In the Dutch municipality of Venlo, the new Holland Casino Venlo has opened with much glitz, glamour and glory. The building stands out thanks to its awe-inspiring architecture, firmly putting it on the map as a must-see destination. And, as darkness falls, the casino becomes a sight to behold with its huge LED façade illuminating the night sky.
The design is a result of a collaboration between MVSA Architects, Arcadis and Gensler. The 9500m2 building stands 25 metres high and was inspired by the Dutch flower industry. Further inspiration has been drawn from the surrounding environment, as well as the Holland Casino brand. The façade is constructed as a large grid formation, made of huge glass sequins, which were designed by Sorba.
The building was always intended to be iconic and a glittering showcase for what Holland Casino offers its guests. Holland Casino deliberately chose the spot for this new location close to a major A road and next to the German border. To bolster its stunning looks, the Casino needed a lighting design to make it instantly noticeable as one of the first landmarks into the Netherlands from Germany.
Livingprojects installed LED luminaires from Color Kinetics behind the glass sequins, allowing the entire façade to be illuminated in a vast array of colours and patterns. Adding to this, the LED façade can also display video content, making it an incredibly flexible and engaging installation.
The entire media façade can be programmed to align with seasons, theme nights, or even a specific target audience at Holland Casino. The casino has achieved its iconic status thanks to this attention-grabbing media platform, which is controlled by a system from Pharos Architectural Controls.
The installation uses the Pharos VLC 50 (Video Lighting Controller). The VLC 50 is a high-power yet cost-effective architectural lighting control solution. It is suitable for large LED pixel arrays, including building façades, making it the perfect system for the Holland Casino Venlo.
Using the VLC 50, the Holland Casino Venlo is able play video content across the array, either from locally stored HD media files or a DVI-D video input. The VLC 50 also offers access to a range of creative effects and the versatility of powerful show control and integration features. Available in a number of variants, the VLC 50 offers 25,600 channels, which effortlessly meets the needs of the Holland Casino Venlo.
The system is completed with a Pharos TPC (Touch Panel Controller). This sleek touch screen lighting controller offers users an advanced lighting playback engine. The touch panel can be customised to offer flexibility and it can be integrated with the full spectrum of Pharos Designer controllers & remote devices. With a rugged yet compact design, the TPC performs reliably even in 24/7 operation.
Speaking of the partnership with Pharos, Michael Sebregts, the entrepreneur behind Livingprojects, said: “We have worked with Pharos on several of our projects now, and our team including our technicians have been overwhelmingly impressed. Pharos’ reliability and quality, along with the user-friendly nature of the solutions, makes them a top choice for a wide range of applications.
“With a large-scale project such as the Holland Casino Venlo, you have to be able to rely on every aspect of your lighting system. If part of the system stopped working, it would be very noticeable and could ruin the impressive lighting design. Using Pharos controls meant we could be confident in our work.”
Bas Hoksbergen, Architectural Marketing Manager at Pharos, added: “Pharos is always excited to see the beautiful installations Livingprojects and their partners are able to create. We are proud to be part of the awe-inspiring Holland Casino Venlo offering full control of the lighting and video content for the striking façade.”
In addition to the LED façade itself, Livingprojects also offered a distinct solution to financing. It follows the ‘light as a service’ principle. Holland Casino rents the façade from Livingprojects for a set amount each month. The arrangement spans a ten-year period, and preventative and corrective maintenance are part of the contract, which assures Holland Casino of the performance of the LED façade.
Michael Sebregts explained further: “As part of the arrangement with Holland Casino, we offered a light as a service solution. This contract is for a decade, so as the responsible party for the ongoing maintenance we needed to be confident in the solutions we used as part of the installation. We knew we could rely on Pharos and so, technically and commercially, Pharos is absolutely the best choice for this project.
The new casino has become a flagship location for the Holland Casino brand, as well as an important destination for the municipality of Venlo. The casino company will be expanding again with a new location currently being built in Utrecht.
Project team:
Solutions Provider – Livingprojects
Client – Holland Casino
Photography – Courtesy of Livingprojects
