PIEDRA R&D plays a main role in creating the visual magic of SOG using 152 CHAUVET Professional Ovation luminaires.
Lighting designer Fernando Piedrabuena harnesses dynamic lighting to help sculpt a new dining space that wows audiences with a variety of unforgettable visual effects.
PIEDRA I+D studio is recognized for using light as a construction material, through which they create comfortable spaces. His designs accompany the architectural development as a whole incorporating the use of natural light.
The company was founded in 1986 by its current General Director, LD Fernando Piedrabuena, in association with Ms. Elana Goldin
PIEDRA I+D facilities are located in the city of Rosario, Argentina, occupying two floors of an elegant building with a minimalist design.
Thanks to its extraordinary creative power, its elegant and sophisticated designs, PIEDRA I+D is positioned as a leading company in the international market. This level of leadership forces the company to improve itself day by day. Not only is it a reference in the constant improvement of lighting concepts, but it is also characterized by incorporating products that make the planet more ecologically sustainable.
The PIEDRA I+D studio generates its own projects, proposing a novel experience to its clients. “I have a long history of live performance lighting design going back almost 40 years, and I’ve been in architectural lighting for 20 years. These designs are the solid foundations of PIEDRA I+D”, said Fernando. Thanks to this experience in lighting shows, PIEDRA I+D creates scenic spaces, using illuminated artistic objects, in order to stage spaces with a large circulation of people.
Among its main designs is the one made for the Santiago Open Gourmet (SOG) of Falabella, which offers an impressive gastronomic proposal in the city of Santiago de Chile.
The SOG occupies an open space of more than 5,000 square meters, with 14 restaurants that offer different gastronomic trends. One of the main attractions in SOG’s design are the different environments; one open, which allows you to enjoy a panoramic view of the city, and another covered space, illuminated by a large screen. Both are highlighted by extraordinary architectural lighting design.
As PIEDRA I+D is characterized by carrying out high-profile projects that demand to be carried out with extreme quality products, Fernando Piedrabuena chose the Ovation Series from CHAUVET Professional to bring his lighting design to life.
The LD knew the brand CHAUVET Professional from his work at the “Showbussines.” In the particular case of SOG, Piedrabuena contacted Jorge Barcala from NASH Ingeniería, the distributor of CHAUVET Professional and CHAUVET DJ in Argentina, who, given the importance of the installation, advises him to contact Paula Ortiz, Chauvet Business Development Manager for Latin America. It was Ortiz who recommended that PIEDRA I+D contact José Manzano from Chemtrol to acquire the luminaires in Chile.
He had a conversation with Jose Manzano, Sales Manager of Chemtrol in Spain and distributor of CHAUVET Professional in Chile, through his subsidiary in that South American country, who told him about the benefits of the different Ovation models. “José Manzano was not wrong. The Ovation series allows its integration into any architectural style, classic or contemporary. Its shape and versatility hels to give value to every detail”, acknowledged Piedra.
To make its design a reality, PIEDRA I+D obtained 72 OVATION E-910FC units, along with 8 OVATION E-910FCIP and 72 OVATION H-605FC, which were installed on two 40-meter long rigging bridges located in ceiling. All the luminaires were supplied by Chemtrol Chile, who also collaborated in the installation of the lights.
By adding a lime green LED emitter to the color system CHAUVET Professional uses in its Ovation series, the unique LED array increases lumen output in both white and lighter shades. It also extends the range of color rendering at the red and blue ends of the color spectrum, so brighter, more vivid colors can be created for professional performances that require a high level of lighting effects.
“PIEDRA I+D’s experience with Ovation luminaires was excellent!!! They have a unique light quality, great CRI & CQS color rendering and a homogeneous and compact light beam, I love it. We used the H-605 for ambient light and with the E-910 we did highlights and gobo projections. Plus the FULL COLOR (RGBAL) ERS style range and to this we add the white that goes from 2800k to 6500k, making the color infinite” described Piedrabuena.
Although it is true that the SOG project has been the first PIEDRA I+D design made with luminaires manufactured by Chauvet, thanks to the success obtained, the design studio has specified them in other works that he is currently designing.
Among the main qualities of the Ovation Series, Fernando Piedrabuena highlighted “the uniformity of the light it emits, especially considering that the emitter is LED. Another is the color palette, RGBAL+ERS+DINAMIC W. They are a great help for my designs.”
Technically speaking, the LD looked to the CHAUVET Professional Ovations for a fixture that would ensure light uniformity. “For that to happen, technically, the fresnel has to be of good quality. If not, it doesn’t happen, and Chauvet guarantees me quality” indicated Piedrabuena.
“It is a great pleasure to work with a lighting designer of the stature of Fernando Piedrabuena. His vision and creativity provide lighting experiences in which we are very happy to have the opportunity to highlight the products of Chauvet brands and to work with PIEDRA R&D endorses for the excellent work and local support of our distributors” said Paula Ortiz,
An architectural space set as if it were a large theater stage, the lighting design of Falabella’s Santiago Open Gourmet is the first permanent sensory experience project to be carried out in Latin America, proposed by the PIEDRA I+D studio.
For the CEO of PIEDRA I+D “carrying out projects has great meaning, even more so when these projects have a strong artistic inspiration.”
With the homogeneous lighting provided by the CHAUVET Professional Ovations, the prestigious Argentine design studio managed, through lighting resources, to create an unforgettable experience.
The great technological development represented by the Ovation range ensures that the luminaires installed in the SOG will remain at the forefront for years to come.
