Designed by engineering consultancy Hoare Lea, Lakeside’s new Intu includes a ‘soundscape’ sound system as part of a £72m regeneration of Leisure Realm, which opened in the summer of 2019. The system uses a multichannel Meyer Sound audio system served by the spatial rendering and playback capabilities of Out Board’s TiMax SoundHub, which is used across its three distinct external zones.
The A/V installation was carried out by Autograph Sales & Installations and, in addition to the two TiMax SoundHub devices (64 and one 16 channels respectively), the audio infrastructure calls on 23 UP-4XP UltraCompact and 38 MM-4XP miniature full-range loudspeakers supported by ten MM-10XP miniature subwoofers, along with nine MPS-488HP units handling power and signal distribution.
The Leisure Realm’s three spaces are The Street, a semi-enclosed reverberant space surrounded by 15m-high walls where Meyer MM4-XP speakers are mounted high, with some firing into the roof. This use of indirect and reflected sound with the natural reflections of the architecture adds a sense of realism to the sound effects; this is particularly effective on birdsong, which is used as a subtle background ambience to start each day.
The Events Boulevard, a 1,700sq-m external area where more Meyer MM4-XPs are hidden within landscaping features such as the benches and planters among the video screens and dancing fountains as well as other water features; and The Link, a semi-enclosed walkway joining the Leisure Realm and car park.
As would be expect from a shopping centre exterior, the ground surface and facades are acoustically reflective with hard surfaces in abundance. ‘The soundscape and audio effects really add joy to the space, softening the built environment and enveloping the listener in the sound while using the natural acoustics of the space,’ explains Hoare Lea’s Audiovisual lead, Kevin Luckhurst.
Luckhurst worked with Out Board’s Robin Whittaker to try out different types of content, to optimise what works best in each space. While commissioning on site, the TiMax updates were honed through decisions based on whether audio stems should be in motion or static, localised or spatially spread.
Hoare Lea specified TiMax SoundHub for its flexibility and reliability as well as its compact 2U-high footprint. ‘TiMax suits a lot of the permanent installations we do,’ Luckhurst says. ‘We knew from experience of the Hive at Kew Gardens that TiMax can be programmed with all the content on to the hard drive and be left to reliably play back the scheduled content with all its panning and spatial elements without having to worry.’
The system was recently used to evoke the spirit of Christmas, when the venue showcased its first seasonal update during the pre-Christmas shopping period. With sound design and music composition by Hoare Lea’s creative A/V team, the event used a mixture of sound FX, field recordings and re-scored traditional carols, spatially enhanced, panned and timed with TiMax to work with the sound system design and acoustic characteristics of each zone.
The soundscape included the audio illusion of Santa’s sleigh, with reindeer and sleighbells progressing through the space, a toyshop scene, and Christmas market scene and some subtly panned twinkling sounds in the Event Boulevard. Luckhurst also integrated field recordings from church bells in the distance and carols. In the reverberant environment of The Street, with speakers distributed down the left and right sides but at different height positions, he says, ‘It just works. You feel like you’re immersed in sound, just like in a church.
‘The complexity is in the system itself as there are more than 60 channels across the 150m long physical space, so when it comes to audio content, less is more – simplistic ambiences panned and timed are more effective than rhythmic complex pieces.’
See also:
The Hive at Kew Gardens
