Company: Lighting Design International

Project title: Four Seasons Astir Palace, Athens

Location: Athens, Greece

Category: Large indoor projects – HIGHLY COMMENDED CREATIVE DESIGN SOLUTION

Lighting Design International_Four Seasons Astir Palace_Athens 4 (Photographer: Gavriil Papadiotis)

Lighting Design International_Four Seasons Astir Palace_Athens 3 (Photographer: Gavriil Papadiotis)

Lighting Design International_Four Seasons Astir Palace_Athens 5 (Photographer: Gavriil Papadiotis)

Lighting Design International_Four Seasons Astir Palace_Athens 2 (Photographer: Gavriil Papadiotis)

Lighting Design International_Four Seasons Astir Palace_Athens 1 (Photographer: Gavriil Papadiotis)

What did the project set out to achieve? 

The Four Seasons Astir Palace Athens has undertaken a complete overhaul. Located in the southern Athenian suburb of Vouliagmeni, the Astir Palace Resort opened in 1958 and evolved into a major resort in the 60s. While structural elements and some of the exterior walls were retained, both buildings, Arion and Nafsika, were fully renovated. The design vision LDI achieved, created a sophisticated lighting scheme, distinctive for each Hotel yet cohesive with an all-encompassing residential feel.

LDI has an extensive Hospitality and residential lighting portfolio. Therefore, understanding and achieving lighting design with the Four Seasons ethos of “a home far away from home” in mind, was key for the success of the project. LDI has worked with Four Seasons Hotels in numerous occasions and understands their vision. The brief was to design a sophisticated lighting scheme for the Hotel with a distinctive residential feel, a glitzy yet homey Hotel where the guests could relax and unwind after a day of beach or touristic pursuits.

How is DALI used within the project?

The use of the DALI control system was essential to achieve the” home far away from home” feel. LED sources these days have managed to achieve the warmth and dimmability characteristic only natural in the tungsten sources used in the past. The candle-like ambience and its inherent magic has defined the ambience of many successful Hotels to this day. It has always been the desire to emulate this quality of light even with the new technology challenges that LED sources bring at present. The elements providing the desired magical atmosphere are the right combination of brightness and colour temperature. 

It is important from the outset to agree the overall colour temperature for the space with client and interior designers. We usually use a very warm palette for the lighting temperature of the space ranging from a tuneable palette 2700K to 2200K for the linear and a dim -tone 2700K-2200K for the downlighters. Tuneable and dim-tone LED light fittings were easily addressed by the system providing a smooth change from a fresh cooler scene to a warmer “candlelit” scene.

The brightness of a light source is governed by the DALI-A control system. The DALI-A control system depends highly on the use of the right drivers and sources which are key on  helping the lighting designer realize the initial vision by allowing the lit canvas to be set seamlessly. Like an artist, the lighting designer uses different combinations of light levels to create the desired ambience throughout the day. In order to get the right scene we need to select the best drivers/system combination  for the job. In this case, eldoLED drivers were key to getting the right level of light to the source and light channels which in conjunction worked with the DALI-A control system to be set seamlessly throughout the day.

Why was DALI chosen? 

- We specified DALI-A as each Driver is individually addressed and provides continuous feedback to the system.
- DALI-A delivers the most space efficient and cost effective solution for spaces with more than 4 DALI channels.
- DALI A  has 16 channels (groups) per cable and no re-wiring necessary to change or split the channels (groups)
- Cross wires on DALI bus does not affect performance.
- Length of control cable is extensive at a max distance of 300meters providing extra flexibility on equipment locations.
- Connectivity with other technology
- Effective digital lighting control through the dimming of light sources.
- Effective tuneable/dim-tone colour temperature control through dimming enabling the lighting designer to meet their vision.
- The system provides the flexibility for any tuneable/dim-tone fitting that had a range outside of the required colour temperature palette (2200K-2700K) was “trimmed” by the system to achieve the desired colour temperature range.
- No electrical interference as the DALI core cable can be run with mains power.
- Addressing and grouping into LDI control channels to build individual scenes to each space during the day/night was flexible, easy and effective before and during commissioning.
- Seamless transitioning of the scenes was very effective with the DALI-A system.
- Future proofing.
- Due to DALI’s two-way communication, LED drivers can be addressed individually to check on energy use.

What benefits does DALI provide?

- We specified DALI-A as each Driver is individually addressed and provides continuous feedback to the system.
- DALI-A delivers the most space efficient and cost effective solution for spaces with more than 4 DALI channels.
- DALI A  has 16 channels (groups) per cable and no re-wiring necessary to change or split the channels (groups)
- Cross wires on DALI bus does not affect performance.
- Length of control cable is extensive at a max distance of 300meters providing extra flexibility on equipment locations.
- Connectivity with other technology
- Effective digital lighting control through the dimming of light sources.
- Effective tuneable/dim-tone colour temperature control through dimming enabling the lighting designer to meet their vision.
- The system provides the flexibility for any tuneable/dim-tone fitting that had a range outside of the required colour temperature palette (2200K-2700K) was “trimmed” by the system to achieve the desired colour temperature range.
- No electrical interference as the DALI core cable can be run with mains power.
- Addressing and grouping into LDI control channels to build individual scenes to each space during the day/night was flexible, easy and effective before and during commissioning.
- Seamless transitioning of the scenes was very effective with the DALI-A system.
- Future proofing.
- Due to DALI’s two-way communication, LED drivers can be addressed individually to check on energy use.

Customer Feedback

• Nice seamless transition of the scenes.
• Space and cost efficient!
• A great advantage is that each driver is individually addressable.
• It is an extremely flexible system!

Parties involved