UK - The history of the Vishwa Hindu Kendra Temple in London dates back to March 1978 when is was inaugurated by Swami Satyamitrananda and is renowned for the presentation of its sacred images.

The external appearance of the Kendra reflects the design of many temples in India, including a portico with niches which house a popular Hindu image of welcome in the form of Lakshmi, and also Siva as Nataraja, Lord of the Dance.

The new building extension to the temple in Southall opened in April 2007 with a sound system installation in the main function room by Electracoustic. The function

USA - The new World of Coca-Cola, the $100 million Coke museum which opened at a new site in Atlanta, features a 30ft tall replica of Coke's famous contour bottle which is encased in a 90ft, ice-like glass cylinder suspended above the lobby entrance, with lighting control via a grandMA.

Lighting designers Michael Creason and Seth Rapaport of Visionary Light & Media in Montverde, Florida, were charged with illuminating the iconic bottle and creating lighting effects for the attention-getting signage. Within the bottle are 216 Color Kinetics ColorCast 14 fixtures, 10 Flutes, 96 Birkett

UK - Hemsworth Arts & Community College has used Maltbury's Metrodeck staging for many years, and head of drama Stephen Foster recently asked Maltbury for a piece of rotating scenery for use at the school and in competition.

Maltbury provided a Scenic Revolve comprising three 8ftx4ft panels mounted on a rotating frame. These panels are arranged so that three different 8ftx8ft faces can be shown to the audience - a total of almost 200sq.ft of flattage.

The boards can be painted, have things stuck to them or projected onto them. They can also be removed. Each panel can then be taken d

UK - The Grove Theatre, Dunstable was officially opened on with a gala performance hosted by Brian Blessed. The curved auditorium seats 780 people on two levels in stalls, circle and box style seating with the option of retractable stalls seating offering a flat, floor space increasing the capacity to 1,000.

After the infrastructure was installed by Northern Light, AC Lighting won the supply of loose equipment to include 48 x Selecon Rama High Performance Fresnels, 5 x Aurora 4-way Cycs and 2 x Performer Series Toru Followspots.

Matt Kingslake, technical manager at the Grove Theatre

Australia - Bonython Hall, the great hall of Australia's University of Adelaide, was built in 1936 thanks to a donation from local dignitary, politician and journalist, Sir Langdon Bonython.

Used for a wide range of functions - from university exams and graduation ceremonies, through to conferences, weddings, funerals and presentations - the hall's architecture is marvellous to look at, but the hard surfaces don't lend themselves to good acoustics.

When pro audio distributor Audio Telex was approached by the University to improve the hall's audio facilities, EASE modelling and an on

France - Glasgow's Soccer Circus has selected Medialon Manager show control for its new enterprise. Housed within a multi-activity visitor centre at Xscape, the attraction has been developed by former football manager and international footballer Kevin Keegan, Scottish entrepreneur Peter Barr, project director Clive Mockford, and principal engineers David Birchall and Alistair Harrison.

"The project has been very thoroughly researched, and we believe we have a soccer-based attraction that is second only to the thrill of taking part in a professional match," says Keegan.

So

Denmark - Part of a noble tradition, the new European Performers House at the Institute of Performing Arts (IPA) Silkeborg, a new international school for young actors, musicians and dancers, has set itself an exacting target - to draw almost half its students from the wider Europe, beyond the borders of Denmark.

European Performers House (EPH) intends to be at the forefront of entertainment in the arts and has already forged relations with comparable institutions around Europe, securing agreement for EPH studies to count towards formal educational qualifications from those institutes

UK - The new Richard Desmond Children's Eye Centre is a recent addition to London's Moorfields Eye Hospital, recognised around the world as a leading institute for eye health.

The centre was designed by Penoyre & Prasad Architects in consultation with patients, their families and staff. One of its most striking features is the south façade. Folded aluminium louvres are suspended on a tensioned cable net to prevent direct light entering the building, whilst at the same time creating fascinating abstract imageries.

