Bring New Life To Unity Works

WAKEFIELD, UK – (For Immediate Release) -- Unity Works is aptly named. A
grass roots initiative started by a community that came together with a
shared goal in mind has given this historic building a new lease on live.
This rebirth is reflected in the structure’s cutting edge fittings,
including its lighting system, which features the new Rogue R2 Spot moving
LED spot and an extensive collection of other technologically advanced
fixtures from CHAUVET Professional.

Well known in an earlier time as Unity Hall, the stately building is a Grade
II listed Victorian landmark with all the installation challenges to match.
The community based Unity House (Wakefield) Ltd. venture managed to find
£200,000 in private capital to begin getting the old pile back on its
rocking feet – a benchmark that then enabled the successful application for
over £4 million in national renovation awards, which set the building on its
way to being fully restored.

In the past, as “Unity Hall,” the building had served as a cinema, ballroom
and wrestling venue, but it is most fondly remembered as a rock music venue.
For generations of Yorkshire music fans, going to Unity Hall to see bands
like The Specials, The Boomtown Rats, Iron Maiden, Def Leppard and countless
others was a rite of passage.

At the heart of today’s new Unity Works is a revitalised 600-seat hall,
extensively kitted out with rigging, lighting and audio supplied by leading
UK full service provider SSE Audio Group. According to Wakefield local and
SSE Sales Manager Ryan Thomas, SSE won a tender that already specified
CHAUVET Professional in its highly discerning list of requirements. “We were
delighted to find that the new management of the venue knew their stuff,” he
says, “and that included Chauvet for the lighting. In any tender proposal we
would make recommendations based on technical or pricing merit if we thought
there was a better solution. But in this case there was no need. We totally
agreed that they’d arrived at by far the best solution for the project.”

Controlled by an Avolites Tiger Touch II LED lighting control desk, the new
lighting arrangement features four of the Rogue R2 Spot LED fixtures; six
Legend 412Z fixtures; 20 COLORdash Par-Quad 18s with barn door attachments
that further enhance the colour spectrum already available; four Ovation
F-95WW Fresnel fixtures with gel frames; and two Ovation E-190WW
ellipsoidals, also with gel frame.

With this collection of CHAUVET Professional fixtures, the lighting
arrangement has the versatility to handle the wide array of performances,
from rock to stand up to theatre, that will take place at the revitalized
Unity Works. For example, whilst the Rogue and Legend fixtures provide the
movement and intensity called for by rock performances, the Ovation fixtures
deliver a beautiful flat field for theatrical applications.

Mark Hatfield is SSE Audio’s Project Manager and worked on the installation
very closely.

“Due to the listed nature of the venue, a floor-standing truss system was
required to accommodate the PA and effects lighting system,” he comments.
”The decision to go with Chauvet was based on performance, versatility,
budget and efficiency. Any of the numerous events hosted at Unity Works
could potentially require a different lighting layout from the next, so it
was important for the venue to have access to fittings that would work well
together for anything from a live performance to a wedding.

“The Rogue R2 Spots, Legend 412Z moving heads, COLORdash Par-Quad 18 washes
and Ovation lights provide high output and are packed with features to
accommodate every eventuality. Another advantage with these fixtures is that
they are LED, meaning they are low maintenance and have a low environmental
impact,” he added.

Over the stage, SSE has installed a 10m by 5m by 5m box section truss for
the extensive Chauvet payload, which also makes use of internally wired
lighting bars both here and at the FOH position. Control panels throughout
the venue address both lighting and audio, and provide access to a wiring
infrastructure that will easily accommodate further additions to the
technical inventory.

Sound reinforcement is provided by d&b audiotechnik’s xA series
loudspeakers, powered by d&b D12 digital amplifiers, a DiGiCo SD9 digital
console at FOH and four channels of Sennheiser EW335 G3 vocal wireless.
Stage monitoring courtesy of six QSC Audio K12 powered loudspeakers.

In addition to its performance venue, Unity Works has a smaller function
room, some independent shops, an art gallery, a café bar and small business
facilities. “This contributes to the strong community feel already present
here,” adds Thomas. “Everyone seemed to have an interest in this project.
Indie band The Cribs, who remember coming to gigs at Unity Hall when they
were just kids, were among the people with roots here who helped raise the
money in the first place. They also headlined the opening night, to get
things off to a great start. The initial capital came from selling shares in
the venue – shares in the idea of Unity, if you like. Maybe that helped
formulate such a knowledgeable tender.”