Hard Rock Hotel – Goa, India

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In the heart of North Goa is Calangute, the beach-belt, party-capital of South West India, and in Calangute is the Hard Rock Hotel. Describing itself as an entertainment destination, Hard Rock Hotel Goa is an example of the Hard Rock Cafe mentality, going above and beyond what is expected.

The re-design of this hotel was undertaken by Fuse Studios in 2013, who recruited Technical Arts to design the lighting for the hotel and the all new Rock Shop.

Improvements were made to the bedrooms and the lobby, restaurants and pool were given facelifts too. Technical Arts oversaw that the lighting was both luxurious, warm and inviting whilst also being reflective of the Rock and Roll nature of the hotel.

The brief for this re-branding was to maximise the brand impact on a tight budget and a tight deadline. The one major installation permitted was the giant ‘Hard Rock’ sign above a mirror pool, certainly maximising brand impact when first entering the hotel.

Hard Rock Cafe – Piccadilly Circus, London

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The new Hard Rock Cafe in Piccadilly Circus combines the vibrant atmosphere of the location with the rock-and-roll attitude of the brand.

Well known for its large scale video displays, Piccadilly Circus’s new resident the Hard Rock Cafe followed suit. Technical Arts designed and installed a feature video wall on the ceiling above the stairs, enticing visitors from the Rock Shop through to the Cafe below.

It is hard not to be wowed on entry by what is now the largest Rock Shop in the world. Souvenir t-shirts, sweatshirts and keychains amongst other items fill the floor space but as Londoners know well – when in London, look up.

The ceiling has been turned into a Union flag, the LED strips combined with the video ceiling forming the flag of the United Kingdom. These LED strips are able to change colour, for example the rainbow colours of the recent PRIDE holiday. They are also programmed with the ability to adapt according to the continually changing colours of the video ceiling.

Downstairs is the all new Hard Rock Cafe, Piccadilly. A large bar and restaurant have been decked out to resemble a tube station; tiling on the floor and walls and lighting underneath the bar create this illusion.

Technical Arts were responsible for the lighting and video throughout the property, including the lighting of the alcoves, the memorabilia, the restaurant and bar and the Rock Shop.

Hard Rock Cafe – Seville, Spain

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The historical nature of Seville’s Hard Rock Cafe meant that the design and installation of the lighting had to be sympathetic to the culture and listing of the building.

The facade of the building retains many of the original features from its construction in 1761. Technical Arts’s design for the lighting of the exterior is sympathetic to the architectural features of the columns and balconies. The pendant lights emit a soft, warm light that complements the traditional terracotta walls.

The central courtyard presented challenges thanks to its 3 storey height, Technical Arts was given the responsibility to design a lighting system that worked seamlessly around the nine 18th century marble columns and glass roof to show them off at their best.

Tackling the issue of lighting the heavily listed interior required custom fabrication of pendants to fit below the painted ceilings without damaging them. This was achieved by suspending them from pre-existing suspension points.

The original marble bar also required lighting that was both appreciative of the history of the building as well as in keeping with the rock’n’roll nature of Hard Rock Cafes.

Hard Rock Cafe – Copenhagen, Denmark

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The previous Cafe has served its last customer and the staff have now moved 300m to the brand new Hard Rock Cafe, Copenhagen in the City’s Central Square.  The interior design was undertaken by Fuse Studios who gave the new interior a distinctive and contemporary Danish influence, with clean lines, bold colours and even Lego-brick inspired ceiling rafts.

CPH-Stage-Close-up

With stunning new memorabilia adorning the walls and even the ceilings, the carefully selected pieces should satisfy even the most die hard of fans.  The original Metallica drum kit has been methodically dismantled and reinstalled and now graces the wall within the large new Rockshop.

CPH-Stage-View

Technical Arts were commissioned to design the lighting and control system in both the cafe and the Rock Shop, as well as designing & manufacturing the ‘speaker’-lights suspended over the bar counter and the large chandelier featuring 75 negative images of some of Rock’s greatest acts.  The chandelier drops through an opening in the ceiling from the first floor to be visible from the entrance area.

CPH-Blue-Room

The installation uses a cutting edge control system and LED lighting throughout.  The entire building’s lighting is controlled from an iPad which also controls the music and video system.

Hard Rock Cafe – Vienna, Austria

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The latest Hard Rock Cafe opened its doors in the heart Vienna. The Cafe has so far been roaring success. Set out over two floors the cafe has two bars, the main restaurant and a Rock Shop.  The ground floor bar can change colour to suit the various events being held as well as depending on the time of day.

The microphone lights, having been developed by Technical Arts initially for Hard Rock Brussels, have made a re-appearance in Vienna with chandeliers over both the bar and staircase.

The addition of these feature pieces across Europe create a cohesive brand design, tying in Hard Rock’s famed love of music, style and togetherness.

HRC Vienna IMG_4927

The contemporary interior was designed by Fuse Studios, based in Leeds, UK. Technical Arts have had the privilege of working with Fuse on previous projects such as Hard Rock Brussels amongst others.

Hard Rock Cafe – Venice, Italy

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Situated on the Rialto Bridge, Venice, is Hard Rock’s stand-alone Rock Shop.  The building dates back to 1591 and the bridge is one of the oldest and most famous crossings of the Grand Canal joining San Marco with San Polo.

What must be one of the best views from a site, before:

Venice #1

And after:

The lighting scheme was designed for retail use  as well as highlighting some irreplaceable memorabilia pieces. The design was topped out with two bespoke chandeliers commissioned directly from the neighbouring island of Murano renowned for its glass work artisans.

The fittings were carefully selected to reduce the heat strain on the air conditioning system which was restricted due to the building constraints.