Tommex Żebrowscy recently completed the design and installation of an audio system for the new Centrum Praskie Koneser in Warsaw – a modern urban space combining restaurants, apartments, shops, commercial premises, a museum, an indoor exhibition centre and hotel. The complex also has a large open public square, which is also used to host exhibitions and cultural events.

The Centrum Praskie Koneser is a unique project that incorporates the revitalisation and adaptation of the post-industrial buildings of the Koneser Polish vodka factory. Once employing more than 400 people, the factory could produce a quarter of a million bottles of vodka a day, with globally recognised brands including Wyborowa, Luksusowa, Żubrówka, Żytniówka and Siwucha. In addition to the main production buildings, the original complex included warehouses, workshops, residential buildings and a school. The modern development retains a post-industrial atmosphere by combining authentic architectural elements of the old factory buildings with new buildings on the site. The complex also has its own underground car park and video surveillance.

The audio system provided by Tommex for the public areas of the complex includes the walkway zones between buildings, the covered shopping centre and the multi-purpose open square. The system provides both background music and music to accompany events. It can also be used as a paging system and is operated and controlled by a Dynacord Promatrix 6000, using Dynacord mics and amplification.

For music quality, high-intelligibility speech and consistent coverage, Tommex chose a combination of fifty-five Community DP6 two-way pendant loudspeakers and eight wall-mounted ENT203 compact column point source loudspeakers. With the ENT203 covering the outer areas of the square adjacent to the buildings, the DP6 loudspeakers are hung in a distributed pattern from steel cables, strung between the buildings to fly sound and lighting. In the covered shopping centre, the DP6 could be hung directly from the roof structure.

Tommex also designed and installed a flexible system for the multi-purpose indoor exhibition center. Controlled by an Ashly FR-8, with programmable faders and switches, sources and levels can be independently controlled for a variety of zones. A multimedia tablet also allows for wireless system control and two sets of Sennheiser wireless provide mic flexibility for events. In two separate rooms, additional wall mixers have been installed to provide local connection of mics or other audio sources.

Providing for background music and events in the indoor exhibition centre, 42 pairs of Community DP6 pendant loudspeakers are flown on six separate loudspeaker lines. To power the loudspeakers, Tommex used an Ashly 400W two-channel amplifier and an 8x8 matrix with four four-channel amplifiers, each delivering 250W per channel. DSP processing includes spectral and dynamic processing of input and output signals, an acoustic feedback eliminator and the option to use pre-set FIR filters, with parameters provided by Community. D4 ceiling loudspeakers ensure the same high quality is uniform within the services areas of the exhibition centre.

‘This was a very interesting project, and its unique nature and high profile guaranteed it a lot of attention,’ says Tommex Commercial Director, Marcin Zimny. ‘The sound quality and coverage is impressive and we know we can rely on Community to provide long-term reliability for both the indoor and outdoor areas.’