Destination Scotland

Johnnie Walker Princes Street

Back in 2019 our dear friends and clients BRC Imagination Arts approached us to be a part of the design team for Destination Scotland.  An incredibly ambitious program to reimagine the visitor experience at some world’s leading scotch distillers, including Johnnie Walker, Talisker and Coal Ila. 

At the heart of the project was Johnnie Walker Princes Street.  An 8-story temple to whisky located at the base of the Edinburgh Castle located in a historic building which was previously a Royal Bank of Scotland.  The building had been through a lot over its life having started life as two separate building and then combined into one when the bank was converted into a department store.

Christian Lachel, the chief creative officer at BRC and the creative director on the project, lead us to create a multi layered series of experiences that catered to the scotch fan and first-time explorer alike.   There was the main tour … which tells the history the Walker family, how and why John Walker created his blended scotch. It also included the creation process for whisky, and finally why you blend different single malts together to create Johnnie Walkers different expressions.   This story is told through a series of immersive spaces and theatrical shows that are all very different from each other and tell a specific part of the story.  The whole project was a thrill to design.   

©BRC Imagination Arts

Christian wanted the design to be a blend between very modern design elements and historical visual references. From a lighting point of view Christian and NYX both wanted each space to have its own visual identity.  Some spaces were tradition on first blush but hidden theatrical touches that only came to life with the shows.  Others are very modern and are full of the bold color palette that is so linked to the brand’s visual identity.  Early on we together decided that the lights, even at their most theatrical, should not pull focus from the narrative but instead elevate the scenes when called for and blend seamlessly into the architecture when not called upon. To this end the lighting was all very intelligent and featured the ability to produce a huge range of color but the lights presented as traditional forms like recessed downlights, grazers or coves.   Anything more theatrical was tucked away in lighting rafts or behind translucent architectural details.

Articulating the design for each of the many shows was also incredibly fun. For example, the show Creativity of Making. Each of the 138 cubbies of whisky are independently controlled allowing the walls of whisky to highlight the featured whiskey and to dance with the rhythm of the soundtrack. This visual design was key element in telling the story of blending scotch.

Beyond the central tour the design also featured two roof top bars, The World Bar and the Explorer’s Bothy, each with a totally different look and feel.  The whisky is always the star of the show. With that in mind, the whole team set upon central idea that the spaces would be infused with golden warm light emitting from the liquid at every angle. We then layered in luminous other elements through the design.

For the Explorer’s Bothy elements of the design included the central sculptural swirling lines of wood and light. An array of hand blown glass hanging lighting fixtures are playfully made up of three different shapes but that all share the same design language. Everywhere the whiskey is illuminated from behind or below allowing the amber liquid to spread warm lighting throughout the space. The result is a space that encourages the enjoyment of whiskey, music and conversation.

In the World Bar a different technique was employed. Here natural light and view of the castle were front and center. Christian wanted the modern stained glass skylight be color and inform the guest experience. As the sun moves though the sky the geometric patterns of color shift around the room. We designed in ceiling lines whose curvilinear inner surfaces are lit from hidden miniature coves. The design goal is to have infinite effect colored light that wraps around the room. We layered in very thin hanging fixture to cast light down and augmented with classical modern floor lamps to create a sense of intimacy to each seating group.

One the greatest challenges was lighting the exterior of the historic building and not letter the physicality of the lighting fixtures distract from the building itself.  We took years working with the town council to design and implement a system of shields that hid the lights from view and that were color match to the building to help the whole system blend into the building as a whole. 

The Distilleries

Talisker

Johnnie Walker is a blended scotch and it is made up of many single malts each with their own distillery.  As part of the Destination Scotland program BRC reimagined and created visitor experiences at many of these key distilleries.  They asked us to be on the team for two of these.   Talisker and Coal Ila, both on islands off the coast of Scotland, have identities very closely connected to landscape where they are located. 