Lightscape Projects - part of the Light Projects Group - was responsi

Greece - Originally built to host the badminton competition at the 2004 Olympics, the Badminton Theatre has been converted into the most state of the art theatre in Greece. Situated in a park in the centre of Athens, the transformation took place in the remarkably short time of eight months.

The company managing the project, Arts, Dance and Music Productions (ADaM), spared no expense when it came to the theatre's technical equipment and called in Athens based pro audio and lighting specialists Telmaco to advise on the sound and lighting installations.

"The Badminton management

USA - As part of its ongoing effort to strengthen business operations, Theatre Projects US has announced the appointment of Karen Ruta as business manager. Ruta brings with her extensive experience in business and financial management, having held the positions of business manager and CFO for several businesses in Connecticut including a sports marketing company, a professional photography studio, and a media buying company. Ruta's addition to the company provides Theatre Projects with the business expertise to help manage the continued growth of the company.

Ruta will assume the admi

Eire - The Royal Dublin Society is Ireland's premier venue for meetings, conferences, exhibitions, trade and public shows, entertainment and sporting events. It is also to be the new home for Leinster Rugby Club and to facilitate this RDS has purchased three new grandstands that provide an additional 12,600 seats using Arena Seating's clearview product.

Royal Dublin Society chief executive, Michael Duffy says: "We have to provide the best available for our customers and evaluated several seating systems. Arena's clearview product provides the best sightlines, a comfortable seat a

Spain - Head of QSC Spain, Mauri Costa reports that three major entertainment venues in the Catalonia region have recently adopted the QSC brand - both for the system transparency and design aesthetic. And two of these - Sala Highland in Tarragona and Sala Mandra in the Barcelona suburb of Hospitalet del Llobregat - have already pledged to maintain continuity with the QSC systems approach when they begin their second phase of development.

But it is the 800-capacity Sala Ángel in the Barcelona suburb of Sabadell, that has really captured the imagination. Situated in the Zona Herm&eacu

UK - The Centre Court atmosphere at this year's Wimbledon Tennis Championships was a very different one due to the absence of a roof! This very different environment called for a very different loudspeaker system.

It was clear to Tim Speight and Jon Berry of sound contractor RG Jones Sound Engineering (suppliers of sound systems for the Club), that installing a distributed system would not be a viable option; as the limitations on possible loudspeaker positions and cable routes would have compromised the performance of a distributed system enough to render it useless. So an innovative

Austria - Austrian Harman Pro distributors, Kain Audio, has fitted out two high-pedigree, but vastly different hotels in Austria, using a ZonePRO audio solution from dbx Professional Products.

Said Franz Werner, sales manager for Kain Audio, "ZonePRO is the perfect answer when we are looking to send different audio sources to many different zones, with a paging override - as is the case in hotel applications."

Kain divided Roomz into 10 different sound zones and Bleibergerhof into 12, using a ZonePRO 641 and ZonePRO 1261 in the former and a pair of ZonePRO 1261's in the la

South Africa - Catering for a diverse corporate and private clientele, The Catwalk, located in Gauteng's Fourways Mall, is the ultimate venue for casual, social gatherings and slick, professional events.

Harman Pro distributors, Wild and Marr, were approached to provide a complete audio and lighting solution. The elaborate technical demands called for a system that is flexible in operation, as the dynamic venue will cater to a variety of events, including a cross spectrum of entertainment. After many site visits, audio system designer, Justin Mamulis, proposed a multi-faceted solution

USA - D-Tools has announced the 5th annual D-Tools Design Awards call for entries. The 2007 D-Tools Design Awards showcase "the finest residential and commercial system integration projects created with the newest version of D-Tools' award-winning System Integrator software". Winners will be announced at this year's D-Tools University (DTU) in November.

Winning projects will be selected from the following categories for this year's Design Awards: Best Residential System, Best Commercial System, Most Unique System (residential or commercial), and Best Overall System.

