Seoul's COEX Intercontinental Hotel Upgrades to ETC Paradigm Lighting Control

In November, Seoul, South Korea, took center stage when it hosted the 2010 G-20 Summit. In preparation for the increase in international visitors, many hotels and event facilities within the city finalized renovation projects. One notable example was the installation of the country's largest ETC Unison Paradigm architectural-lighting control system, at the COEX InterContinental Hotel in Gangnam, downtown Seoul, handled by ETC's Korean distributor, C&C Lightway Inc. Built in 1988, this five-star luxury hotel is part of the Korea World Trade Center Complex, referred to as "COEX." The COEX InterContinental has been a mainstay of Seoul's international business culture and has historically been selected as the official hotel for major events, including the 1988 Olympics.

Guided by C&C Lightway, the hotel replaced its ten-year-old event lighting control with the ETC Paradigm system, employing a total of nine architectural-control processors. The newly installed Paradigm system handles lighting within 15 locations of the hotel. Lighting is managed from six control zones. The hotel's budgetary parameters dictated a control-only scheme that would integrate and utilize current facilities lighting.

Anticipating G-20 Summit events, the COEX InterContinental upgraded their event-hall facilities. The halls are divided into the B1 "Harmony Level" and "30th Floor" rooms. The Harmony Level halls are the largest in the hotel, popular as ballroom spaces for corporate-level events and weddings. The 30th Floor rooms provide smaller-scale multi-use spaces with panoramic city views. Each space is now equipped with its own Paradigm DRd dimming racks so that each maintains local lighting control while benefiting from being part of a networked system.

Following the installation, C&C Lightway worked closely with the COEX InterContinental's event director to program a series of new lighting schemes that would suit interior-design requirements. The COEX InterContinental staff was extremely pleased that Paradigm was able to integrate so seamlessly and complement the existing lighting. With the Paradigm ACP modules housed in DRd6 and DRd12 enclosures, the system also utilizes ETC's Sensor+ Installation Racks, SmartSwitch Relay Panels, and a variety of Unison Heritage button and fader stations.