12 September 2013
Over 2000 Robe LEDWash fixtures are in action on a series of high profile stands – including Audi, BMW, Mini. Opel, Porsche, Seat and Volkswagen, at the Frankfurt 65th International Motor Show (IAA).
One of the world’s leading auto expos, IAA 2013 is being staged at the Frankfurt Messe, 10 – 22nd September 2013.
The different stands have been designed by some of the leading creative practices in the country, and the fixtures supplied by a number of the primary German rental and dry hire companies.
The preparations started months ago with Audi constructing its own temporary exhibition Hall – Agora – especially for IAA; and Mercedes Benz building a 3 level high showroom into the famous Frankfurt “Festhalle”, more usually a host to large scale concerts. The Frankfurt Motor Show – powered by the prestigious German Manufacturers – is also a leader in innovation and technical production excellence.
Robe’s LEDWash – available in 300, 600, 800 and 1200 variants – has established itself as a firm favourite for auto show lighting designers, who like its high quality homogenised light output, excellent range of colour temperature whites and cool running, which helps keep the environments comfortable without needing excessive air-con.
Volkswagen (VW)
The Volkswagen “family” with Skoda, Seat, Lamborghini and Bentley is located in Hall 3, with the impressive VW section occupying half of the hall. VW is launching its new electric vehicles – the e-up! and the e-Golf – and lighting for the stand has been designed by rgb gmbh studio für lichtgestaltung und technische konzeption from Essen.
The lighting rig includes 930 of Robe’s LEDWash 800 units which are illuminating the booth’s architectural elements. Around 68 x LEDWash PureWhites were also in action, some of which were lighting the scenic wind-turbine set around the e-Up! A further 49 x LEDWash 1200s were used for illuminating the stage during VW’s press conference.
All the lighting equipment is supplied by Salzgitter based rental company Rockservice in co-operation with other leading German dry hire companies.
Audi 
Lighting designer Miko Schmidt from creative agency 4 to 1 Scale from Cologne has imagineered the lighting design for the amazing Audi stand which showcases their new Cabrio S3 amongst many other vehicles.
The dramatic booth design features giant light boxes clad with graphics of upside down skyscrapers, coupled with stunning ceiling video projection onto mirrored surfaces – simultaneously disorientating and thrilling – making it one of the most talked-about booths of the show.
A total of 680 Robe LEDWash 600s are used to illuminate the light-boxes from within, all supplied by rental specialist CT Germany from Nürtingen near Stuttgart. Schmidt has used LEDWashes before at the Paris and Geneva international motor shows.
Mini
The eye-catching Hall 11 based Mini stand features 59 x LEDWash 600 RGBWs and 36 x LEDWash SmartWhites which reinforce Mini´s funky and cool lifestyle image. PRG is supplying the equipment and the lighting is designed by Tobias Heydthausen for Niyu.
Heydthausen comments that the LEDWashes are “Great “for creating even washes, and he really appreciates the SmartWhites and their range of colour temperatures which enable the different vehicle colours to be accentuated and toned correctly.
Porsche
All the style and panache you would expect from the crème de la crème car manufacturer is here in and on the stand – whose designers and technical suppliers use a total of 350 x LEDWash 800s for this year’s IAA. After using 280 specially modified LEDWash 600 on the last Frankfurt show in 2011, the designers from TLD again choose these new LEDWashes – complete with integral beam-shaper – to meet their demands. Neumann & Müller were chosen as technical supplier.
BMW
Robe has also had a strong presence on showcase areas of BMW stands at other recent International motor shows including Geneva 2012 and 2013 and Paris in 2012.
The BMW stand lighting for Frankfurt 2013 is designed by Martin Kuhn for the Niyu agency, and includes 24 x LEDWash 1200 Daylights and RGB and 18 x LEDWash 800s for different parts of the two stages.
Lleyendecker from Wuppertal is taking care of all the technical aspects of this stand.
Seat
Also located in Hall 3, also Seat is using LEDWashes with Lleyendecker again responsible for supplying all the lighting hardware.
Opel
Over in Hall 8, Opel showcase their new Monza concept car which was lit by Ralf Penkert from Atelier Stromberg … using 36 x LEDWash 800s on a circular truss above the car podium. In addition, another 168 x LEDWash 800s are in use on other parts of the stand, supplied by schoko pro GmbH from Wiesbaden.
Auto Take Off
Everything took off for Robe as a lighting brand of choice for auto shows at Frankfurt in 2011, when its LEDWashes were first specified by LD Peter Heilig from SFS for the BMW stand, and in parallel, they were also chosen to light the Porsche stand.
Heilig again chose Robe – over 300 fixtures – for BMW at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show for the pavilion presenting their new 6 series Gran Coupe.
Robe then developed the LEDWash 800 unit with their patented rotatable lens that can project a square beam, ideal for precision lighting and especially relevant to automotive and architectural lighting applications.
Other features making Robe’s LEDWash generally popular are the smooth, high quality light-output, the previously mentioned homogeneity and the whites … plus of course the reliability.
The versatility and variability of the LEDWash range means that LD’s can use less fixtures to light the same space in the right way – and that they need only one type of lightsource to cover all aspects of their designs.
Saving budgets and time, using LEDWashes with their considerably lighter weight means less complicated rigging requirements and the dramatic reduction of show electricity bills due to the fixtures’ low power consumption.
Robe and German distributor LMP helped make available over 1400 LEDWash 800s available via dry hire and rental companies in the run up to the 2013 Frankfurt motor show!
Following the great success of the LEDWash 600, Robe has set new standards with the LEDWash 800.
Assessing the needs of the market, Robe decided to invest in getting the new 15W LED chips in the same colour spectrum as the 10W LED chips used in the LEDWash 600 … in a clear commitment to designers, users and investors.