Winner

UK - A customised Kinesys motor control system has been installed into the Royal Albert Hall. The project was instigated by the Hall's rigging manager, Simon Frost, and was delivered in two phases. With over 360 shows a year staged at the Royal Albert Hall, Frost wanted to introduce additional layers of health & safety and extra flexibility to the rig, which used to work on a conventional up/down motor control system. "I have always liked the design and functionality of Kinesys equipment," he says.

With the hoists hanging over 130ft up in the grid, their movement is barely a

UK - In the ten years since leaving his native Bordeaux for the UK, Matthieu Destandau has done much to keep London's Fitzrovia on the culinary map. He made his name a block or so south of his present incumbency on London's Gt. Titchfield Street at CVO Firevault, which became an ultra-chic cocktail bar and party venue.

Then he was headhunted by David Alberto, chief executive of Avanta, the company which operates the nearby Media Village Business Centre, and the two men set about converting the somewhat drab, integral basement 'canteen', known as the Winchester Club, into the resplende

UK - With the final commissioning of a purpose-designed dance system for its premier room, the Ministry of Sound in London is now equipped exclusively with Martin Audio components - from the ground up.

It had long been the dream of Dave Bradshaw (formerly head of production but now a consultant to the MoS) to make the world-famous club an exclusively Martin Audio house. After last year's PLASA Show the bar underwent a sound system conversion, and this month added the four additional S218 subs to create uniformity, while the club embarked on redesigning the venue's Holy Grail, the main

Australia - Clifton Productions, a major player in the lighting production industry, has announced the creation of a newly formed company within their ranks - Moving Light Rentals (MLR).

MLR has had a flying start with a sizeable investment in 300 Robe moving lights, bringing their total Robe inventory to over 450 units. The luminaires - a 50/50 split of Spot and Wash fixtures from Robe's 700, 1200 and 2500 E AT ranges - have been delivered via Robe Lighting's Australian distributor ULA Group P/L.

MLR is designed to offer industry rate prices to its clients enabling them to re-rent

UK - Portsmouth-based dance school, KateEllen Movement & Dance's production of Dance Through Time was held at St Johns College in Southsea in July of this year and the ChamSys MagicQ PC Wing was there too.

The house rig of conventional lighting, with Zero 88 Betapack dimming supplemented by additional dimming and DMX switch packs, PAR cans, UV Tubes, Jem ZR24/7 Hazer, CCT followspot and the 6ft tall hand-built Tardis - was controlled using a single laptop with external monitor and a ChamSys MagicQ PC Wing - an affordable and portable method for lighting designer and operator Ma

UK - Built in London's East End in 1933, the Troxy has been many things - one of the largest cinemas in England, a World War II air-raid shelter, a Mecca bingo hall - but recently it has been restored to full theatrical glory by new owners Lali Enterprises, and is now available for private and corporate receptions, as well as live music events.

The Grade II-listed building has retained its original 1930s art deco features but now also contains a stage, dance floor, four bars and a full kitchen. With a capacity for up to 2,600 people, it provides a venue for large-scale parties, awards

UK - Experienced operators City Centre Leisure Group have opened the Club 2020 in Bournemouth - with a programme of appearances by top international DJs (including Erick Morillo and Trevor Nelson) and a technology infrastructure to satisfy the most discerning of practitioners.

The leisure company - run by Josh Simons, Alan Simons and John Tyror - also run the Landmark restaurant in the town. They enlisted Mark Neal's Production Hire to carry out the installation.

The conversion of the 840-capacity, former K-Bar has been inspired. The ground floor dance room (and adjacent tented chil

UK - Bristol City Football Club (BCFC) has marked its promotion to the Championship by installing a new sound system at its Ashton Gate stadium.

Following a competitive tender process against a specification by Steve Jones, Venue Technology expert for the Acoustics Division of Capital Symonds, the contact was awarded to Bristol-based systems integration company Sounds Commercial. UK cable specialist VDC Trading supplied much of the Low Smoke Zero Halogen, steel wire armoured and fire tough cable for the project.

Damian Orritt, installation contracts manager of Sounds Commercials say

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