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Xicato Lights Up The Iconic TWA Hotel

Xicato Controls Bring Modern Technology to a 1960s Experienc

“The TWA Hotel project is the perfect example of installations in older construction where we’re not able to run wired connectivity to our light sources but want remote management. Xicato’s Bluetooth solutions were easy to install and delivered a clean look, without any wires, and allowed us to give the hotel remote control of the fixtures.” – Chris Roemlien, President, Spectrum Lighting.

Sleek and Smart
Walking into the new TWA Flight Center Hotel is like walking back in time—class, flare, the nostalgia of the 60s. The new development draws from the original design of Eero Saarinen from an era with sloping architecture, sleek furniture, subdued colors and gold accents. Now rebuilt as a first-class retro hotel with state of the art Xicato Bluetooth mesh technology, guests from all over the world can time-travel into a decade filled with music, culture and social change, with the smart lighting luxuries of today.

From the Tap of a Phone
Formerly the TWA Flight Center, the Center was closed down in 2001. With its new emergence as a hotel, the goal was to mimic the look of the 60s with the existing structure. Spectrum Lighting used the original 1962 vintage eyeball, cylinder and spotlight fixtures to modernize the hotel’s lighting using Xicato Light Sources and Xicato Controls with Bluetooth mesh technology. With only power within the walls connecting the lights, Xicato Bluetooth wireless technology was a clear solution to enable control of the new system all through the Xicato app. Now throughout the lobby and lounge areas, visitors will enjoy the glamour of the original light design in modern comfort.

Illuminate: A serious sit-down or a fabulous festival, the event space does it all

Home to world-class collections of scientific, technological and medical advancements, Illuminate at The Science Museum in London can now host private events for those drawn by unique features and panoramic views of the City. Covering two floors spanning nearly 1000 square meters with a mix of light scene requirements, Xicato Controls with wireless Bluetooth technology allows for customized light scene configurations for a professional atmosphere or a dance party disco.

“We wanted to develop an award-winning event space that drew people in because of its uniqueness, while offering a comfortable and productive environment. Xicato’s Controls system made it all possible—all via Bluetooth and controlled with an iOS app.” Julie O’Reilly from
Sutton Vane Associates.

Occasions of Any Kind

The flexibility and ease of programing of the Xicato wireless Controls was a key requirement to create the custom lighting atmospheres that could change from day to day. The museum could be holding a conference for the Royal Society of Biology one day and a UNICEF Aid dinner with a vastly different lighting needs the very next. The main level includes custom designed luminaires with RGBW pendants in the mix, all of which use Bluetooth Mesh controls. The controls allow rapid change between classic functional lighting for work to colorful, flashy displays for parties and dancing. The lighting design included a total of 530 lighting nodes throughout both floors that were assigned to one of twenty scenes, ten on the fourth floor and ten on the fifth floor, via Xicato Control Panel software. To add mystique, the ambiance included features such as a decorative DMX grid controlled by an LPC (Lighting Playback Controller) system, and a “Planet Light” in the stairwell to help blend the floors in a high tech yet elegant fashion.

The DMX grid on the lower floor is directed to display various scenes via Xicato Low Voltage Contact Switch (XSW) that sends wireless Bluetooth commands to a Xicato Gateway (XIG) which communicates with the LPC. The integration between the LPC system and Xicato’s Bluetooth Mesh Controls is seamless. Xicato’s open architecture allows for unparalleled flexibly enabling a customized application like no other in the market.

Customized to scientific precision, all lights are individually controlled via an iOS app commissioned by Sutton Vane Associates that can be overridden thru manual switches, with the ability to recall pre-defined scenes and groups. Groups were chosen based on location and functional requirements: fourth floor is one scene, fifth floor another, while bathrooms and hallways have their own scenes. The Xicato Bluetooth Gateway receives commands from the App and communicates via Bluetooth to the individual lighting nodes. For guaranteed robustness, Xicato Relay Nodes were placed throughout the building to extend the Bluetooth network resulting in ubiquitous network reach.

Xicato’s Beauty Series Light Sources Give Shoppers The Utmost Confidence When Nothing Less Than Perfect Will Do

When you are a shopper in one of the World’s most prestigious department stores, you want to look and feel the part. And when shopping for something as personal as cosmetics and make up, one must really feel comfortable about what they are buying. Xicato premium quality light sources, world renowned for the best color consistency and color warranty among LED lighting professionals, were chosen to illuminate Harrods’ new Beauty Hall. Xicato’s ability to make products more appealing and skin tones most authentic under indoor lighting, this time in a setting designed with a nod to the 1920s, attracts more shoppers while they feel like they’ve just stepped into beauty dreamland.

“Harrods is a destination store, known for their experience. They didn’t want something conventional. The entire brand is built on making people feel good. We knew Xicato had the quality of light that would work for Harrods – functional while creating an environment people want to be in,” Maciej Garszyński, Lighting Designer, Isometrix London.

