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Clay Paky at the Gran Casino Aranjuez
The Gran Casino Aranjuez is an ambitious project that stands 40 km south of Madrid, in the outskirts of Aranjuez. It has been built by the Spanish company Comar, which owns a chain of 19 casinos all over the world and this is its largest and most prestigious. Three companies were awarded the project to fit out the casino: Stonex, for the lighting, audio and video systems and Ferrovial and Sigarci for the building and architectural plan.
The structure of the casino has two main areas: the large gaming room and the area for performances. As far as the technical equipment is concerned, the latter area is of particular interest: it is a multifunctional auditorium with a stage measuring 31x7.5 metres and a seating capacity of up to 400, where it is possible to reserve a table for dinner and see theatrical and circus performances by actors and artists of international fame.
There are also four other adjacent multifunctional areas, and they can all link with the main auditorium thanks to mobile walls, resulting in one maxi-auditorium with a seating capacity of up to 2000.
The project for the external architectural lighting is by the French lighting designer Daniel Fayolle, assisted by a team of engineers from Stonex. To liven up the external side-walls 575W Clay Paky colour changers have been used: Sixty-eight CP Color 575s have been installed on special supports created ad hoc at a distance of about 10 metres from one another. The CP Color 575 are CMY colour changers, with a watertight seal (IP65 protection) which for the project have been fitted with special filters to obtain the chromatic effect desired by Fayolle.
34 Stage Zoom 1200s and 12 Alpha Spot 575s have been placed on two levels at the back of the entrance balcony and project images in rotation on the front wall: the logo of the casino, images and promotional designs and static and moving graphic effects.
Stonex also dealt with all the aspects relating to fitting out the stage, integrating the mechanical systems, the electrical circuits and the audio and video systems. In collaboration with 3D Scénica, it also installed and designed the stage lighting.
The lighting design involved the use of 12 Stage Zoom 1200 SVs, eight Stage Profile Plus SVs and 12 CP Color MHs as well as other fixed theatrical units. The system was designed in line with the multifunctional character of the premises: the lighting is excellent for everything from theatre and musical performances to conventions or an evening of cabaret. Stonex opted for the ‘Silent Version’ models with a moving body.
Another 40 projectors from the Point range have been used in the small discotheque on the lower ground floor. In particular, embedded Point IN have been used for the leisure area and the bar, and Point MH for the lighting of the dance floor.
In the area under the stage, Stonex has designed and built the largest spiral stage platform for stages in Europe. It measures 12x5m, and has an upward movement of 10 metres, at a variable speed from 0 to 9 metres a minute and for a maximum supported weight of 40 tons. Stonex has also installed 18 motorised stage bars, most of which have adjustable speed (up to 0.9 metres per second), are 32 metres long, and can support a weight of 1500kg each.
The Gran Casino Aranjuez promises to be a new pole of international attraction. Built near an urban area vowed for rapid development - with shopping centres, hotels, a railway station and a golf course planned in the immediate vicinity. It is highlighted by its multiplicity of use in terms of pure entertainment, and the technology and quality in every detail.
In picture: Domingo Latorre (Stonex), Enrico Caironi, Pasquale Quadri (Clay Paky) and Javier Riestra (Stonex).
9th December 2005
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