Robe at Hrvatski Dom Split Concert Hall

The 256-capacity Concert Hall at the Hrvatski Dom in Split, Croatia’s second city and vibrant cultural hub, is enjoying new Robe T1 Profile moving lights as part of a technical investment that was instigated and specified by the venue’s head of technical, Slaven Tahirbegovic.

The fixtures were delivered by Robe’s Croatian distributor LAV Studio and installed when the building re-opened after extensive renovations which returned the Art Nouveau architecture and décor back to its original 1908 splendour simultaneously integrating contemporary elements enabling it to function fully as a cool 21st century performance space.

They join the existing 10 x Robe LEDWash 600s which were delivered in late 2019, a great combination of fixtures to facilitate the current programme of shows and events.

The Concert Hall is an intimate and beautiful space. It has outstanding acoustics and is utilised for classical, jazz, acoustic and unplugged concerts, and broadcasts. The venue also regularly hosts premium conferences and presentations. Typically, 10 or 12 shows a month are staged there, boosted to daily performances during Split’s famous Summer Festival which runs for a month mid-July to mid-August. During the pandemic, the Concert Hall’s first ‘new season’ streamed programme in 2021 attracted over 30,000 online visitors.

Before taking up his post at Hrvatski Dom, Slaven worked for over 26 years at HRT (Croatian Radio Television) and for five years in different high-profile technical, broadcasting and consulting capacities in Qatar. Already familiar with Robe as a brand, this where he first met the T1 Profile.

After returning to Croatia to start the job and as the renovation neared completion, he started looking for new lights for the Concert Hall.

The T1 Profile is very quiet – essential for a concert hall. It’s an excellent piece of kit that just works on all levels – and it is a simple as that, he said, adding that he likes the amazing quality of light output and the excellent range of colour correction whites. 

From a technical standpoint, reliability was critical. The T1 Profiles and the LEDWash 600s are used constantly for key lighting and to throw dynamic gobo patterns onto the back wall which is highly effective.

There is a ChamSys lighting console for control and most of the shows are lit by the in-house team which includes a part time lighting designer on the staff. All the Hrvatski Dom lighting technical support and services are co-ordinated via LAV Studio.

For us the Concert Hall is a key reference, and we are very proud to be working with Slaven and his team, we enjoy a solid and long-term relationship, commented Emil Koller of LAV Studio. 

Slaven underlines the importance of having “solid technical support, which is a priority for any busy venue”.