Within what will be the world's largest university for women is a theatre complex with a 2500-seat performance hall, a 700-seat drama theatre and a black box theatre for lectures and small productions. While each theatre has different requirements, the contractor sought a single, proven supplier that could manufacture the complete package of under- and over-stage rigging for all three venues. Clancy's broad equipment portfolio and international experience in managing projects of the largest scale earned the company this project.
Clancy worked closely with Michael Burgoyne of Schuler Shook to provide the appropriate rigging system for the consultant's design concepts. Schuler Shook specified the versatility and high-end performance of powered rigging, eliminating the need for weight bridges and specially trained staff to operate the system.
As the culture of the region evolves, the university's theatres may be used for virtually any kind of production or performance. Schuler Shook designed these theatres to handle large or small productions, using Titan hoists, the largest standard automated hoist manufactured by Clancy.
Tip-and-fly acoustical ceilings in the large and small theatres use Clancy orchestra lifts for simple conversion of the spaces from theatrical to orchestral productions. All of the hoists and lifts are controlled using Niscon's Raynok motion control system.
Adding a level of complexity to the project, fire codes in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are more demanding than comparable US codes. Clancy provided a custom steel-framed fire safety curtain system using Zetex Plus 1210ZP fabric. Zetex 1210ZP's one-hour rating for fire protection meets all local codes.
From contract award to turnover, the job had to be completed in only six months - including design, fabrication, shipping and installation. "Projects of this scope normally take twice this long, so this was a truly aggressive schedule," said Charlie Shatzkin, international sales manager for J. R. Clancy. "We were able to meet the challenge, in part because our ISO 9001 infrastructure provides a highly efficient design and manufacturing system. We can ramp up quickly and efficiently to meet high demand."
(Jim Evans)
