WA
Perth, 9th September 2014
Western Australia is generally shortened to WA, but in business and in general WA has grown to mean Wait Awhile…you certainly should not be in a hurry to get things done here. Besides that you will need to make sure you comply with all rules and regulations, things take a while to reach their “destination”. I had a meeting today in regards to “His Majesty’s Theatre” Perth’s landmark theatre that will be 110 years old later this year. We are engaged to design the façade lighting for this iconic building, but boy does it take long to implement! A few financial years and theatre managements later and we are yet to start on the actual works!
The original lighting design concept was received with much acclaim but when the dollars and cents came through, the wheels started to fall off. Despite grants from Heritage Perth the then management of the Theatre was not very cooperative in finding the solution. One of the biggest hurdles being the fact that the 110 year building is in dire needs of an electrical overhaul and because of that there are many unknowns factored into the cost of the electrical works as so often with old buildings you will only know the real situation until you open up the ceilings!
Having acknowledged that the building should be brought up to the latest electrical and mechanical standards, this has now taken precedence over our façade lighting works. Originally scheduled for completion end of this year it has now been pushed back to late 2015 early 2016 to coincide with the re-opening of the Theatre which will have to be closed for several months to allow for the internal infrastructure works to take place. The positive that rolled out of this is that the related electrical works needed for the façade lighting can be package within the infrastructural works greatly reducing the costs in the process.
As everyone is really sold to the lighting design concept for the theatre, the client has confidently decided to order the lights already to make sure we get them at today’s costs, even though we will need to store them for a year or so before we will actually get to install them! WA, wait awhile…I guess that is also the charm of this countryside city with its enviable lifestyle!
Light Watch 5-150: Theatres have always been a great way for architectural expressions, in the past and in today’s world!
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