W-DALI: wireless lighting control for historic lecture theatre
The E.S. Meyers Lecture Theatre is a 150-seat tiered auditorium located in the heart of the Mayne Medical School, part of the University of Queensland in northeast Australia.
This historical venue was refurbished in 2005 to bring it up to modern standards whilst respecting its heritage through the exposure of the original dome timber framing previously hidden from view.
In 2025, local lighting control company, Smartscape QLD, was given the task of delivering the lighting control scope for the lecture hall which is used for teaching, presentations and events.
Steven Connors, Client Services Manager at Smartscape, was responsible for the project, from design through to commissioning and handover.
“Our brief was to deliver flexible scene control for the lecture space with simple end-user operation,” Steven explains.
“The main challenges we were faced with were firstly, working within a finished space in a heritage building and secondly, limited cabling access using existing cables. We also wanted to keep the system flexible without overcomplicating it for the end user.”
W-DALI – the number one choice
“Wireless control was chosen mainly to reduce the installation disruption which would have been caused by pulling additional cabling through what was already a completed space,” says Steven. “It also made the on-site installation much faster and more practical.”
“We went with W-DALI from LumenRadio because it’s reliable, purpose-built for DALI, and integrates cleanly into standard commissioning workflows.”
The team from Smartscape QLD fitted a single W-DALI gateway next to the existing controller. This wirelessly transmits to six receiver nodes across the lighting zones which were a maximum of 30m apart.
“The project’s programming was completed in a single day,” explains Steven. “Doing this project wirelessly with W-DALI was definitely quicker than a hard-wired DALI install would’ve been. The biggest saving was in installation time.”
“W-DALI works well where you want DALI functionality without the physical constraints of wiring,” concludes Steven. “I’d recommend W-DALI, particularly for retrofit work and anywhere cabling is difficult or disruptive.”
About Smartscape QLD
Smartscape QLD is a lighting control and integration company working across commercial projects throughout Queensland and interstate. They specialise in DALI, Dynalite and Zencontrol systems, including design support, commissioning and ongoing service.
