The owner of a Midwest sound and lighting systems design and integration company may have come up with a game-changer in the catwalk department. While working on the planning stages of the Faith Family Church in Canton, Ohio, John Westra, who owns Audio Design Specialists, a systems integrator, and Venue Technologies, an acoustical treatment fabricator, both based in Madison, Wis., was ready to install steel acoustical clouds developed by Venue Technologies as the church's ceiling. He noted how the LD's right-angle-heavy catwalk design seemed at geometric odds with the fan-shaped polygonal seating design. It occurred to him that a catwalk could follow the geometry of the floor design more precisely, and also serve as the suspension system for the facility's sound gear, lighting components and more.
"Virtually all media-wise churches today employ fan-shaped seating," Westra explains. "In most cases, the ceiling geometry above will mimic the seating layout below, being either curved or polygonal, approximating the curve, and therein lies the problem with linear catwalks. Also, catwalks should not be limited to theatrical lighting. If properly sized, shaped, and positioned, they can also support house lighting, work lighting, loudspeaker systems, auxiliary video projectors, fire sprinkler mains, and, most importantly, the ceiling itself."
– Dan Daley, from The Biz, PLSN, Oct. 2010
