be found in the corridor and the pods. Lighting along the perimeter walls in contrasting colour of amber and blue defines different
areas in the club.
The main challenge lies in the design of architectural lighting that reveals spatial quality of the organic forms and, at the same time, responds to the changing mood of the music. Moreover, the club regularly holds creative events as well as invites local and international artists to perform. The lighting therefore has to be flexible and easy to operate for the LJ and VJ. This requires close attention to lighting details and modification of lighting fixtures and control systems for easy operation.



Unique features
The corridor is a tunnel-like space with concealed lighting in vertical slots along its length. While the visitor walking toward the main dance floor, the changing intensity and movement of light creates perception that the spatial boundary is animated. It appears as if the space was breathing and the sound wave is coming toward them. This is achieved by using individually addressable 70mm sections of blue LED, each of which acts like a pixel. There are approximately 1,500 channels linked to 3 DMX universe controller. Different effects are also set up and can be
manually adjusted to give the LJ and VJ flexibility to enhance the atmosphere depending on the theme of music.
Seating pods have concealed lights along the base which make tthem appear floating off the ground. Glowing linear neon light outline the curved steps and continuous blue LEDs glow to the inside reveal the form and shape of the seats. Subtle glow of the acrylic screen at the top outlines the ‘ear’ shape of the seating.
A narrow beam 2W LED fitted with snoot provides accent light to the table. Lighting of the pods are also linked to music: the low level lights respond to bass (low pitch), while the glowing lights at the top respond to high tone.
Dance floor: more than 400 LED uplights are recessed into the dance floor and animate the stage during the performance. The lights respond to the beat and rhythm of the music to enhance the performance of the dancers.
Cortex: a slightly understated tower in the corridor linking the main space with the smoking area is the heart of the club. All amplifiers are housed in a tinted glass tube, only the LEDs from the equipment give outline/suggest the power behind. Blue ‘halo’ light makes the column float in the corner.
On top of the typical entertainment lighting, such as moving heads, lasers and strobes a 19m long LED screen behind the bar counter create an ideal visual backdrop which has been programmed whilst several visual effects as a graphic equalizer following the bass / mid / high tone lines.




Innovative aspect
Customised signage / animated.
Pods lighting respond to bass / mid tone / high tone.
Dance floor: more than 400 blue / amber LEDs.
Lighting to table / 2W LED with standard fixture fitted with snoot to provide precise beam control.
19m LED screen / equalizer / visual canvas linked to music dimming control system to provide simple scene control via architectural, which can override via dmx signal to give full control of R+R lighting and architectural lighting from LJ / VJ
booth.
Customised fixtures: local supplier to develop linear dmx controlled striplight / light fixtures.




Credits:
Music, Light and Space
Interior Design: Orbit Design Studio in association with Bed Supperclub
Client: Sound Good Phuket, Co. Ltd.
Lighting equipment (incl. dimming system): 100,000 BPS
Size: 600sqm
Main Supplier: Neowave Technology, Neo-neon, Lighting and Equipments, Dynalite/Lightstyle, Dynamic Source
Lighting Design team: Bernhard Bstieler / Filip Vermeiren
Associates: Chanyaporn Chuntamara / Nalatporn Sakdirit
Photos: Bernhard Bstieler and Basil Childers