Professional Lighting & Production - Summer 2018 | Page 20

PELTZER
20 PL&P
LANTERN ROOM
“From the outset, we put
together a solid commu-
nications and project plan
with the NAC stakeholders
and Christie Lites team.
We were very clear with all
stakeholders of the line of
communications between
all parties and their
individual scope and were
able to effectively keep
control of the information
flow throughout the project
from beginning to end,
which lead to a successful
outcome for all.”
Justin Kim – Project
Manager, Christie Lites
20|Summer 2018
and nearing the end of its lifespan,
and so a significant portion of the
Architectural Rejuvenation phase
involved a switch to digital. What’s
more, spaces like the communal
food and beverage area in the
lobby are future-proofed with a
backbone for a theatrical lighting
system.
“Underlying that, we decided
we also had to make sure the
electrical infrastructure under all
of that new sound and lighting
equipment is redone,” Gazalé
shares, speaking to components of
both the Architectural Rejuvena-
tion phase and the ongoing $114.9
million Production Renewal phase
that will see the refurbishment of
the NAC’s performance halls and
production facilities.
As Gazalé previously men-
tioned, the goal behind both
phases of the NAC’s renewal is to
make the space more inviting and
appealing to the general public
in hopes of fostering community
and an increased appreciation of
the arts.
Now, in addition to its lauded
performance spaces, the NAC
boasts multi-purpose facilities just
as suited to parenting classes and
small artistic performances as they
are to major corporate functions
and even special events like a
dinner for the heads of state and
diplomats from the G7 nations
when they convene in Ottawa.
“We decided a long time ago that
with both [the Architectural Reju-
venation and Production Renewal
phases], we would not shut down
operations save for brief periods of
time,” Gazalé notes, and impressive-
ly, they managed to stick to that.
“One obstacle we hit and that
we learned from was that some of
this was an architectural project
and was contracted one way
and the rest was theatrical and
contracted that way, but it still had
to come together in the end,” Gazalé
candidly explains. “Field Service .CA,
the [programming, commissioning,
and training firm subcontracted by
Christie Lites], was phenomenal.
When they were onsite, it didn’t
matter which of the two systems
they were here to commission;
they worked with both and made
sure everything was moving in the
right direction as a whole. They
also pointed out issues that might
emerge later while the walls were
still open, to make sure nothing was
overlooked, and that was far above
and beyond.”
Eady elaborates: “Wayne
[Korhonen] and Nelson [Anselmo]
and the Field Service team did a
complete walkthrough with the
owner and electrician, pointing out
loose ends in terms of program-
ming between the two systems
and coordinating with electrical
contacts to get wiring in the right
places and ensure circuits are joined
where they’re supposed to be –
basically, noting everything that
should be corrected to get these
systems working as designed and
desired by the client.”
He acknowledges that his team
faced an aggressive set of deadlines.
“As you can appreciate, there’s