Immersive Light and Sound Venues in London

The exhibition landscape in London, United Kingdom (UK) in recent years seems to have changed gears. Particularly apparent in 2023 and 2024, there seems to be a drive for immersive exhibitions, driving venues and galleries to invest in professional level light and sound systems. The heightened quality of light and sound seems to be the focus to provide stimulation to human senses. Professional level lighting and audio equipment distributors must be kept busy these days, selling the equipment like hotcakes to companies, venues and artists producing the capital city’s latest events and installations.

Nonotak’s installation at 47 Tanner Street in Bermondsey, London. Image by Von Chua.

Drumsheds in Tottenham, London

Broadwick Live, the production company responsible for some of the UK’s most impressive multi-purpose event spaces such as the Printworks in Rotherhithe, South London opened Drumsheds in Tottenham, London in 2023. Simeon Aldred from Broadwick Live mentioned that he wants the spaces to be “ambidextrous, hybrid, and flexible”. After attending an event in the space’s Room X, I was impressed by the rigging of the space, within the former IKEA warehouse turned multi-purpose event space. The spaces are fully equipped with an in-house stage, PA, power to rigging. The rigging provides a truly flexible system to bolt on the quality lighting systems and sound systems needed for hosting events. From product launches to large-scale conferences and even nightclub events, Drumsheds is proving to be a popular event space for event planners. The 608,000 sq ft space is roughly split into three main rooms, with Room X as one of the largest and most dynamic warehouse spaces in London, providing an event space with a large sense of scale plus facilities to match.

A nice surprise in Room X is the large widescreen in front of the room that seems to commonly form the backdrop for events. Through the graphics, supporting light and sound, the event space comes to life. Though the screens may not be the best in resolution, its scale at 48 metres wide by 4 metres tall at 12:1 aspect ratio meant that it did not feel like a compromise. The sense of scale and atmosphere is one of the best I have experienced recently.

Outernet London on Tottenham Court Road, London

By Tottenham Court Road at the intersection where retail shops end and Soho begins, the Outernet London opened in November 2022. Whether one is passing by or purposely making a trip to visit it, the flashing screens dominate the view of passersby, drawing one to move closer to experience the immersive space. Through the addition of directional sound systems and atomized scent, the Outernet London dials up the sensitivity of human senses to portray a heightened level of experience. With a total screen surface of 1,209 square metres, the immersive space has a relatively small footprint of 439 square metres. Its large volume is contributed by a height that spans 14.5 metres, which is approximately 4 storeys high and filled with 8k resolution.

In its largest area, the Outernet London’s Now Building holds 16k+ screens, boasting one of the largest LED screens by pixel density in the world. This is in 4k for the East, West and North walls, and the most impressive in 8k for the South wall and the ceiling. The audio system in the Now Building is also highly configurable and has the potential to be set up as a full L-ISA system, reconfigurable into audio zones for spatialised audio to achieve the desired impact and immersive experience.

Lightroom in King’s Cross, London

Moving through retail shops, crowds and the open spaces in King’s Cross, London, the opening of the Lightroom was a cleverly planned use of one of the underground spaces within the King’s Cross development. With a large volume at 18.5m width x 26m length x 12m height, the underground space is filled with screens with a good sound system to match it. Read about the inaugural exhibition at the Lightroom in a previous article.

Others in a Smaller Scale

Moving away from the highly equipment-intensive immersive venues, not to mention, is also investment intensive, on a smaller scale but by no means less impactful, the Nonotak duo successfully exhibited their lighting and sound installations in Bermondsey, South London recently. Held in Bermondsey, South London, the exhibition is titled Eclipse by Nonotak, and the duo behind it is Noemi Schipfer and Takami Nakamoto. Schipfer and Nakamoto work with light and sound to produce installations, typically using conventional technology in creative ways or custom built technology. With Nakamoto’s architectural training, the duo’s work is also steeped in architectural design, using light as a medium to sculpt space. After graduating from graphic design, Schipfer’s experience in geometry and kinetics are also elements present in their latest installation in London.

Eclipse by Nonotak may signify a transition between well-established organisations such as Broadwick Live being able to procure and install major light and sound systems to support the immersive experiences in London, but also with continuing supplies and support to smaller outfits such as direct to artists like Nonotak. While in Stratford, London, the company behind the Sphere in Las Vegas, Madison Square Garden Company is still trying to gain planning permission to erect a slightly smaller version in London, UK at approximately 90 metres tall, who knows what type of immersive space will survive in a city like London. Will it be temporary or permanent? In the meantime, a change in scale to an intimate experience - an experience that involves fewer exhibits, and in unexpected spaces like a disused warehouse is a pretty nice change of pace.