The Requirements
After seeing a similar system that Hoist UK implemented for the Royal Shakespeare Company in action, the Warwick Arts Theatre had a similar brief of requirements for their project.
During the design and planning process it became apparent that it would not possible to site drill or weld in the roof void, and our engineers would need to design and manufacture a workable solution.
The Solution
The aluminium rigging bridge system covers an area of 360m2 and contains 20 moving and lockable rigging bridges, each capable of suspending a load of 1,000kg and with a span of more than 5 metres, with 2 moving and lockable points for any load bearing purpose. We manufactured this system using aluminium components which contain a variety of tracks ranging from a 135mm deep track weighing just 6.5kg/m to a 250mm deep track weighing 14.5kg/m and capable of suspending a 2000kg load on a 3.4 metre unsupported span.
ALU is a strong, ergonomic and safe system which complies with EN13001 (Eurocode 9) and consists of a range of tracks, trolleys and suspension
brackets to be configured as required for the application. The smooth running bridges and trolleys deliver seamless movement making it an optimal choice for a theatre installation.
In order to maximise the coverage of the system we had to design and manufacture a set of bespoke brackets that clip to the existing roof trusses, as it wasn’t possible to site drill or weld in the roof void. We provided the Warwick Arts Centre with a full technical submission with a formal set of structural calculations and design drawings to show how we were planning to connect the system to the existing structure, which was signed off by their structural engineer.
Project Photo's
Warwick Arts Centre
“After seeing one of Hoist UK’s previous installations of ALU at the Royal Shakespeare Company, I was sold on this being the perfect solution to my project needs. The bridges using this system were so easy to manoeuvre into the position and I could see how flexible my new rigging system would be using this as the basis of the design.
Our new rigging system is exactly what we wanted and will make the creation of hanging points so much simpler and easier to execute in the zone above our taught wire grid for forthcoming productions”
Hoist UK
Paul Jordan, Director at Hoist UK said "The beauty about this system is that due to being a lightweight extruded aluminium track, we can maximise the capacity of the rigging points, without using all the capacity of the roof structure of the venue, as the use of conventional universal beam or steel track would reduce your show loading capabilities.
We provided the customer with a full technical submission with a formal set of structural calculations and design drawings to show how we were planning to connect the system to the existing structure, which was signed off by their structural engineer."