Last week we visited the UK headquarters for ETC (Electronic Theatre Controls, celebrating 50 years last year) to see their team and to discuss our plans for the year ahead. And as it turns out, the meeting wasn’t the only highlight of the day.
As it was our first time visiting ETC’s new UK facility since it opened in November 2024, the team kindly gave us a tour of their offices, training spaces, meeting rooms, warehouse and theatre area, and boy, was it impressive. The building itself is a spectacular state-of-the-art eco-building in which they’ve created an environment designed to showcase ETC’s technology in a real-world setting, and one system in particular stood out throughout the visit.
Paradigm Architectural Control Everywhere
What quickly became clear during the tour was that the entire building is powered by ETC’s Paradigm architectural control system. Rather than being limited to a demo room or showcase area, Paradigm is used throughout the facility to control the lighting across:
- Offices
- Meeting rooms
- Reception and hospitality areas
- Quiet spaces and breakout areas
- Training rooms
- Circulation spaces and corridors
Seeing the system deployed across an entire working building really demonstrated how flexible and scalable their lighting control can be. From subtle lighting changes in office spaces to more colourful and dynamic setups in training and demo environments, the system allows ETC’s team to adapt lighting instantly depending on how the space is being used.
Powered by F-Drive LED Drivers
Paradigm had the control covered, and the whole system was powered by ETC’s F-Drive centralised LED power supply system.
F-Drive brings all of your LED power supplies together in one easy-to-use system. Its sleek and intuitive design makes it easy to service and modify the critical components controlling your LED luminaires, all from the convenience of an electrical room or cabinet.
The F-Drive R12 Rack features mix-and-match swappable output cards to make the system easily flexible and scalable to your needs. It is compatible with a wide range of third-party LED luminaires and designed specifically for seamless use with ETC’s ArcSystem Navis 100 luminaires.
Navis 100 Pendant Downlights:
Source Four Mini DIN rails:
Source Four and Entertainment Fixtures (top left):
What makes this system special is how easy it makes setup and service for your architectural lighting system. Power delivery is simplified because you don’t need to locally power each unit, and servicing is easier thanks to hot-swappable cards, allowing changes or replacements without compromising power for the rest of your lighting system.
The R12 Rack has 12 slots with 4 channels each, driving up to 48 Navis 100 luminaires.
The F-Drive W1 Wall Mount option has 4 channels of power, driving up to 4 Navis 100 luminaires.
Simple, Intuitive Control with Echo Wall Solutions
While Paradigm provides the brains behind the building’s lighting architecture, everyday control is handled through ETC’s Echo wall control stations, which are installed throughout the offices and shared spaces.
These elegant wall-mounted controllers make it incredibly simple for staff to adjust the lighting depending on how the room is being used. In many of the spaces we visited, a compact controller with four preset buttons and a rotary control knob allowed users to instantly recall different lighting scenes – such as presentation mode, general office lighting, or a softer setting for relaxed meetings.
The rotary dial allows the selected scene to be dimmed up or down, giving quick and intuitive control without needing access to a more complex control interface.
What stood out was how seamlessly the system integrates into the day-to-day operation of the building. Staff can easily adapt the lighting to suit the moment, whether it’s hosting visitors, running training sessions, or simply creating a comfortable workspace.
It’s a great example of how a powerful architectural control system like Paradigm can remain simple and accessible for everyday users.
The Playhouse
One of the highlights of the visit was ETC’s famous Playhouse – their dedicated demonstration space designed to resemble a traditional theatre. The stage is deliberately sized to match the proportions of many theatres across the UK, allowing customers to see exactly how fixtures will perform in a realistic environment rather than a typical showroom.
While the latest ETC fixtures on display were impressive, what stood out most was the extraordinary level of thought and detail that has gone into the design of the space – and the story behind it.
The Playhouse originally existed in ETC’s previous building and was carefully dismantled before being reassembled in their new facility. The walls surrounding the stalls are hand-painted, inspired by The Producers (1967), creating the illusion of a seated theatre audience watching the stage. The wooden panelling, box fronts and arching details were all hand-crafted by Fred Foster, ETC’s founder. And if you look closely at the painted audience, you’ll spot Fred himself sitting in the front row to the left.
The attention to detail in every direction is remarkable. Standing in the Playhouse genuinely feels like stepping into a working theatre, and it offers a small glimpse into ETC’s heritage and the passion that Fred Foster brought to the company from the very beginning.
The Playhouse Stage:
Handpainted Art:
Looking Forward
It was great to spend time with the ETC team, discuss our plans for the year ahead, and see their impressive UK facility first-hand. Seeing their technology integrated throughout the building, from architectural lighting control with Paradigm to the Playhouse demonstration theatre, really showcased the depth of innovation behind ETC’s solutions. We’re excited to continue working closely with the ETC team and look forward to supporting our customers with these powerful lighting control systems.
If you’d like to learn more about ETC’s Paradigm architectural control systems, F-Drive power solutions, or Echo control stations, our team would be happy to help. These are specialist systems that are typically specified as part of larger lighting installations, so they’re not currently listed on our website. If you have a project you’d like to discuss, give our team a call on 01525 850085 and we’ll be happy to talk through the options.
