CGI designs Outernet Venues
- Details
CGI worked on three state-of-the-art music venues: HERE at Outernet, a 2,000-capacity space frequented by touring artists, The Lower Third, a 250 capacity live music venue for smaller acts and DJs, and Forge, a 50-person capacity cocktail bar that caters for intimate singer-songwriter acoustic performances.
Together, these contrasting spaces form part of an arts and entertainment hub built beneath the streets in the beating heart of Central London. Each venue required its own custom audio, network, and infrastructure for both independent and collaborative use, with all three utilising d&b audiotechnik loudspeakers, and HERE marking one of the UK’s first d&b XSL installations.
CGI also designed and installed the wider venue infrastructure which allows Dante audio distribution across all three spaces, with Luminex switches on a site-wide network.
CGI associate director, Tom Williams, says: “We began by designing a structured cable system throughout the whole building, making it easy to link and access all audio and visual signals from each venue, but with a vision as great and a project as complex as Outernet, the brief was a constantly evolving workflow, as was the scope of events each venue would eventually hold.”
The CGI team was completed by projects manager Jake Miller, installations manager Jon Hardy, and from group partner Eighth Day Sound, Wayne Hall, and Stuart Wright, who contributed their touring audio design expertise.
Working closely with the venue’s in-house team, led by COO Tristan Hoffman, a huge amount of detailed planning resulted in the ultimate technical flexibility for the venue. To date, comedian Ricky Gervais, alt-rock band Enter Shikari and electro dance queen Alison Goldfrapp, plus many more names, have all taken to Outernet Venues’ stages.
As a grassroots venue likely to be referenced for years to come, HERE at Outernet warranted a powerful, high-quality sound system that visiting bands, audio engineers and tour managers would relish hearing.
CGI installed the brand-new addition to d&b’s SL-Series, deploying left and right XSL arrays featuring XSL8 and XSL12 loudspeakers. Strategically placed underneath the stage in HERE are a number of SL-SUB subwoofers in a sub array configuration, alongside d&b’s XS-Series and E-Series loudspeakers for fills and delays.
HERE also benefits from d&b 40D and D80 amplifiers and a d&b M4 stage monitoring system. DiGiCo Quantum Series consoles are at the heart of the control package in HERE, and capturing the artistry are three Panasonic AWRP150 PTZ Cameras, six Blackmagic Design Hyperdeck Studio 4K Pro decks, one Tascam Tri-level Sync Masterclock and a disguise media server.
The Lower Third sees a standard L-R system made up of d&b V10P loudspeakers with four V-GSUBs and six M6 monitors, while The Forge is fitted with XS Series loudspeakers by the stage, powered by a 10D amplifier. A Yamaha QL1 with RIO stage boxes is at the mixing helm in The Lower Third.
This audio design is not limited to the performance spaces though, as a Bose system made up of Design-Match speakers has been installed throughout the back of house in order to allow audio from any venue, including the Now Building - a giant public atrium boasting the most interior and exterior screens in the world - to be played in any part of the space.
Williams concludes: “Outernet Venues is a brilliant example of how our clients can benefit from the depth of knowledge and experience that we have within the Clair Global group. With a broad range of skill sets and intricate knowledge of live productions and installations, we can focus on delivering the ultimate high-end experience in a venue, regardless of size. Outernet is a state-of-the-art new complex in London’s vibrant entertainment scene, and we’re very proud of our involvement with these three venues, which are an exciting addition to Clair Global Integration’s growing portfolio of UK installations.”
After recording an average daily footfall of over 200,000 guests (as of April 2023), Outernet Venues was placed in the top five visitor attractions in the UK, as assessed by The Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (ALVA).
