Ruhrtriennale, Bochum

The brief

Since 2002, the Ruhrtriennale has staged its productions in places never built for events: century halls, machine houses and even coking plants. That is exactly what makes the productions so special, and at the same time the challenge for the rigging.

Instead of standard hall ceilings with documented load capacities, you find historic steel structures where every suspension point has to be assessed individually. Heritage protection sets limits too: any intervention in the building fabric is off-limits. All installations have to be dismantled without leaving a trace.

The execution

For the Ruhrtriennale productions, SilverBones planned and carried out the complex rigging as a whole. From surveying the load-bearing structure and calculating loads in close consultation with structural engineers to selecting gentle lifting accessories for load distribution, to protect the historic structure as far as possible.

In close coordination with the technical management and the operators, tailored solutions were developed, including complete documentation for the acceptance inspection.

The result

And so set, lighting and sound hung completely safely in halls that are older than modern event technology. For us, the best example that good rigging begins long before the first day of load-in.