Funded by the South Australian Government, works have begun to significantly expand and redevelop Adelaide’s Convention Centre. The redevelopment will be completed in two stages and will include a 3,500 seat multi-purpose space that is partially constructed over the railway tracks of the Adelaide Railway Station. Having been previously partnered successfully with Woods Bagot on the recent redevelopment of the Melbourne Convention Centre, we were directly engaged by them to develop the full technical design brief for the new building.
Client
Woods Bagot
Location
Adelaide, SA
Completion date
2015
Scope of Services
- Stage rigging and stage machinery design
- Provision of an over arching Audio Visual Design strategy and outline of sound system performance requirements
- Review of audience seating designs, specification of seats and sightline analysis
- Full technical control infrastructure systems design
- Control desk area and lighting bridge design
- Preparation of technical equipment budgets
An Adaptable Space
Central to the design of the plenary hall is its adaptability. The venue not only uses hinged seating sections to transform the raked theatre into a flat floor exhibition hall, but a giant dividing operable wall system can divide the space into two rooms, each containing 1,750 seats.
In addition, a design innovation not previously built in Australia, are two rotating ‘drum theatres’ that sit concealed within the larger raked seating arrangement. These seating sections can be rotated away from the stage to create two 250 seat smaller theatrettes, each serviced by individual lighting and audio systems. Marshall Day Entertech worked closely with Woods Bagot and the convention centre’s operational team to resolve the significant challenges posed by this innovative design whilst keeping within limited budget constraints.