Lighting&Sound - August-September 2010

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The €380 million Convention

Centre Dublin is Ireland’s most

modern, purpose-built international

conference and event venue and

one of a surprising number of

‘starchitect’ buildings to grace

the Spencer Dock area of Dublin.

Sarah Rushton-Read reports . . .

Ireland - Designed by Irish-American, Pritzker

award-winning architect Kevin Roche of

Kevin Roche, John Dinkeloo & Associates

LLC (KRJDA), in association with Theatre

Projects, it sits in close proximity to Santiago

Calatrava’s harp-shaped Beckett Bridge and,

on the opposite side of the River Liffy, Daniel

Libeskind’s Grand Canal Theatre.

Configured to accommodate conferences from 8to 8,000 participants in 22 purpose-built meetingrooms, The CCD includes a 2,000-seat auditorium,4,500sq.m of exhibition space and banquetingfacilities for up to 3,000 guests. With the latest inconferencing and entertainment technology, thisvenue offers some of the most advancedpermanently installed AV equipment and lightingsystems to be found in a convention centre.

The same can be said for the sophisticated stageengineering and overstage flying systems in themain auditorium, and the flying systems in theexhibition/banqueting spaces. Specified byTheatre Projects and designed, engineered andinstalled by Unusual Rigging, the comprehensivesystem ensures that the dedicated theatre-stylestage is capable of hosting any kind of show, fromconcerts, opera and theatrical performancesthrough to comedy and cabaret.

Unusual’s project manager, Mark Priestley, says: “Ithink it’s the most sophisticated convention centreI’ve ever been in. Every finish is top specificationand every room in the venue features the latest incommunications and entertainment technology.”

Theatre Projects’ stage engineering specificationwas ambitious and initially requested power flying.However, budget and a review of how the systemmight be used made a counterweight systemmore viable. But there’s an option to upgrade atanytime.

Above the modular trappable stage UnusualRigging has installed a total of 54 counterweightflying sets - 47 single-purchase with a maximumweight of 500kN and three double purchase barswith a maximum weight 500kN.

To complement the counterweight system andenable easy flying of heavy lighting bars, Unusualinstalled a load-bearing traveller grid(2.5kN/sq.m.), which spans the entire stage andwill take up to 14 motors, hemp lines etc.

In the auditorium there’s a dual orchestra pitelevator system, which has a modular orchestrapit rail, easy to fit and remove, and FOHloudspeaker hoists. Priestley explains: “Thespeaker cluster hoists comprise twin chain hoists;i.e. one motor running two chains with a barseparating the two drum points. This offerscomplete synchronisation of two drops, an idealsolution for this particular application wherespeaker clusters have to be at exactly the sameheight. It’s a more cost-effective concept thantrying to do it with wire-rope winches and a controlsystem.”

The orchestra pit lift comprises Gala Spiralifts,controlled by a bespoke Kinesys control system.Priestley elaborates: “Kinesys was UnusualRigging’s control partner for the whole project.We’ve used their systems in the theatre and inboth exhibition halls.”

Unusual’s orchestra pit rail socket is also worth a mention: designed to be quick and easy to use,it comprises a spigot that slots into a machinedhole, thus doing away with any kind of catch orlocking system. While retaining all the necessaryloadings required, it enables staff at The CCD tochange the configuration extremely quickly.

One particular challenge was the unusually widestage proscenium (22m) which required a hugesafety curtain. Priestley elaborates: “We built and

An Unusual beginning for The CCD

Technical director Lee Forde.

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Lighting&Sound - August-September 2010

www.lsionline.co.uk

venueinstall••••••

35Lighting&Sound - August-September 2010

installed the curtain, which, while it can becontrolled from the stage, is also linked tothe second knock of the fire alarm. Assoon as that happens, the safety curtaindrops in within 35 seconds.”

One and two floors below the theatre arethe expo halls. Each features a grid ofindividual square trusses which evenlycover the ceiling and can be controlledfrom a single location. In total, Unusualfitted 132 Liftket chain hoists and miles ofProlyte truss across both spaces. Priestleysays: “We also installed a Kinesyspositional control system, which wasdeveloped by Kinesys specifically for theexhibition spaces. Each truss can be set atany height and any angle, and each has a central sail that can be used to definethe ceiling height or as a bounce anddiffuser surface for lighting.”

Priestley adds: “Even if you load thetrusses unequally, the positional systemensures the truss goes up and levels offautomatically. What’s also really great forthe CCD is that one person can connectwith all the motors simply by using theKinesys Pulse handheld controller; fromhere they can programme cues andplayback. It can either be used as a standalone unit or as a remote terminalfor a bigger system.”

The Kinesys Pulse pendant control offerstechnicians an intuitive touch screeninterface with the system. It’s an instantlyfamiliar environment for the experienceduser and has programmable hard keys forthe most commonly performed tasks.Priestley clarifies: “If you want the ceilingheight to be at 6m you just punch it intothe control pad and away you go. You canpunch a graphical representation of a trussin plan and then set a height in metres foreach one, and press ‘Go’.”

All the Lifket hoists are built to the GermanD8+ standard, which means they can beused to suspend a load above anaudience without requiring a secondarysafety system, and all are fitted withpositional encoders. The control rack andPLC are installed in local plant rooms.

Lee Forde, technical director of the venue,is delighted with the system: “I wasdetermined to ensure that the CCD was a centre I would have been proud andimpressed to visit when I was a productionmanager. Having had the opportunity towork across the globe and in a number ofconvention centres, I was able to apply myexperience and knowledge to thespecification of this building. Since theBirmingham NEC group was appointed asthe management consultancy for the CCD,much planning and consultation has goneon. Everything they learned from buildingthe ICC, Birmingham has ensured that theCCD is one of the most excellent, world-class, purpose-built internationalconference and event venues today.

“Part of its success is due to the greatteams that have worked on thedevelopment of this project. UnusualRigging was one of many such teams onthis project. I consider myself fortunatethat such a winning team came together toproduce such a fantastic outcome. Usingtheir vast knowledge and experienceUnusual has helped create fit-for-purposeflying systems in all three main rooms andefficient stage engineering in theauditorium; it was extremely well plannedand thought out. I firmly believe the CCD isthe best designed and equippedconvention centre in Europe.”

The CCD is Ireland’s new world classpurpose-built international conferenceand event venue. Opposite, the venueoutside (left) and in: the UnusualRigging-installed truss grid, right.

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