Known as World of Wine (WOW), the New Cultural District in Porto, Portugal, comprises museums, restaurants and bars that offer a journey through the region’s port production heritage. Seeking a comprehensive, premium audio system to guide visitors through the exhibits and create immersive soundscapes, WOW’s management team called on Garrett Audiovisuais, who specified an extensive list of Genelec equipment.
The brief was simple: build an interactive experience that would attract, entertain, and educate tourists on various aspects of Portugal’s cultural history.
Working in tandem with Gema Digital – the company responsible for the creation of most of the museum experiences, from inception to the global project management, including the storytelling, multimedia production, A/V installation, execution and maintenance – Garrett Audiovisuais specified more than 400 Genelec loudspeakers to be deployrd across all of the spaces. The brief was simple: to build an interactive experience that would attract, entertain, and educate tourists on various aspects of Portugal’s cultural history.
Gema Digital specialises in pioneering immersive and interactive experiences for events, brand activations and museums, with a portfolio that combines more than 2,000 projects in 14 different countries. At WOW, sound played an instrumental part in creating an engaging experience for visitors. ‘In each space, completely different environments are presented, and it was necessary that the sound design reflects this change in dynamic,’ explains Gema Digital’s Francisco Brandão.
Gema Digital designed WOW’s four museum experiences – The Wine Experience, Planet Cork, Porto Region Across the Ages, and The Chocolate Story – all different in shape and size. Nine Genelec loudspeaker models were used throughout the project, including all variations of the 4000 Series.
The loudspeakers were chosen primarily for exhibits, for example, the 7.1 surround sound systems located in Porto Region Across the Ages and The Wine Experience auditoria exclusively use Genelec loudspeakers.
‘Gema Digital made it clear they required a speaker that would be adaptive to the different types of rooms and applications, but would look very discreet,’ says Garrett Audiovisuais Sales Director, Raul Fernandes. ‘Genelec’s crystalline sound signature is ubiquitous across their models, but there are subtle differences in the choices for each room. It’s why we suggested a combination of Architectural and 4000 Series models, as they can be adjusted very easily to the acoustics of the space, bypassing difficulties usually present in older buildings or with materials that create too much reverberation.’
It was also important that the loudspeakers blend into their environment. Genelec’s ceiling-mounted AIC25 models predominate the installation, with 192 installed across the site. Amplification for each AIC25 is supplied via a remote RAM2 amplifier module, which also allowed technicians to adjust the loudspeakers’ response and help the AIC25s blend with their environment in every sense of the word.
Some of the larger models required more creative thinking to ensure they remained hidden. ‘In the Civil War section of Porto Region Across the Ages, we made the decision to hide the Genelec 5041A active in-wall subwoofer in the scenography, in the chimney,’ recalls Brandão, ‘Likewise, in the jungle of The Chocolate Story we positioned the loudspeakers behind a wall of vegetation to provide the feeling that there are animals hidden along the entire wall, simulating the thriving wildlife of an actual jungle, and conveying a sense of 360° immersion.’
WOW offers example of how museums and other similar attractions can adopt A/V technology to enhance the interactivity and immersive element of their exhibits.
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