The building, which owes its existence in large part to an anonymous donor, is connected to the existing arts centre by glass bridges, includes 110-seat recital hall, a dance/drama studio, a suite of teaching rooms that can house between one and six students and a music room that can accommodate a full orchestra.
Autograph designed an extensive audio infrastructure allowing analogue and digital audio signals to be routed to and from any room in the building, allowing many digital and analogue audio/media formats to be accessed and utilised. An Allen & Heath iDR digital mixing system, a DiGiCo D1 and Allen & Heath iDR8, iDR10, iDR64 products form the hub of the system.
Simeon Ludwell, Autograph's system designer for the project explains, "The Allen & Heath iDR system offers exceptional flexibility compared with many other products on the market. Couple this with the integration of wall plate control, network and wireless control, as well as a digital mixing console with distributed audio - and it makes the iDR series a great tool."
In the recital hall, the DiGiCo D1 can provide 5.1 recording and playback capabilities from a 56-channel recording computer running Cubase through an RME MADI card. Inputs into the system include a Milab SRND360 microphone - the first to be installed anywhere in the country - as well as several Audix M1255 miniature overhead microphones. Provision for several DiGiCo Miniracks enable additional analogue and digital inputs and outputs to anywhere in the building via the MADI infrastructure.
The dance/drama room utilises the Allen & Heath iLive 80 digital mixing surface, which acts as a remote control for the iDR system located in the rack room, two floors up. Local I/O is on the back of the iLive 80 and allows a combination of digital and analogue inputs and outputs to be accessed.
A raft of additional products have been integrated into the venue including EM Acoustics EMS81's and i-8's as well as Meyer Sound MM4 loudspeakers, Sennheiser radio microphones and infra-red assistive listening systems, MC2 Audio MC series and E series amplifiers, a large amount of K&M stands, Tascam playback and recording systems, Audix and Milab microphones, Clearcom Encore and Freespeak systems and Countryman DI boxes and head worn miniature microphones.
(Jim Evans)
