Disruptive Technologies recently teamed up with Expert Partner Infogrid to preserve the ceiling at the Royal Opera House.
Leading engineers in building sustainability, Integral, have partnered with Disruptive Technologies and IoT smart building platform, Infogrid, to reduce hours of intensive labour needed to maintain the ceiling of the historic building.
The Royal Opera House had been relying on multiple cooling equipment and fans to regulate the heat from the required lighting system made up of 1,700 luminaires.
The ornate gold-leaf ceiling and interior walls of the third theatre which have stood on the site at Covent Garden since 1732 need careful preservation after the completion of its three-year £50.7m renovation in 2018. The frieze of the intricate ceiling covered in gold paint is one of the oldest in Europe. In addition, the building is home to manuscripts, and old documents in its archives.
Integral’s 16 onsite engineers had been making essential manual checks monitoring the levels of water and condensation the equipment generates as often as twice a day. Constant humidity over time could significantly damage the ceiling meaning that in extreme circumstances, it could have been at risk of collapsing.
A Royal Opera House spokesperson commented: “The Royal Opera House is a unique historical building, with some beautiful heritage, which it is our mission to preserve for future generations.
“Integral’s use of Infogrid’s technology to assist in the maintenance of the building has not only resulted in reduced risk but has added value by freeing up the Facilities Team to concentrate their efforts on maintaining other parts of the building.”