Hochiki Europe’s award-shortlisted installation at Unity Theatre, Liverpool, shows how a single product can simplify specification, reduce costs and satisfy even the most design-conscious client.
For electrical contractors, the specification conversation around fire detection in heritage or aesthetically sensitive buildings often starts with a compromise: either the safety system works well, or it looks acceptable. Hochiki Europe’s FIREscape Nepto challenges that premise and a recent installation at Unity Theatre in Liverpool demonstrates why specifiers and their clients are starting to take notice.
The challenge
Unity Theatre is a working cultural venue with a strong architectural identity. Like many historic buildings put forward for fire safety upgrades, it needed a solution that could provide reliable early warning detection throughout the building without disrupting the interior aesthetic that gives the space its character. For the installing contractor, this meant avoiding the visual clutter of conventional detectors alongside separate emergency and exit lighting fixtures, a combination that would have required additional cable routes, more structural fixings and a more complex commissioning process.
One product. Two functions.
FIREscape Nepto combines fire detection technology with integrated architectural lighting in a single, low-profile linear unit. The detector handles optical smoke detection while the housing itself serves as a discreet, designed light fitting, meaning contractors are installing one device where they would previously have installed two.
At Unity Theatre, this approach allowed the full installation to proceed without compromising the building’s visual appeal. The slim linear profile sits flush and unobtrusive against the interior and because the product is designed from the outset to blend rather than stand out, there was no requirement for additional aesthetic remediation work after installation.
“Hochiki products are famously easy to install, and FIREscape Nepto was no different. We were able to retrofit using a lot of the old cabling to save on waste and the new system enabled us to fault find any issues with that old cable so we could replace it if needed.” Will Taylor, Grainger Fire and Security.
A specification that pays for itself
For installers pitching this product to building owners and facilities managers, the numbers make a compelling argument. By eliminating the need for separate emergency lighting fixtures and the associated wiring, Unity Theatre reduced both installation time and material costs on the project.
Beyond the upfront savings, the theatre projects that the energy-efficient design of FIREscape Nepto will reduce ongoing operational costs by up to £900 per year, a figure that translates directly into the payback conversation when presenting the business case to a client finance team.
“This new system won’t just replace our old one, it will transform our day-to-day operations and ensure we can continue to shine a light on the arts for years to come, thanks to Hochiki, the show can go on”. Unity Theatre Technical Manager Xenia Bayer
Watch the short video case study in full to learn more about this story and the ranges featured.
