BACKGROUND
The Barbican Centre is Europe’s largest multi-arts and conference venue. It was developed from designs by
architects Chamberlin, Powell and Bon. The venue, taking over a decade to build, was designed as part of a
utopian vision to transform an area of London left devastated by bombing during the Second World War.
It was declared by The Queen, when it was opened in 1982 as: ‘one of the modern wonders of the world’. The
Barbican is typically seen as a landmark – in terms of its architectural achievements, its scale, cohesion and
ambition.
The Centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings and art
exhibitions. It also hosts a library, three restaurants, accommodation and a conservatory. This therefore makes
the Barbican a great place to live and an interesting company to work with and build a radio system for.
THE CHALLENGE
We at Wall to Wall Communications were first approached by the Barbican in 2010. Barbican approached us with
the intention to modify and update their current two-way radio system. Their aim with us was to extend signal
coverage with their two-way radio communications and to connect their multiple sites so everyone can communicate
to each other to improve operations.
SOLUTION PROVIDED
We installed a three-channel trunk system to suit their current analogue radios to connect their five sites together
including; their schools, student halls and the entertainment complex. We connected these sites with an IP
connection. We extended their coverage by installing leaky feeders in areas with poor signal and we used a
distributed antenna system to further boost signal. We are proud to have this long-standing partnership with the
Barbican Centre.
SOLUTION BENEFITS
· Seamless communication between the teams working underground and
overground, therefore operations efficiency is enhanced
· Coverage enhanced across the five sites with the use of antennas
· Multi-site connection allowing teams across all five sites to communicate
with each other.