Star Sydney’s Grand Foyer makes big statement
The Star Sydney has been spending up bigtime, dropping $65m on a transformation of the property’s Pyrmont entrance, with a brand-new bar, luxury retailers and, now, an arrival experience to die for.
You’re looking at the amazing $22m ‘Grand Foyer’ — part light, part water and part digital art gallery.
The Star Sydney Chief Operating Officer, Dino Mezzatesta, describes it: “The new Grand Foyer includes a 25m-long, 8K resolution crescent-shaped screen which will showcase the works of emerging and established Australian artists, university students, cinematographers and animators. The screen content reacts dynamically to the real-world environment and human movement, encouraging guest interaction.
“Inspiration behind the artworks was drawn from The Star’s proximity to the busy Sydney Harbour shoreline – and the constant ebb and flow of human activity within the Pyrmont area.
“Alongside the digital canvas, is the first sculptural water installation of its design in the Southern Hemisphere – the ‘Aquatique’ artwork of falling water. The integration of Aquatique, LED screens, lasers, lighting and live performances is a world first for an entertainment precinct.”
STAR TURN
The new guest arrival experience has been collaboratively delivered by The Star Entertainment Group and rockstar lighting specialist Bruce Ramus (Ramus Illumination), who were responsible for delivering Australia’s largest permanent outdoor projection system at The Star Gold Coast, as well as its porte-cochère lighting installation, also at Broadbeach.
Bruce Ramus: “With The Star Sydney Grand Foyer arrival experience, we wanted to design an experience full of compelling encounters that enrich the journey. We envisioned a beautiful, unifying space that embraces and welcomes all people, and we believe we’ve achieved this.
“We’ve turned light into an expressive platform in the form of the digital canvas. Through this, light animates to tell the story of the local environment, it is the light, movement and artistic expression of the community that shares the wider story of The Star and Sydney.”
The Star Sydney: www.thestarsydney.com.au
Ramus Illumination: (03) 9191 2544 or www.ramus.com.au
FAST FACTS
- The $65m transformation of the property’s western Pyrmont entrance, will welcome an average of 20,000 guests per day.
- The centrepiece of the new Grand Foyer is a 25-metre-long, 8K resolution crescent shaped screen which will feature 8736 hours of content throughout the year.
- The Grand Foyer is valued at $22 million and it took 20 months from design to completion.
- The ‘Aquatique’ feature will recycle 13,000L of water a day.
- Over 6,000sqm of stone and marble have been laid out in the Grand Foyer, equivalent to the size of The White House.
- The feature column in The Star Grand lobby features one kilometre of stainless steel strips which is equivalent to the height of three Eiffel Towers.
- There are over 4800 decorative aluminium gold rings in the hotel foyer.