Mix and Match: The Secret Sauce!

Perusing through Harrods, a shopper can admire a broad variety of items, from lounge clothing to fine fashion accessories. It is no accident that each item is lit specifically to draw a customer in. What might work well for lighting denim may not highlight red lipstick successfully. While denim or clothing show best under light sources that bring out natural material tones such as blue, highlighting make up, and even more so, color matching make up are delicate procedures — ones that have been proven to be performed best under light sources with more of a soft pink tone. Since the path through Harrods’ Beauty Hall includes demonstrations for merchandise and studios for personal make up testing, a blend of lights was chosen to accommodate both goals: selling product and uplifting store goers.

A blending technique of two of Xicato’s premium light sources was used throughout the Beauty Hall to create the perfect ambiance. For the shopping areas and merchandise, Xicato’s Artist series with precise color rendering is perfect for illuminating colorful brands, boxes, and product packaging. Within the small studios where make up is tested and tried Harrods required something that evoked the most natural colors on human skin tone. Drawing from Xicato’s portfolio, researched and proven to work best in beauty scenarios, Xicato’s Beauty Series was installed to illuminate shoppers at their best. Where the two areas meet, both Artist and Beauty Series were integrated to create the most smooth, subtle and comfortable change in the lighting. And that’s one of the key ingredients behind the way Xicato lights make people feel good.

Xicato Lights and Controls Upgrades Historic Chrysler Building While Protecting its History

A paragon of Art Deco architectural style, the Chrysler Building in New York City ranks ninth on the AIAs List of America’s Favorite Architecture. Historic Architecture like this may only be modernized if its beauty and function can be preserved while achieving significant benefits. When it came to lighting and latest controls technology to modernize its famous lobby, Xicato was called upon to do both. Xicato’s renowned quality Lights and Smart Controls with Bluetooth Mesh now light up the Chrysler lobby, and the ceiling’s 1930s mural, beautifully, automatically and wirelessly while saving over 90% in energy over the traditional halogen lighting it used previously.

“I couldn’t believe we were able to do it. Not only are we able to individually control the lights but we were able to safely and evenly light the mural without carving into the walls;” Edwin Rambusch, President at Rambusch lighting and design.

Set it and forget it

Built in the 1920s, the Chrysler Building is known for its unique style, which is why building managers wanted a solution that would enhance the look, preserve the art and save energy, all without requiring cumbersome maintenance. Ten beautiful sconces light the lobby and its famous artwork but held halogen bulbs. The art was dimly lit to reduce the damaging effects of UV and heat emitted by Halogen lighting. The short lifespan of halogen bulbs also meant hiring labor and replacing bulbs often, which led to burdensome maintenance efforts and costs. Xicato Smart Controls and spec grade light sources were chosen for their quality, reliability, ease of installation and flexibility while saving substantial energy.

Xicato worked closely with Rambusch to design a system that would work within the existing fixtures and the Building’s Management to install a full solution without ever drilling into the historic concrete. Next, the lights were set on a schedule developed to work best for office occupants. Xicato Controls sophisticated scene control ability is used to automatically change the light output ever so slightly around closing hours. The full transition, that is barely visible to the human eye, takes nearly five full minutes to complete. Xicato LED light sources with their distinct trademark color points bring out the beauty of the murals, are backed by a seven-year warranty and save over 90% in energy costs. No wires, no switches, and no more frequent bulb changes. The lobby in the Chrysler Building has never looked so beautiful.

Boston ProShop Displays Light up with Xicato’s Lighting, Smart Controls Solutions and Services

Hailed as the only destination for authentic team merchandise for the Boston Bruins and the Boston Celtics, The ProShop shows off their champion-worthy merchandise with Xicato Controls with Xicato Bluetooth^® Mesh technology.

“When you’re designing lighting that needs to deliver granular control within a large scale ecosystem, Bluetooth technology is a must. Each fixture was commissioned to meet the dynamic requirements of the retail space. The store merchandise looks fantastic and the lighting schema is fully scalable and reconfigurable for future needs,” Paula Ziegenbein, Assoc. IALD, Hartranft Lighting Design AHLD.

Champion worthy lights and controls

The management at the Garden commissioned Hartranft Lighting Design to upgrade their entire store with a world-class overhead interior lighting system. While the multi-layer design approach needed to be flexible with the customer experience as its focus, The ProShop staff needed a simple and reliable system, avoiding laborious manual control at previous location. A sophisticated control system had to also include the best lights to showcase the state-of-the-art retail displays, mannequins and digital signage. The complete end-to-end solution called for Xicato, with its best in class lights sources that are augmented with Bluetooth controls to illuminate The ProShop inside BRUCK SMARTrack track fixtures. Using the Xicato open API platform including Xicato’s Intelligent Gateway (XIG), ETC created a software module within their Mosaic Show Controller to send cues to the Xicato Intelligent Module light source (XIM), triggering preset scenes. Now, when their team scores, even shoppers in the store get to join in the excitement with a preset light show.

