Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay in Singapore awarded J&C Joel the project of replacing the acoustic curtains to the Concert Hall in 2011.
The project was undertaken over the Christmas break and finished early 2012. The project was completed in record time, due to the venues near 95% occupancy, thus allowing a small window for the installation. This had to be met without fail, as concerts were booked in literally the day after completion.
The brief was to replace the existing curtains manufactured ten years earlier when the building was built. They had to have the same technical specification for colour, weight, weave and acoustic properties. This meant a series of lab dyes; weight approval samples and acoustic tests to ensure all aspects of the specification were met.
The manufacture of the curtains also had to meet the previous specification, as they were to be hung back to the existing custom tracking system and work with the cable management system, so the spacing of eyelets was critical. The sizes of the curtains were also critical to match the existing shapes of stairwells, handrails and storage bays. The curtains retract into motorised storage bays, so it was critical that all sizes met the previous specification.
On a project with more than 12 kilometres of custom dyed ivy IFR Velvet Velour (VEL181), manufactured into over 200 curtains mostly with drops of 20 metres, the challenge to have all testing, samples made, fabric manufactured, curtains completed and shipped to Singapore in record time was a task that J&C Joel relished and completed on schedule.
The logistics of unloading two 40ft shipping containers and installation became a team project between J&C Joel’s UK and HK office. By having local offices around the world, J&C Joel is able to pool resources and provide the most efficient and professional team for the completion of large scale drape installations.
