Attenborough Centre, University of Sussex 2015

After a long hibernation, the Gardner Centre at the University of Sussex is being brought back to life as the Attenborough Centre for Creative Arts - an interdisciplinary arts hub for the University and the wider community. The centre, which will be used for innovative research and scholarship, inspirational teaching and learning, enhancing the student experience and engaging with the community, opened its doors in summer 2015.

Under Theatre Consultant Ann Minors Performance Consultants, Kier was brought on board to oversee the refurbishment. Kier, in turn, enlisted Unusual Rigging to lend its expertise in the area of theatre refurbishment.

As part of the project, Unusual Rigging:

• 3d-modelled the installation of a bespoke tension wire grid (TWG) due to the complexity of the venue's space
• fabricated and installed the TWG, made up of 40 separate panels of c.11 different types
• fabricated all panels in  the company's own wire rope shop in Bugbrooke, Northamptonshire
• supplied black painted, 50mm diameter steel handrails, designed for attaching theatre lighting as well as handrail use
• installed secondary steelwork in the roof structure and vertical hangers to support the grid panels and handrails.