Kings Theatre, Southsea: a many-roofed drone survey for an historic playhouse
Having been recommended our drone surveying expertise, heritage construction and conservation design firm Pritchard Architecture — who also knew us for our aerial photos of their D-Day Story LCT 7074 project in Southsea — hired us to shoot detailed overhead images of the roof of Portsmouth’s Kings Theatre.
One of our aerial shots of the LCT 7074 landing craft outside the D-Day Story in Southsea, Portsmouth — a Pritchard Architecture project
‘Roofs’ (plural) might be more appropriate, actually, given the intricate layout of the Edwardian playhouse! The tops of the buildings forming the theatre slope in all directions, at all angles. After walking past it hundreds of times over the years, seeing the Kings Theatre from above was very memorable.
Sited at the point where Exmouth Road meets Albert Road, the Kings Theatre isn‘t in the quietest of spots. The narrow pavements aren’t lenient to pilots looking for take-off zones, and the dense residential housing made line-of-sight a challenge. Check it out in 3D by clicking below.
Sara and I were pondering our plan of attack over coffee in Jessie's Latin Lounge, around the corner. The wonderful woman serving us overheard, and suggested we ring some bells in the block of flats a few doors down. We took her advice, and soon found ourselves in a large perfectly-placed communal terrace!
To the residents who let us in: thank you. The terrace was away from traffic and pedestrians, and afforded an ideal vantage point for keeping an eye on our drone. Bonus points for double-checking that we were taking all the safest COVID precautions before we set a single foot inside.
We flew on a Sunday morning using our sub-250g Mavic Mini 2. There might have been some distance between us and public spaces, and lighter drones can now legally fly over uninvolved people (within reason), but the small-yet-mighty Mini 2’s slight profile causes less of a disturbance to neighbours (and birds).
There were hundreds of them roosting in the rafters of the historic theatre (birds, not neighbours). Can’t blame them, really. If I could fly, I’d sneak a free seat for some top-notch stage entertainment from time to time. But then I wouldn’t need a drone — I’d just strap a GoPro to my head.
We drew the perimeter of the Kings Theatre on a map in our specialist drone software, then sent the Mini 2 off to capture full high-res coverage of the beautiful 1907 structure. Mere hours later, we’d uploaded the photos to our client server and shared them with the talent at Pritchard Architecture.
As we preach on our drone surveys page: capturing aerial visuals for construction and conservation projects is astoundingly fast, efficient, cost-effective, safe, and productive. The turnaround can often be same-day, imagery is sharp, and flights can be repeated to create an historic log of progressing work.
Our gratitude to Pritchard Architecture, the Kings Theatre, Jessie's Latin Lounge, and the charming resident who let us launch from their garden.
