Flipper’s Roller Boogie Palace

CASE STUDY ASPECTS:

10 LED screens
5 projectors
8 Novastar MCTRL600 processors
1 Novastar MCTRL4K processor
2 Green Hippo Hippotizer Boreal+ MK2
4 Datapath FX4-SDI
2 Kramer VM-4H2
1 Crestron CP3

A slice of late 1970s California is brought to Europe as a state-of-the-art indoor roller rink opens in London thanks to the vision of Nvisible Agency, with visual integration completed by Creative Technology Systems Integration. Fresh off the back of a summer-long revival with an outside rink at the Rockefeller Center in New York City, Flipper’s new home in the English capital is home to public and private events, all made possible by a large influx of high-grade technology.

THE PROJECT

Co-founded by English model Liberty Ross and American entrepreneur Kevin Wall, Flipper’s Roller Boogie Palace is a new 34,000 sq ft entertainment destination featuring a roller rink, pro skate shop, restaurant, two bars, and the ability to host live music events.

Flipper’s has taken over Exhibition London, a Grade II listed building which was built in 1899 for Central London Railways and retains its period design features such as the tiled interior walls and huge arch windows.

Spanning two floors, the ground level features the restaurant and skate shop while the first floor is where punters get their skates on.

After Flipper’s secured the building on a five-year lease, Nvisible Agency were asked to design the skate-specific aspects of the venue. Creative Technology Systems Integration were then contracted by Nvisible Agency to supply, install, and integrate the screens and projectors into the venue.

THE CHALLENGES

The building itself presented some challenges due to it being Grade II listed. One of these challenges included not being permitted to fix anything to the tiled walls; however, Creative Technology worked around this by designing custom frames to hold the four of the LED screens so that they could be floor standing. The projectors are hung from the rigging and the roller shutters that come down over the windows are hung from the building’s metalwork rather than being attached to the walls themselves.

Another area of this project that required extra attention was the building’s wiring. As the space was already wired for video, data and fibre as a temporary events space, the team worked to integrate using the existing wiring with an excellent finished result.

THE DETAILS

When it came to choosing the screens and projection solutions, Absen LED screens and Epson projectors were identified as the best options due to the variety, value, and high quality of these products.

It was important to choose an LED product that was available in a wide array of shapes and sizes due to the varying requirements throughout the venue.

Hippotizer media servers power the video content across the venue – both to the projectors and the LED screens – and also the LED strips on the rig above the rink, which are designed as chevrons. They are positioned at such a height so that they are in the skater’s peripheral vision, making them visible along with the projections or LED screens, depending on where they are in the rink.

Complementing the LED strips are large visual elements on either side of the room. On one side there are four Absen K3 Plus 4.5m x 3.5m LED screens, and on the opposite side five Epson EB-PU2220B projectors point at custom-designed Showtex roller blinds.

Both the screens and blinds are positioned in front of the huge windows, with the blinds retractable to let in natural light when necessary.

A Novastar MCTRL4K and 8 MCTRL600 LED controllers are positioned locally with the larger screens, while Crestron CP3 control software presents an easy-to-use interface for venue staff to perform basic functions and operate pre-sets.