Creative Edge is a new creative media building at Edge Hill University in Ormskirk.

It is an exciting £18M state-of-the-art building housed on the landscaped Eastern Campus of the University’s main Ormskirk site, providing high-spec suites of industry-standard facilities for students studying Media, Film, Animation, Advertising and Computing.

The new teaching and learning building is designed to ensure that the University’s media production, IT students and local partners have access to equipment on a par with those used by the BBC at Salford Quays.

The new building houses two HD TV studios with broadcast capability and full production facilities for news, drama, documentary and experimental work, Recording studios, Sound-editing suites, Radio studio, Lecture Theatre, Animation studios, Photographic studio, Multimedia laboratory, Networking and forensics laboratories, Computer laboratories.

Drama by Design worked with the architect on the design of the building and with the key users and stakeholders on the detailed design and specification of all the specialist technical systems which include state of the art professional HD broadcasting facilities that can be utilised by local professional television companies as well as by the University.

The main TV studio is fitted with a flexible lighting system utilising rail mounted motorised hoists specially designed for the project and a range of LED and fluorescent lighting controlled from one of the latest computerised lighting control systems with all control signals sent over  data cables with user configurable nodes at each location. Five Sony HD cameras are provided complete with full crab and steer pedestals, comprehensive vision routing and mixing and a full media asset management system catering for the storage needs of the whole building. The studio is also fitted with a broadcast standard digital sound mixing system, multi-channel talkback and full test and monitoring systems.

There is also a fully equipped three camera second multi-purpose studio, two ProTools recording studios (one live, one dead) and a radio studio.

Drama by Design worked on the detailed design and co-ordination of the specialist systems for the project, detailing all the structural, mechanical and electrical requirements for the specialist systems to be installed by the main contractor as well as advising on the finishes and acoustics. We project managed the works through to completion including managing the programme, dealing with variations and carrying our full witness testing and commissioned prior to comprehensive training being carried out with the academic and support staff.