NG Bailey Case Study
Contemporary-designed Performing Arts Centre (PAC) in the heart of Leicester’s Cultural Quarter
Leicester Performing Arts Centre
Theory
In June 2005, Leicester City Council unveiled plans for a new, contemporary-designed Performing Arts Centre (PAC) to be commissioned in the heart of the city’s Cultural Quarter development. Investing £48m in the project, the Council and its partners contracted Bovis and NG Bailey to fulfil the Rafael Vinoly-designed scheme.
Practice
In the Council’s words, this was the “biggest single city council project in living memory”, and of such a scale that the centre houses two auditoria, enabling two performances to be staged at the same time. Bailey and Bailey Teswaine’s approach to the £4.5m contract – due for completion in December 2007 – involved full mechanical, electrical and public health services (MEP) across all production facilities, workshops and rehearsal spaces, including the auditoria.
Working to an ARUP design, complete CAD 3D co-ordination of all MEP services was applied using the very latest clash detection software. A complex project was made all the more challenging by the range of infrastructure required in extraordinarily tight service zones. The remit also demanded that no ceilings be installed at the ‘back of house’, making all installations highly visible. All this would not have been possible without Bailey’s early engineering involvement and the application of 3D CAD production drawings.
The stunning glass-fronted building – the jewel in the crown of the city's new and exciting Cultural Quarter – is set to welcome 1,000 or more visitors per day when its doors open early in 2008. The main theatre will seat 750 people, while a 350-seat studio theatre will provide a smaller, but more versatile, performance space supported by a dance studio, meeting rooms, workshops and a café/bar.
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Project Details
Client
Leicester City Council
Outcome and Added Value
The collaboration between NG Bailey's specialist divisions on this project demonstrates integrated project management , with an ability to inform the client’s brief and implement an advanced fit-out that is worthy of the modern architecture.