The £8.8 million three-storey Centre for Creative Industries now extends the existing Sheffield College Hillsborough campus, and houses a new theatre, three drama studios, two dance studios, television studio, photography studio, music and radio studios.

Creative industries specialisms offered at the College include art and design, graphic design, games development, media, music, journalism, dance and drama, and photography. Courses previously located at Norton campus, which closed in the summer, have moved across to the new building.

The College has strong connections with industry and employers will support the curriculum. The performing arts curriculum is being developed with support from Sheffield Theatres. A new course is being offered in technical theatre.

Drama by Design worked with the architect on the design and layout of the building and carried out the design and specification of all the specialist spaces as well as monitoring the works to completion.

The main theatre space was equipped with a tension wire grid at high level over the whole area allowing completely safe high level access for rigging and focussing the stage lighting equipment mounted on internally wired bars above the grid. An LED stage lighting system was provided together with a new sound system, a screen and high power projector. Infrastructure was also provided from the theatre to all the other spaces to audio and video to be distributed around the building for replay and recording.

The drama and dance studios were all equipped with internally wired lighting grids with LED luminaires, perimeter curtain tracks and audio and video facility panels.

In the TV Studio a rail system was installed at high level with friction pantographs suspended from it on wheeled trolleys allowing the studio lights to be easily moved to different positions. Black, white and Chromakey curtains were installed around the perimeter of the studio.

A custom built control desk was provided in the TV studio gallery incorporating the College’s existing equipment wired through a new audio and video matrix.  A comprehensive facility panel and patch bay installation allows equipment to be connected at various locations around the studio and around the College.

The recording studio utilised the College’s existing equipment connected to new infrastructure linking the recording studios and practice rooms, which also incorporated a talkback system.