Apollo Victoria Theatre

As part of a wider portfolio of work with the Ambassadors Theatre Group (ATG), cc|be was appointed to design and project manage a new fire detection and voice alarm system for the “home of WICKED” in London The Grade II listed 2,328 seat theatre opened as a cinema in 1930 and more recently, has held performances of WICKED 6 days per week. Installing a new fire detection and alarm system design therefore posed a number of technical and logistical issues. The listing of the Art Deco interior meant that new fire alarm cabling could not disrupt the original elements of building fabric or decoration. Equally, fire detection devices and voice alarm loudspeakers had to be carefully designed to minimize their visual impact while providing the required level of technical performance. But, in the vein of “the show must go on”, installation of the new system was scheduled around daily performances, leading to a closely managed installation sequence. We worked closely with the venue team, production team and the fire alarm specialist contractor to develop methodologies of system design and installation acceptable to all interested parties. These included the use of aspirating smoke detection to avoid the use of “traditional” smoke detectors in particularly sensitive areas, as well as a small number of wireless devices where hard wiring of cables was not practicable. The system was successfully tested, commissioned and handed over after a nine month installation period.