Client: Fabric, London
Project: Venue electrical installation and power infrastructure for a structural lighting truss
Sector: Nightclubs, live entertainment and venues
Installer: Lake Electrical Limited, working alongside OBAV
Lake Electrical was appointed to deliver the venue electrical installation and power infrastructure for a new structural truss and lighting system at Fabric, one of London’s best-known electronic music venues.
Our sister company OBAV handled the specialist AV and truss elements. Our job was the electrical side, making sure the new lighting rig had an electrical supply suitable for the new lighting system and stand up to the way the venue actually runs.
The challenge
The truss was built to support a substantial professional lighting installation. It was power-anchored into the concrete slab and engineered for loads of up to 3,200kg per point, installed in line with the structural engineer’s requirements.
From the electrical side, the difficulty was coordination. The electrical, AV, lighting and structural elements had to be coordinated in both layout and installation sequence, without any of them compromising the others. The new infrastructure also had to provide reliable power to the lighting system while tying safely into the club’s existing installation.
Then there is the venue itself. Fabric is an operational nightclub, so access, programming and installation all had to be managed around trading, with the safety standards a commercial entertainment venue demands.
How we delivered the venue electrical installation
We installed the electrical infrastructure and power supplies for the new lighting and truss system, including the distribution, the containment and the associated electrical services.
Our team worked directly with OBAV and the project’s specialist engineers, so the electrical installation was set out against the structural and AV design rather than fitted around it afterwards. Containment routes and power positions were agreed before anything went up, which is the part that saves time on a job where a truss point cannot move.
As an NICEIC approved contractor, we installed, tested and completed the electrical elements to the relevant UK standards and handed over the certification for the work.
One project rather than two packages
Because Lake Electrical and OBAV work together regularly, the electrical and the specialist AV elements were run as a single project .
In a venue this technically demanding, that matters more than usual. The lighting, AV, structural and electrical infrastructure all have to work as one system. Clear responsibilities and coordination were essential.
The result
The completed venue electrical installation gives Fabric electrical and structural infrastructure capable of carrying its new professional lighting system, with a truss rated to 3,200kg per point, dedicated power for the lighting installation, and a certified installation suited to the demands of a working venue.
It sits alongside the lighting and power alterations elsewhere in the club that we have carried out for the venue.
Electrical work in technically demanding venues
This project shows the side of our work that goes past standard commercial electrical installations. We regularly work in buildings where the electrical services have to integrate with specialist systems and equipment, alongside AV, lighting, structural and other specialist contractors.
Theatres, nightclubs and live entertainment venues need the same things as the universities, schools and commercial buildings we work in, which is reliable power distribution, coordination that holds up under pressure, and an installation that is certified and documented at the end of it.
Talk to us about your venue electrical installation
If you have a venue project that needs commercial electrical installation alongside specialist AV, lighting or structural work, tell us what you are dealing with, and we will come back with straight advice and a clear quote.
Request a quote, or call the team on 01732 758 985.
Lake Electrical Limited, commercial electrical contractors since 2008, working across Kent, East Sussex, Surrey and the wider South East.
