WEST YORKSHIRE, U.K. – Milos UK designed, manufactured and installed a super grid with three moving sub-grids, a pile winding winch movement system and a full set of blackout drapes for Milton Studio One on the campus of the University of Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, U.K. The venue is a Grade II-listed theatre space within a former Methodist Church and home to the University's Drama, Theatre & Performance department. Studio One has a vaulted ceiling that is 49 feet high, featuring wooden beams, a tall arched stained glass windows and rose window, among other features. It is used for the university's theatre courses, visiting productions, and as a learning resource for other university departments.
The requirement was to design a rigging solution that harmonized with the space while offering convenient floor-level access for the rigging of production equipment used in the shows. Milos was one of eight companies invited to bid for the project by David Wainwright, senior technician and manager of resources for Drama, Theatre & Performance.
Milos UK project manager Glen Brown and his Peterborough-based design team came up with the idea to use the single pile winding winches instead of multiple motors for each of the grids. It combines the principals of classic stage engineering while using M520 high capacity series truss and M400 heavy duty series truss. Because of the Grade II Listing status of the Milton Building, no part of the trussing structure could touch the walls of the actual building, adding another challenge to the design.
The mother grid, which measures 49 by 33 feet, is supported by four 28-foot legs tucked into each corner of the room and bolted to four concrete pads below floor level. Below the mother-grid, three 26-by-13-foot independent trussing grids are suspended, each flown on one pile winder winch with a large central motor going out to a pulley/diverter system, an economical design that also allows for rapid movement. The design also makes it easy to rig lighting, sound, AV and other production equipment in a flexible manner, with technicians able to work across the whole space at floor level, then lifted to various trim heights.
Wainright credited Milos generating the most interest with their design, adding that the company was "the most imaginative and conscientious with their proposals, drawings, site visits and attention to detail. Their level of communication and enthusiasm throughout the whole project was really impressive."
For the Studio One installation, Milos UK commissioned Independent Studio Services from Bury St. Edmonds to undertake the site work and logistics, a task completed over a period of six weeks.
"It was fantastic working on a complete and very specific project like this with David and his team," said Brown. "It proved a great collaborative relationship, producing many ideas and exactly the results that everyone wanted."
The installation makes the University of Huddersfield one of only a few theatres in the U.K. with three floating grids, and one of the highest-specified University drama theatres in the country.
For more information, please visit www.milosgroup.com.
