Illuminati Consultation Services

Illuminati act as technical consultants to a wide variety of arts buildings: but with a crucial difference to the way that traditional theatre consultants work. We offer a service directly to the client whereby we  work closely with them to refine their ideas, needs and requests long before an artchitect or services specialist is involved. We then help with the architect selection process and then monitor the results on a regular basis. We can save a client a great deal of money on later modifications this way. Our fees are set in advance for the specifications and cover all the required meetings and consultations, after which any further fees are then payable on a daily basis for any further consultations on the detailed design, always agreed in advance. Alternatively, we can work direcly with architects  on behalf of the client and the end user to ensure that their designs are likely to be efficient and usable.

In our experience, Illuminati finds time after time that many people who commission architects to design a building find it difficult to communicate to architects / designers, surveyors and services engineers precisely what they want from their new facility. They also find that when designs are delivered, they have difficulties interpreting them leading to a great deal of misunderstanding, and a certain amount of disapointment. There are of course very many examples of buildings that are not as usable of as useful as the client thought they were going be. Recently we have seen designs for an art gallery where the artwork access doors were only five feet wide leading to narrow corridors into to a massive display space with a sloping floor, so that fork lift trucks, ladders and standard podia could not be deployed: A small receiving theatre with no facilities for stage management or wardrobe and terrible lighting positions: A local authority project where no specifications whatsoever were given to an architectural practice in case it cramped their style, the result being a beautiful flowing building which was utterly unworkable, (fortunately never built): The list goes on... a theatre bar with no cellarage space: another gallery where the huge windows had no protection against UV and sunlight: lighting positions which were unworkable......

That's a thing of the past if you hire Illuminati.

Dorian Kelly and his associates will talk on your behalf to all the actual people who will use the building, such as lighting electricians, cleaners, security people, usherettes, ice-ceam sellers, invigilators - ask them what their aspirations are and try to make sure they are designed in from the start. Think what it would cost to put in special lighting or camera positions in an art galleries for sepearate exhibitions as opposed to having a flexible adaptable system to start with, or adding a ladder storage cupboard, or a mop cleaning sink, or ensuring that corridors are wide enough for the goods that have to navigate them, or that the services systems are fully futureproof - and you can see what money you can save. if nothing gets missed out from your specification!

Direct design services

Give us a call. It will cost nothing ( or nearly nothing) to hear some ideas you never thought you would have had without us.... Get those rave reviews for your restaurant or foyer.