Theatreplan is consulting on the design of the new technical infrastructure across all venues at Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay in Singapore

Theatreplan is providing the technical know-how for the upgrade of the cabling infrastructure from the analogue tie-lines system to a digital IP-based network to serve sound, video, communications and lighting across all venues, plus new facilities for digital media at Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay in Singapore. Opened in 2002, Esplanade is a major centre for the performing arts, located at Marina Bay, on the bank of the Singapore River. The centre consists of a Concert Hall for 1,600 people, a Theatre with a 1,950-seat capacity, a Recital Studio for 245 people, and a Theatre Studio accommodating up to 220.

Having been appointed in 2019, Theatreplan’s work continued throughout the pandemic and is on-going. The scope of work includes a feasibility study, a detailed site survey, technical design recommendations and development of all venues, and delivery of tender documentation.

The first part of the project involved surveying the venues to identify and document what was already there. The importance of fully understanding the way the venue operated and what it needed for the future meant Theatreplan had to focus in-depth on all systems which supported the venues and staff. In response to the travel restrictions imposed by Covid-19, a sub-contractor was appointed locally to provide information from the site, including measurements and infrastructure route mapping between venues. The full survey was completed at the end of Jan 2022.

Prior to the travel restrictions, the team was able to conduct face to face interviews with a wide cohort of technical staff to fully inform the creation of the technical master plan. Theatreplan has recommended the upgrade of Esplanade’s 20-year-old analogue AV infrastructure to a new digital AV infrastructure, in addition to upgrades to the sound, video and communications and broadcast systems, together with the production, house, and working lights systems and fixtures. This is to ensure the venue continues to be on the cutting edge of entertainment technology, safeguarding its flexibility, and providing a path to adopt future technologies.

As Theatreplan began surveying the existing technical infrastructure, it quickly became apparent that the best way to capture all the information was to build a 3D model in Revit, which detailed all theatre technical systems throughout the entire centre and public spaces. Initially this was to be used to qualify and quantify the existing installed systems and then subsequently to incorporate the newly designed systems, so as to provide a single source of truth for the tendering process, and post completion, to ensure an accurate record of the final installed technical systems.

The scope of works was extended by the client to include the building of the Revit model, based on documentation provided by them. Theatreplan’s team of architects built the model from the horizontal structures up, adding in floors and dividing up into the different venues. They then added in the technical services, containment, production facility panels for all lighting, sound, video and communications, so that every wire way is modelled throughout the building. The model is now complete and supports the ongoing technical design work.

Kenny Wong, Head, Technical Production, The Esplanade Co Ltd, said, “This technical journey with Theatreplan has been an ambitious one with its large scope of work. Even as Esplanade turns 20 this year, we were still able to make many discoveries in our venues through the Revit model which can help us make better-informed decisions in the revamp of our technical infrastructure. We are grateful to the professionalism of the Theatreplan team who has worked closely with our team at Esplanade to keep to the project timelines and requirements despite the challenges faced during this pandemic.”

The Revit model can also be utilised for other operational systems such as fire services and telecoms, to provide the client with a comprehensive source of truth for the site. There is also an option to use gaming software to enable a virtual walk-through of the venues.