Talisker is one of the most famous distilleries in Scotland. Sitting on the remote island of Skye, the whisky flavor is heavily influenced by the surrounding sea and rouged landscape.  Christian knew those elements had to be contained in our approach to the design. All the aspects of the design flow from this direction. From the large drum mural that encompasses the central welcoming space, to the bar space that contains a modern nautical design, to the main show room that features projection mapping on its central tasting table. 

©BRC Imagination Arts

Coal Ila

Throughout Talisker’s guest experience lighting we found ways to imbue the whiskey with light that seems to come from the bottle or glass itself.  In the main tasting experience each seat has three tasting glasses that each sit on tiny little LED source milled into the table.  Each light in independently controlled allowing for the guest to know just which glass to chose.  In the other group tasting experiences the feature wall contains all the expression of the whisky and each bottle sits on top of the light.  Here the whiskey not only glows from within but the its hue colors the light as cascades on to the wall the cubby the bottle sits in.

Coal Ila, located on Islay, is famous for it’s peated whisky.   For this project Christian wanted an elevated tasting experience that captured the distilleries connection to the island of Islay.  So, the team designed beautiful natural wood tasting tables that sit looking out on the surrounding bay.  We selected the Cathode fixture from Davide Groppi to illuminate the tasting.  These hand-blown fixtures clearly echo the hands of their maker.  We wanted the design of the fixture to reinforce the central idea that whisky is crafted thing guided by the makers.   Also, their function of casting their focused warm light directly down on the table created sparkle and glow within the whiskey being tasted. 

©BRC Imagination Arts

We are really honored that this project has received significant recognition over the years. Johnnie Walker Princes Street and Talisker both received IES Awards of Merit for the lighting Design. Also Princes Street won a Thea Award for the project. The project also recieved honors from The Scottish Design Awards, The A/V Awards, and the Muse Creative Awards.

Ravinia Music Box

In the fall of 2016 long time client, BRC Imagination Arts asked Manny to join the team designing the new Music Box Experience Center at Ravinia Festival. Beginnings are always exciting and this project was no different. The Music Box project, led by Creative Directors Brad Shelton and Edward Hodge, contained elements of exterior building lighting, hospitality spaces, general circulation lighting that needed to connect to the pre-show experience and at the center of it all, a theatrical design for an immersive experience celebrating music and legacy of Leonard Bernstein. 

The jewel in the crown of the project is Bernstein’s Answer, a 10 minute immersive experience that asks the question of music’s impact and meaning. It explores the question by using music, projection, lighting and Bernstein’s own words & thoughts. Everything in the theater reacts to music and emotion. Manny explored ways in which the environmental and scenic lighting could lift and transform moments and the audience’s perception of the those moments. 

As the experience explores the topic of music’s power to transform and move people’s emotions, so too does the physical space of the theater itself transform. Projection and light both begin the show being very focused within the theater’s proscenium. As the show opens up with Bernstein’s music, so does the theatrical fabric of the show with projection and light expanding to surrounding the audience. It was a delight to design Bernstein’s Answer, a show that has such powerful music at its core, with all the team members at BRC. Lighting and music are two artistic expressions meant to dance with each other and on this project that dance helped build the emotional core of the show’s message. 

For the exterior of the building there is a bar space that sits on top of the lobby and pre-show spaces. Manny and BRC Creative Director Edward Hodge began by considering how the building would be seen from the lawn of the festival where so many of the guests experience the concerts from. The bar was always conceived as an island of color floating on top of the building. For the bar there were two major criteria. First, that the color all came from concealed sources. Manny wanted the impact to be from the color environment and not the point source of the light itself. The second major gesture was the ceiling of randomly laid out tiny aperture downlights that created the low level circulation lighting. Manny carefully considered both the location of each fixture but also their random circuiting combination to allow a carried intensity level from the point sources without a perceived pattern.

Rounding out the project was the gallery and circulation lighting. The BRC design concept for the whole building was centered around a design language of asymmetrical lines and shapes, and in the gallery and pre-show spaces Manny designed a track system that echoed that language.

