Zeebar achieves Clarity of design with LED lights

Oct. 7, 2004
Architectural and feature lighting design specialists Clarity Lighting has completed an innovative and imaginative lighting scheme at Zeebar in Bristol, UK.
Canopy Zeebar, an upmarket bar and grill in central Bristol, UK, required a unique design and presentation in order to compete with other bars and restaurants in the area. The owners, EPC Ltd, conveyed their requirements for dramatic and mood-enhancing lighting effects to Clarity Lighting, and a design evolved using a combination of bespoke and off-the-shelf LED lighting, together with conventional luminaries and light sources.

The main technical challenge from a lighting perspective was to make Zeebar's 40 meter exterior canopy appear black during the day, and then come alive with colour and movement at night. This was achieved using Clarity's Ionic RGB colour-changing strips in combination with MICRODEX panelling with a black underlay. MICRODEX appears as an evenly illuminated surface when lit from along one edge with the Ionic strips.

Front steps The Ionic LED strips and MICRODEX are sandwiched between a protective top sheet and a black under-sheet. Simon Reed, technical director of Clarity's sister company LEDstorm, designed the wiring detail so all the LED drivers and DMX controls could be mounted in an electrical cupboard on Zeebar?s first floor.

Additional external lighting fixtures were specified from Clarity's standard product range, including the Wall Sphere, a 6W LED wall wash for internal or external use, and the Mini Updown, a bi-directional 2 x 1W LED architectural fitting.

To emphasise Zeebar's exclusive feel, the emphasis was on using small luminaries finished in stainless steel, predominantly emitting white light, with only moderate amounts of colour throughout the bar and blue feature areas. Behind the bar, MICRODEX was once again used, this time with white light to highlight the bottle stand areas.

Colour Wall

Colour Wall Upstairs in the VIP bar, a feature Colour Wall has been installed, which consists of linear Clarity Multileds mounted behind fabric material panels. This is run via a DMX controller with 8 preset colour options and sequences.

With the light source hidden, the power and intensity of the Colour Wall emulates a fabric texture. The panels and frames can be removed during the day to let in natural light, and replaced at night to change the feel and boost the intimacy of the space via saturated colour.