Upon entering Outernet’s Now Building, more than 2000 square meters of 16K LED screen impress visitors with immersive video content. And while it attracts attention, the ears are not far behind. tab) of two hundred speakers immerses visitors in an immersive soundscape. The Now Building, the centerpiece of the outdoor network, is used as a large indoor/outdoor visiting area and as an enclosed area that can host art installations, live concerts, movie premieres, or any other occasion the artistic brain can imagine. In either configuration, Outernet is poised to deliver a magnificent real-time spatial experience to an expected number of more than 400,000 people crossing space every day.
The story of Outernet London began when Consolidated Developments bought much of Denmark Street, affectionately known as Tin Pan Alley in the UK, with the aim of turning these major London assets into a cutting-edge mixed-use development.
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While Outernet is technologically impressive, it has been treated with sensitivity, with the very vital façade of the Rue du Danemark completely preserved. In fact, from Denmark Street, the only clue to their lifestyle is access to an unpretentious alley. Upon entering, however, one discovers the Now Arcade, covered from floor to ceiling with LED panels and speakers, a precursor to what lies beyond.
In addition to the Now Building, Outernet includes Now Trending, product samples, interactive exhibits, and a streaming program area capable of VR and XR experiences. Now Pop Up 1 and 2 are adjacent to the Now Building and can accommodate pop-up or product outlets. for animators.
This large-scale task was complicated but exciting due to its length and technicality. The team behind the state-of-the-art AV installation included Laurence Kirschel, owner of Consolidated Development, Mike Whittaker, CTO of Outernet Global, engineering consultancy Hoare Lea, AV consultancy Auditoria PTY, integrator SSE Audio and L-Acoustics.
“Part of our artistic brief to provide an immersive, multi-sensory delight in which visitors can see, hear and even smell the scent of delight unfolding in front of them,” Whittaker explained. ‘ that would work perfectly in countless programs and types of events, day after day. We needed to adapt immersive video with surround sound.
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The LED screens lining the Now Building create a giant glass box. To further complicate matters, two of the 4 sides of the screen “room” can be slid sideways, turning the place of a closed room into an indoor/outdoor corridor overlooking a small square adjacent to one of the entrances to Tottenham Court Road tube station. As a result, the acoustic elements had to be carefully planned so that they had compatibility with all configurations of the place and, at the same time, take into account that it is located in a mixed-use commercial/residential area. “We have to be thoughtful neighbors,” Whittaker said.
Working with L-Acoustics since the beginning of the project, SSE Audio, a component of the Solotech Group, installed approximately two hundred L-Acoustics speakers in Outernet’s five ground-level functionality spaces.
“With such a complex architectural structure, it is vital for L-ISA to ‘know’ what state the area is in. Making sure we can paint with its multiple configurations acoustically is vital, whether for live or pre-recorded music,” SSE said. The senior director of assignment development at . Audio, Dan Seal, who worked alongside L-Acoustics and Audit representative Scott Willsallen on the audio system design. “The complexity of the assignment also meant that many disciplines had to be coordinated; Creativity was essential, with speakers hidden in drainage channels, under screens and above grilles. But in all this, the assembly of the superior criteria of the commission was paramount.
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The centerpiece of Outernet is the Now Building, which is supplied with speakers in the aft mirror and on the floor for consistency and coverage of the area. Twenty-four X4i are located at the base of one of the large LED screen walls, while another 12 X4i are hidden in the drainage formula of the other 3 walls. Twelve compact SB10i subwoofers, which were developed in particular for Outernet assignment to hide in drain gutters, provide low-end sound reinforcement. Eleven A10i Focus, accompanied by seven Syva Low submarines, canopy the smartest of the 3 walls that can be opened for indoor/outdoor area configuration. There are five optional cinema expansion issues for implementing portable Syva/Syva Low formulas.
“The arrival of the SB10i to the L-Acoustics product line has opened up many possibilities for our formula integration projects,” said Kyle Durno, Applications Engineer at SSE Audio. and Now spaces feature SB10i in the gutter formula to further enhance the low-frequency functionality of the floor-level X4i, which is for on-screen audio content such as dialogues/music.
“The challenge in all those spaces is to achieve a consistent shared policy about the audience to make sure that no matter where they are in the space, they are immersed in the sound,” added Durno, who was instrumental in programming the system. It faced difficult design limitations due to video walls, so the combination of speakers on the floor and in the transom was an effective solution. “
To achieve consistent functionality between near-field and far-field listening positions, the team used the new spatial fill function of the immersive L-ISA technology. Spatial padding creates a virtual reproduction of the L-ISA dot formula and is an effective solution where shared policy is less optimal. Using gain/delay-based algorithms for placing audio objects, spatial padding improves object separation, policy, and point consistency.
“We use spatial filler for acoustic performance, especially in near-field listening positions where the difference in trace duration between the speakers at the floor point and the aft mirror creates a negative comb filter,” Durno continued. “The result is localization for near-field listeners. “
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Next to the Now Building, the trapezoidal Now Trending area follows an audio setup, with 34 X4i installed on the floor, 20 of which span the two walls covered with LED screens. Another more sensible point of thirteen 5XT coaxial speakers, complemented via 4 Syva Sub, are suspended around the perimeter of the room, while the compact SB10i subwoofers are hidden in a gutter under the video screens. Adjacent areas Now Pop Up 1 and 2 come with 14 5XT with two Syva Low and 12 5XT and one Syva Low respectively.
The long, oblong Now Arcade is designed as a gateway to other spaces, but can also be used for consistent consonal reservations. Here, there are rows of 19 ultra-compact X4i coaxial speakers consistent with the floor-level look, as well as 8 SB10i subwoofers along the entire length of the hallway.
All spaces are centrally controlled via Q-SYS (opens in a new tab), with audio distributed via Dante (opens in a new tab) and Milan-AVB via redundant networks. in addition to the production of internal content. ” On-site staff and guest engineers have access to each formula in all spaces, transmitting audio to applicable L-ISA processors via analog, AES and Dante,” added Durno. Bendy Formula gives visitors the right checkpoint and the freedom to set up Outernet for their event, without changing or damaging the process formula. “
L-Acoustics also took care to commission the formula and education at the end of the project, with SSE Audio offering 24/7/365 through the service, a remote maintenance solution provided through the parent company, Solotech.
Outernet hosted the Blue Moon Gala celebrations for UNICEF’s 75th anniversary and Mothers2mothers’ 20th anniversary earlier this year. According to Whittaker, L-ISA Immersive Hyperreal Sound provides the best solution to help bring entertainment and artistic reporting to all the senses.
“The team rose to the technical challenge seamlessly, offering a truly world-class solution,” concluded Outernet’s Whittaker. “From L-Acoustics, the world leader in high-end professional sound, to our demo partners working with us to deliver the world’s largest permanently installed cellular platform, we know we’re in very smart hands. These partnerships have not only been very important in making Outernet work, but also in taking into account the various specification adjustments as it evolves and to ensure our long term. success. I feel extremely happy for all the acoustic spaces that L-ISA shows us.
AVNetwork has storytellers aimed at the professional and generation audiovisual industry. Their project is to keep readers informed about the latest industry news and AV/IT products, emerging trends and inspiring installations.
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