Nobel Prize Home Lit By LED
The Stockholm Concert Hall, or Konserthuset, is home to the annual Nobel Prize ceremonies and was born from a labor of love. It was completed in 1926 thanks to the efforts of members and supporters of the Stockholm Concert Society as a home for the wonderful music they created. This architectural wonder is one of the world’s best examples of the neoclassical style. Its ten massive Corinthian columns and works from artists like Carl Milles, Isaac Grunewald and Edwald Dahlskog are the perfect backdrop for the most formal of special occasions.
Like any structure built so many years ago, this lovely example of skill and design has seen several opportunities to benefit from modernizing upgrades and updates to systems and decorative elements over the years. As home to the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Concert Hall requires the best in sound. In 1971 the venue was renovated by the original building designer’s son, Anders Tengbom, with a focus on improving the acoustical qualities in the concert halls.
The Stockholm Concert Hall reduced stage lighting from 68,000 watts to just 7.500 watts by switching to LED lights, helping to solve a heat problem on the stage and save energy as well.
More recently the Concert Hall decided that it was time to address another pressing issue, this one affecting any performer on stage. The issue to be resolved in the Main Hall at the Konserthuset was the need to lower the temperature on stage. The full orchestra comprises almost 100 members, and they were literally cooking under the heat of existing lights. They had enough and told management that they could no longer tolerate the discomfort of performing beneath the existing 68,000 watts of lighting on the stage, so the hall set out to find a solution. They contacted GDS, in conjunction with Anderson & Co Sweden AB, and asked for a solution that would take care of the excessive heat problem as efficiently and quickly as possible. The companies set to work saving the orchestra from heat stroke.
The Main Hall, which seats 1,700 people, was outfitted with the GDS ArcSystem throughout. Above the stage, the offending 160 lighting units were removed and replaced with fifty LED ArcSystem fixtures that reduce energy use to a mere 7,500 watts instead of 68,000. Above audience seating, thirty-two new LED lights were retrofitted into existing fixtures quickly and easily. These were installed swiftly in a straightforward operation that required no modification to either building systems or the new units themselves.
With its wireless controls, the system exceeds project specifications with something to spare. Concert Hall management staff have commented not only on the huge reduction in the onstage temperatures, but also on a distinct improvement in the evenness of the lighting with the new LED lights as compared to the old lighting. As a result of the lower temperatures, the demands on the air-conditioning system in the hall have been reduced, enhancing the comfort of orchestra members and patrons alike. This is yet another clear environmental dividend in terms of efficient and sustainable energy use.
Andy Duffield, GDS international sales manager EMEA, adds, “Sometimes amongst the figures and the specifications it is easy to overlook the fact that the purpose of the technology is to enhance the conditions in which performer and audience alike engage with the arts.
“In the case of the Stockholm Concert Hall, here was another example of a magnificent historic building, hobbled by an outdated system, being transformed for the benefit of every user by the installation of ArcSystem. Of course the extremely positive environmental data cannot and should not be overlooked – it’s quite dramatic – but ultimately, at the Konserthuset, perhaps the real story is about sitting comfortably and seeing clearly.”
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