House music

With work on the refurbishment/construction project due to handover by 1 December, it's going to be tight but the show must go on.

Put forward as a Construction Best Practice case study project, championing innovative briefing processes, lean construction and partnering and team development, ironically the Opera House been beset with problems. The electrical side of the project, managed by m&e contractor Balfour Kilpatrick, has been particularly troubled (see box story 'Operantics'). But the deadline has not moved to make allowance for the strikes and work is continuing at a frenetic pace as the opening performance looms closer.

The House, for want of a better description, because it is actually eight linked buildings, is supplied with 3·8 MW of power on two feeds from separate local electricity substations. Emergency services such as sprinkler pumps, smoke extract, fire fighting lifts and alarms will be dual supplied and, in some cases, carry internal battery back up, in the design by services consultant Ove Arup.

Safety is of paramount importance. The addressable fire alarm system is controlled from a central alarm panel and linked to a voice alarm system. Actviation of alarm will also instigate: pager messages to staff; the release of corridor smoke doors; fire fighting lift controls; and control of mechanical plant.

Lighting is varied. Ballet rehearsal studios are mainly naturally lit, one using bespoke lightpipes. Throughout the auditorium existing fittings have been refurbished. Fluorescent fittings all use high frequency control gear. Lighting control is locally switched apart from in the auditorium and front of house.

The mechanical services installation has been made difficult by the huge open spaces required back of house. This has eliminated much of the horizontal service runs.

Plant has been located either in the basement, running straight up through the structure, or on the roof, coming down. Large spaces like the auditorium, ballet studios and rehearsal studios are heated using warm air supplied by air handling units serving each space. The ballet studios also have low level radiators, at the request of ballet dancers, to warm their ankles rather than heat the entire space. Smaller areas use radiators, fan coil units and unit heaters.

Cooling is again supplied via the air handling units. Front of house areas will be comfort cooled while the back of house and ballet studios will use a peak lopping system which operates according to outside temperature. Smaller areas like stores are not mechanically cooled.

There are also different air supply systems depending upon the area. High level, fully mixed air distribution is used for the 420-seat studio theatre and ballet studios. This differs from the displacement system employed in the auditorium. The mechanical ventilation also doubles as a smoke extract in an emergency. The basement and flytower also have dedicated smoke extract.

Commissioning of the services is well underway. All of the m&e systems have been balanced and space commissioning is continuing.

With only a month until the first note sung, the contractors have their work cut out. This may not be the ideal case study for the Construction Best Practice Programme but lessons will hopefully be learnt. And, when the dust settles and the curtain rises, we'll all be able to afford to see our favourite opera. Welcome to the cheap seats.