California, USA – Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) in the Netherlands is one of the leading technical universities in Europe. The school’s auditorium, the heart of the campus where students attend lectures and presentations of all types, recently received a lighting upgrade of Elation luminaires specified and installed by AV company Houben Souren.

Heard it through the grapevine

Houben Souren was contacted by TU/e after university personnel had heard about a recent LED lighting installation at the Maastricht Exhibition and Convention Center (MECC), an auditorium lighting system potentially similar to what they required. 

“The university was interested in the installation and the types of lights we used there [Elation Fuze Profile™ and Colour 5 Profile™] so we invited them to Maastricht to see the project for themselves,” explained Tijs Verfurth, Operations Manager at Houben Souren. “It turned out to be a good real-world demonstration and they were quite impressed with the system.”

Decisive demo

Houben Souren consequently contacted Bert Schmeits, Key Account Manager Benelux at Elation, who worked with Verfurth to arrange a product demonstration at the university with the Fuze Profile, along with lights from three other manufacturers. Other Elation fixtures also took part in the demo, including the KL Fresnel 8 and DTW Par 300.

The Fuze Profile and a cold-white version of the LED moving head, the Fuze Profile CW, were selected as the principal luminaires for the lighting upgrade. Useful wherever a fully automated ellipsoidal fixture is required, the Fuze Profile houses a 305W RGBMA LED engine while the Fuze Profile CW uses a 380W white LED engine with dual color wheels. Both include framing, gobo options, and a wide zoom.

“The Fuze Profile was the most complete fixture of those in the demo and the client was confident it would do the best job,” Verfurth said, adding that the KL Fresnel 8 and DTW Par 300 were also chosen as part of the new lighting package.” The new system has replaced an aging conventional lighting system of 500W and 1000W Fresnel and profile spots “so the contrast is great and the possibilities much greater.”

Streaming lectures

Like other educational institutions around the world, TU/e pivoted from on-site to online classes during the pandemic, with improvements to broadcast equipment necessary in order to maintain a high-quality learning experience. “With lectures online due to Covid, the space is currently mainly used for streaming of online lectures. That’s why they needed a system with high CRI values to look good both on camera and in real life.” The Fuze Profile, CRI of 92, also provides colour manipulation features like virtual colour temperature and Magenta/Green adjustment while the KL Fresnel 8, CRI of 97, is a warm-white LED Fresnel light that mimics the warmth of tungsten halogen.

Uplighting drapes

Near the end of the project, Verfurth says the university decided that the black theatre drapes complementing the presentation space required attention. “We suggested uplighting the drapes with a high-output color changer and recommended the SixPar200™ for the job. It’s a flexible Par light of very good quality and with power linking it is easy to set them up quickly and then take them down when the presentation is over.”

Installation of the new lighting system in the TU/e auditorium was completed in August in time for fall semester classes.

Elation gear:

6 x Fuze Profile

4 x Fuze Profile CW

16 x KL Fresnel 8

18 x DTW Par 300

10 x SixPar 200

2 x Opto Branch 8/5