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CASE STUDY | AVIVA STUDIOS Manchesters new arts venue, Aviva Studios, features two huge events spaces that can host anything from poetry readings to mega-raves. BDP had the challenge of devising a flexible lighting and services strategy that could adapt to any artistic situation, as the consultants Steve Merridew and Nick Meddows explain SETTING THE SCENE A viva Studios (formerly The Factory) is the UKs largest investment in a national cultural project since the opening of Tate Modern in 2000. The 14,000m2 new landmark, built on the site of the former Granada TV Studios, is designed to accommodate a wide variety of performance art, from theatre and dance, to music, visual arts and poetry. The building is made up of three spaces. The main event space is the 21-metre high warehouse, which can be split into two. It is complemented by the hall, a 1,603-seat auditorium with a flexible stage, while a seven-storey tower at the back of the warehouse provides green rooms, dressing rooms and office space. The buildings faades, of concrete and corrugated metal, contrast with the refurbished brick warehouses and newly built flats, offices, and television studios that make up the new St Johns neighbourhood. Building services and lighting design had the challenge of responding to the multiple uses of the building while maintaining an industrial aesthetic. Gas boilers are used for heating currently, but the building is designed to connect into the future St Johns heat network. The hall and warehouse are air cooled and heated, while the tower and social rooms loads are met with local emitters. Chillers provide cooling. Close collaboration between BDPs electrical, mechanical, lighting and digital engineers was essential because of the complex nature of the internal building geometry, and a BIM model was created to coordinate services. The lighting team worked closely with architect OMA and interior designer Brinkworth to coordinate lighting concepts. The result is a combination of general, architectural, experiential, complex emergency, and technical theatrical lighting systems, threaded through the internal building geometry. Three bespoke luminaire types that worked with the contemporary faade design were developed with Stoane Lighting and Zumtobel. In total, 164 luminaire types were used throughout the building. The energy model demanded >100lm W-1, a significantly higher requirement than that in Part L, which was 60lm W-1 at the time of design in 2018; in the 2021 revision it is 95lmW-1. Illumination criteria for general and emergency lighting was determined using the Technical standards for places of entertainment 2015 The association of British theatre technicians in combination with the usual CIBSE and British Standards. The warehouse has capacity for up to 5,000 people standing, and can be divided by a movable, full-height acoustic wall. The hall has The BIM model showing the three building elements Hall Warehouse Towers 28 January 2024 www.cibsejournal.com CIBSE Jan 24 pp28-30 Aviva Studios.indd 28 21/12/2023 15:35