The city of Zaragoza, the fifth largest in Spain, has built an architecturally remarkable campus to house the Expo 2008, spread over 60 acres and featuring designs by leading architects such as Zaha Hadid. Running from July to mid-September, the event is expected to attract up to seven million visitors. More than 100 countries are participating, as well as private corporations, and live entertainment on-site will come from 350 international artists ranging from the Cirque du Soleil to Bob Dylan.
In total, the Exposition has 140 pavilions but the most emblematic of all is the Water Tower; nearly 250ft tall and dominating the Zaragoza site, it houses the Water for Life exposition. The floor is shaped like a droplet of water, and visitors ascend the building by ramps which circle the atrium, giving views of the the dramatic 23-metre high 'Splash' sculpture which hovers in the centre of the Tower.
Audiovisual media and lighting play a key role in the way the contents are communicated, and enable the visitor to experience not only concepts, but also sensations and emotions.
Designer Marc Sarda visited Vieta in 2006 to discuss audio designs for the Water Tower. His concept involved a loudspeaker installation that would provide a running commentary of ambient effects throughout the Tower, with the sound levels, particularly the MF and HF, increasing as visitors travelled up the spiral ramps. Vieta's R&D chief Jordi Hernandez developed three cylindrical units with upward throws of 35 metres - varying in size from 1.8 metres tall to 2.2 metres tall, each bi-amped, with a 15" sub-woofer in a compartment at the bottom and a 12" driver pointing upwards, a 2" horn and a reflector to channel the energy from the mid-highs away from the unoccupied space in the centre and throw it out to each side.
Visitors arrive into a fixed exhibition space on the ground floor, which has been fitted with Vieta's white Do Line cabinets and subs. From the sixth floor, a huge spiral staircase takes them to the top of the building. The architect/designer has arranged three circular pools of LED on the floor, which can be viewed as visitors make their 35m ascent to the top, accompanied by sound from Vieta's custom-designed speakers.
Nacho Alberdi, MD of Vieta Pro, points out that "Zaragoza's Water Tower is the first major installation in the world to use all the elements of our Ti Line Series, notably the new SD Players which were the first units off our production line. From the introduction of its first pro-audio loudspeakers four years ago, Vieta has come a long way to be able to fulfil the creative and technological specifications of a major international event like the Zaragoza Expo."
(Jim Evans)
