King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra) – Main Auditorium

Production-Grade Theatrical Lighting & Control Infrastructure for a National Cultural Landmark.

The King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra) is a flagship cultural development initiated by Saudi Aramco in Dhahran, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, serving as a national platform for arts, education, and cultural exchange. The facility’s main auditorium is designed to host international theatre productions, concerts, and large-scale cultural events, requiring a fully integrated, production-grade lighting system capable of supporting everything from touring theatrical productions to locally produced shows.

Oasis Enterprises was commissioned to deliver the complete production lighting and control infrastructure, working in strict accordance with the detailed design brief and specifications developed by Theatre Projects Consultants. Our scope covered the supply, installation, integration, testing, and commissioning of the following systems:

• A comprehensive stage lighting rig combining intelligent luminaires and conventional fixtures, with Production Lighting Boxes (PLBs) distributed across the auditorium, stage, and technical galleries for flexible connection points supporting touring productions
• A network-based lighting control system utilizing sACN (Streaming ACN) protocol for high-speed, scalable data distribution, integrated with industry-standard theatrical control consoles for compatibility with international touring shows
• Centralized dimming and power distribution systems with load balancing and circuit allocation, engineered to international electrical standards for both conventional and intelligent fixtures
• Unified house and work lighting control, integrated into a single platform alongside production lighting for coordinated operation during performances and backstage maintenance
• Structured data and power cabling infrastructure, coordinated with MEP systems to ensure proper routing, containment, and service segregation within a complex architectural building envelope

The project required precise, deviation-free implementation of an established consultant design across a technically complex, multi-subsystem environment, synchronizing lighting control, dimming, and distributed connection points across large channel counts and multiple DMX universes, while maintaining full compatibility with external touring equipment. Comprehensive testing and commissioning, including signal integrity validation and system stress testing, was carried out in coordination with Theatre Projects Consultants to ensure full compliance with design intent.

The completed system delivers a fully integrated, production-grade lighting infrastructure supporting productions from small-scale performances to technically complex international shows, with scalable, future-proof architecture ready for long-term operation at a world-class performance venue.