Ron StageMaster ensures safety at Hong Kong Cultural Centre
Published: ASIA
CHINA: A temporary over-stage acoustic reflector has been installed into a 2000-seat concert hall at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre. Macostar, a local stage lighting and machinery system specialist, was appointed to provide system engineering, detail design and construction of the reflector, and required a stage safety solution for the canopy’s multi-point lifting structure. Macostar selected Eilon Engineering’s Ron StageMaster 5000 multi-load cell.
The centre is located on the waterfront of Victoria Harbour in Tsim Sha Tsui, and houses a number of top-class facilities including three major performance halls. Although the venue was fitted with an adjustable canopy upon its opening in 1989, the solution was no longer up to the task. The hall’s 15m wide, crescent moon-shape acoustic canopy comprises a space frame made up of two layers of trussing attached with reflector panels and lighting, which is adjustable from 7.5m to 12m in height to ensure good acoustics. The allowable load of the new canopy is four times that of the old system, and because the system can be operated from a laptop, all points can be monitored during an installation and show, or throughout the canopy’s life.
The selected StageMaster system provides load control and overload prevention by monitoring hundreds of hanging points while providing a detailed report for statistical analysis. The manufacturer states the system allows for a fast, easy and neat installation due to a single cable descending from the truss.
‘As we have predetermined hanging point locations for rigging an irregular truss structure on this project, the Eilon Ron StageMaster load cells help us to monitor the load balance among the chain hoists at two different positions,’ said Francis Fung, VP of business development at Macostar. ‘It gives the users full confidence to operate the whole system under safe conditions.’