Hala Koszyki is a new meeting, greeting, eating and social concept in Warsaw. Located in a stunning industrial building dating back to 1909 once a flourishing food market during the Russian Empire and a military hospital in the second world war, this has now beautifully and painstakingly restored to its original shape and form. It features multiple restaurant and bar concepts, grocery stores and services with a diverse and eclectic offering of international food and cuisine.
This hipster hang out transformation in Warsaw’s Śródmieście (central) district is a popular destination – from business meetings in a funky location to friends looking for a vibe, great food and architecture, there is also a small stage for DJs and live entertainment.
To add yet more ambience to the space, a lighting installation was created and installed by Dominik Halgas of design, rental and production company Fabryka Imprez, with Robe Parfect 150s among other fixtures.
The stage came after Hala Koszyki was built and opened, the operators decided it was a perfect place for selected music or other events like comedy, so the stage was added, and Dominik was asked to add lighting to the picture.
Hala Koszyki was a more unusual project for Fabryka Imprez, who came onboard through Dominik’s connections with and enthusiasm for the alternative rave and dance scene.
His brief was to create a budget-conscious lighting installation with mood-changing potential to deal with anything from the intimacy of a solo performance or a stand-up comedian to a pumping DJ set.
Due to the historical fabric and materials of the building, no smoke or fog is possible, so Dominik chose lights that were bright and versatile.
During the daylight hours, the extensive glass ceiling means there is light flooding into the space, so that was another factor to consider when adding entertainment lighting, especially in the summer months with the long evenings.
For key lightsources, he wanted fixtures that could blend well with the natural light as it changed tonality at dusk and before darkness and the Parfect 150 was ideal because of the small size, the excellent quality of light and the zoom.
He also wanted to use an LED source for all the obvious reasons, and it was a cost-effective option.
Fourteen Parfect 150s are installed around the stage and central bar area of the ground floor, all attached to the impressive RSJs and structural metalwork by bespoke brackets.
Dominik tested a number of lights before finally deciding on Parfacts, but he was keen to use a Robe product for “reliability, low maintenance and the great service that we know we will get from it”.
He also has a good relationship with Robe’s distributor Prolight which is vital, particularly for an installation project with the lights in long-term use.
Dominik and his company have been using Robe products for around 5 years and they own both Pointes and MegaPointes which are constantly in use on corporate event work that constates the largest portion of their turnover – followed by clubs, dance / DJ events and cool parties!
When the Pointe was launched in 2013 they started looking at Robe as it “fast became the most popular moving light in Poland!” he recalled, adding “I would say that it still is, now along with the MegaPointe!”
Dominik is delighted with the results of the first phase of lighting-related atmospheric engineering at Hala Koszyki … and the client is are now considering adding some architectural lighting throughout the building.
Fabryka Imprez was started by Dominik in 1999 and now has bases in Warsaw and Krakow. The company provides lighting, audio, video and staging equipment as well as design concepts and realisation.