The joy of the Music Box Experience Center for NYX was that is a complete project that encompasses the entire theater building, requiring many design skills and disciplines to come together to make for an impactful experience for the guests. It was a joy to be on this team.

Power Of Rock Experience

After over a year of design development The Power of Rock Experience opened to the public at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this past July.   Manny Treeson was invited to design the lighting for the whole experience, created, designed, and produced by BRC Imagination Arts.   We were thrilled to be on the team for such an exciting project.

From the beginning of the process, BRC's Creative Director Christian Lachel desired to take the guests on a journey immersing them in the music.  Christian knew everyone has memories and emotions triggered by one song or another.  From a lighting point of view, we wanted to have the whole experience be active and fluid; that all the lighting would be an extension of the music bathing the guest in an immersive environment driven by both beat and mood.   

The theater was created to embody all of these ideas.   We started with the film, directed by Jonathan Demme, that celebrated the legendary performances at the induction ceremony and concert.  

The film utilizes tracking screens with dynamic media locked to them.    Scenic lines made up of video strips outline the space.  We approached these video strips from a generative point of view.   The content is generated in Touch Designer  in real time and manipulated by the lighting console.  This afforded us the ability to treat this scenery dynamically and manipulate it along with the entire lighting rig.

Once the the film concludes, the guests walk out through a curved ramp that rises from the 3rd floor to the 4th around the outside of the theater.   To make this exit more dynamic we created a tunnel of volumetric video that was cued to While My Guitar Gently Weeps.   A rotating vortex of light and pattern pulls the guests  down the hallway.  We wanted the guests to feel that the entire space was directly connected to the music and that they were completely immersed within it.

Upon exiting the hallway, the guests are treated to an exhibit of artifacts from the performances that were featured in the film.  

Nordstrom Light Weave Installations

Abigail worked with Co-Designer Bob Bonniol, of MODE architectural, to design volumetric light sculptures for the flagships store escalator cores of luxury retailer, Nordstrom.  Working for the architectural firm Callison, and for Nordstrom; they designed and implemented four elegant LED Light Weave installations which have been installed in the Vancouver, Chicago, and Toronto stores.

The Light Weaves are comprised of breathtakingly light weight custom copper strands which drop 20’ to 60' from the ceiling.  Individually controlled custom LED nodes are arrayed in a regular grid allowing for a dimensional and volumetric display of programmed patterns.

Abbey and Bob created a suite of evolving and varied ambient programming, which modulates with time of day to reflect the energy levels of the store environment.  Additional programs were created for holidays and special events.

The custom Light Weave LED sculptures were manufactured by Tait Towers, and installed by systems integrator 4Wall.

Ford Rouge Factory Tour wins THEA Award for Outstanding Achievement

Manny was  thrilled when the folks at BRC Imagination Arts asked us to design the lighting for the  Manufacturing Innovation a 360 degree theater that is part of the Ford Rouge Factory Tour.  We were even more thrilled when we learned it won a THEA Award for Outstanding Achievement.   

The show was conceived to celebrate the launch of the new Ford 150 truck which is built at the Rouge Plant, Dearborn MI.   The audience experiences how the truck was designed and built through six screens that immerse the audience in a 360 degree experience.   The show uses projection mapping on the 150 to illustrate the journey the truck takes through the manufacturing process.   

We designed the lighting throughout the theater to wrap around the audience and immerse them in the experience of the show.   We lit the walls behind the screens as wrap around cyc and we embeded small puck lights in the floor in a grid.   We were then able to extend the canvas of the theater by using the floor and walls together in pixel map.   The effect is a fluid radiating wash of color across the theater in sync with the music and narrative beats of the show.   

A real highlight for us was conceiving the lighting for the manufacturing robots that are central to the show.   It seemed natural that instead of lighting the robots from above or below, the robots themselves should emit and glow with light.  This way no mater where in space their arms move they always are alive with light.