LONDON — Draping and stage machinery specialists J&C Joel has designed, manufactured and fitted 42 acoustic elements into the newly refurbished Royal Festival Hall — one of London’s most iconic Modernist buildings.
The project includes the supply of four concertina banners and 38 acoustic roller blinds, plus 10 chain driven tapestry tracks to which the Hall’s famous Hilary Bourne designed tapestries have been reattached following restoration. The movement of all these elements is integrated into the Stage Technologies automation control system.
Acoustic consultants Kirkegaard Associates were responsible for transforming the room acoustics into an environment for staging world-class events and productions of all types and sizes. Getting the acoustics right was a major part of the whole refurbishment scheme, and the overall project was led by architects Allies and Morrison.
The installation process took place over a 12-month period, with the J&C Joel team varying in numbers from 10 to four people, dependant on which stage of the install process was happening. Mark Taylor led the J&C Joel team.
The four black acoustic wool serge concertina banners, located in front of the organ doors, are the Triple E Concertina banner system. Each measures 5 meters wide by 10 meters drop, and moves up and down in front of the organ doors. The 38 roller banners are mainly positioned over the stage area. These have been manufactured from bespoke black bonded serge, involving two layers of the material being bonded together in a special J&C Joel process. The banners are arranged in three banks — of 10, 14 and 4 — fastened to the underside of the production attic. The other 10 are deployable on the rear wall of the 2,800-seat auditorium on levels 5 and 6.
A total of 10 tapestry tracks are installed on levels 5 and 6 — six on the actor’s right and four on the actor’s left — all utilizing special Triple E chain-driven track.
A major installation challenge, explains Taylor, was the logistics of unloading many heavy pieces of equipment and moving them considerable distances to the roof space of the main hall with the building under refurbishment and many obstacles en route.
In addition to the main work in the Royal Festival Hall itself, J&C Joel supplied a number of blinds, tracks and drapes to other areas in the complex. In the Terraces, a 7-suite function area, 25 Silent Gliss electric roller blinds were fitted. Within the same area, a number of custom chestnut dyed wool serge drapes were installed on Triple E 3-way tracks recessed into the ceiling space. The rehearsal rooms also feature various tracks and drapes.
Taylor adds, “It was a real honor for J&C Joel to be involved in such an enormous refurbishment of such a prominent London landmark venue."
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For information, please visit www.jcjoel.com.