Retail Lighting that Works

The elegantly flexible design with Xicato Controls and its truly open Bluetooth Mesh technology is fully supported by Xicato’s services team. Together with Hartranft Lighting Design, Xicato’s Services team identified and numbered each of the fixtures to develop groups and scenes that are now preset to recall four scenes: pre open, store open, dynamic show (because it gets exciting when the teams score!) and after hours for restocking. The flexibility and upgradeability of Xicato’s smart controls and quality lighting, allow the owners to adapt the existing solutions to new ideas and evolve with displays to create new experiences with a world class lighting solution.

Xicato’s world class lighting solutions with open API + ETC’s software enable leading light designers to deliver a life-like experience worthy of the world’s most magnificent fossil.

Sue, the world’s longest Dinosaur lives in Chicago within a collection that dates as far back as 1893 in the Chicago’s Field Museum overlooking the Lake Michigan shoreline. Even within the impressive collection of over 40 million artifacts, the museum’s most prized possession is no doubt the very unique member of the family Sue, the world’s most complete Tyrannosaurus specimen. The fossils alone reach forty feet making up the most expensive collection in the world at nearly $8.7 million. Discovered in 1990, Sue’s first debut at the Chicago Field Museum was in 2000 and remains today a rare look into the dinosaur world of 67 million years ago.

The First AV Execution of its Kind

A display of Sue’s magnitude needs to be extremely flexible, of highest quality and lifelike without use of damaging sunlight on the delicate artifacts. For a theatrical presentation, the exhibit designers at the Field Museum deployed ETC color-changing fixtures incorporating Xicato’s class leading complete solutions including Bluetooth controls hardware, software and light sources renowned for their quality. Using the Xicato’s open API platform, ETC created a software module within their Mosaic Show Controller to send show cues to the Xicato Intelligent Modules light source (XIM), triggering preset scenes for the exhibit lighting. This flexibility allowed a seamless integration between the wired DMX controls and Bluetooth Mesh wireless Xicato Controls. Both companies believe in open control platforms and architectures allowing designers the flexibility to customize and deploy the appropriate control solutions for the application.

“The use of theatrical fixtures controls the focus onto different parts of the display, making it appear more life-like. We created drama through fixtures that excite the audience, encourage them to use their imaginations,” Thatcher Waller, Lighting Designer, Lightswitch Chicago.

Xicato is at the forefront of intelligent and connected lighting controls that allows light designers to bring their art to life with unparalleled light quality and consistency with an unmatched 7 years of guarantee. Light designers consistently select Xicato when only the best quality and flexibility is called for.

“With Xicato’s open API, we strive to foster interoperability between control systems and lighting to bring environments to life, all while minimizing the involvement of manual operation,” Sam Miri, Senior VP Sales & Business Development, Xicato.

As the Mid-Autumn Festival kicks off, over 800 lanterns lining Lee Tung Avenue are connected with Xicato controls allowing visitors to create a personalized “Avenue of Lights” using their mobile device. The tree-lined pedestrian walkway to Hong Kong Island is home to sidewalk cafes, gourmet restaurants, and local and overseas fashion outlets. It prides itself on its close connection with local communities, and so it’s fitting that along the 200-meter long esplanade, Xicato has enabled people to engage with the fun and functional work of art.

Part of the “Vivid Sydney: Light, Music & Ideas” festival, Under My Umbrella invites you to dream and dance under a glowing canopy as it sways gently in the wind.”

Each XIM module has its own programming. During show hours, the XIMs are programmed to respond with a unique delay and flashing rate to create the impression that the umbrellas are flashing randomly. When visitors walk underneath the canopy of umbrellas, they trigger a more organized, sequential pattern of light, which times out to a fixed lighting level before timing out again to pseudo-random flashing. This involved programming the sensor state machine in the XIM to track time of day, occupancy, delay times and fade times, and time-out periods, transitioning in highly planned ways between the 4 basic behavioral states.

What Under My Umbrella demonstrates is the power of the XIM distributed intelligence architecture. There was no central controller or hub. No cumbersome DMX wiring. All of the programming is in the lights themselves, which act autonomously in response to the various independent inputs.

Under My Umbrella was created by the Beam Collective, which includes Bettina Easton of E-Lux, Colin Shum of Medland Metropolis Engineering, Grace Tham of HASSELL Studio, and Ales Vasenda of 3S Lighting, with help from Webster Chu of Xicato. It uses 50 XIM Gen4 modules in custom fixtures (the umbrellas), activated by scheduling, 4 motion sensors, and the unique programming features of the XIM.