London
Sector
Production Audio and Lighting
Bishopsgate Institute
Marquee AV has installed a flexible, high-end production system in the Great Hall of the Bishopsgate Institute at 230 Bishopsgate, London EC2.
The Great Hall is a fully-equipped conference and event space for up to 500 people. It boasts many beautiful design features, such as an original glass lantern in the ceiling and detailed plaster mouldings throughout. Fully refurbished and re-equipped, the space is used for a variety of purposes from conferences, launches and AGMs to concerts and fashion shows. It is a highly flexible space with a capacity of up to 270 people in theatre style or up to 500 for a reception. The main floor area is 300 square metres with a 60 square metre stage.
Fundamental to the design and installation by Marquee AV was the multi-purpose requirements of the Hall. This included a dedicated cable infrastructure, compatible with all current theatre industry standards and practices. A high degree of future proofing was also implemented in the design in relation to changing and developing control protocols.
The system’s digital network matrix is handled by a Symetrix Radius DSP with Dante multi-channel digital media networking technology. Room configurations are changed using the Symetrix ARC2e controller, with the latest EM Acoustic EM DQ-10 amplifiers allowing the calling up of different loudspeaker configurations per channel with preset EQ and dynamics. The system’s infrastructure incorporates custom facility panels for inputs and outputs for sound and communications in key locations around the hall. Marquee AV also supplied a Yamaha TF3 digital console in an aesthetically attractive custom flightcase.
The loudspeaker systems were likewise located and configured for multi-application use. The main front-of-house loudspeaker system consists of EM Acoustics Halo C Line Arrays, installed left and right of the stage. These provide outstanding quality, with ample power to cover the entire Hall. Two 18-inch EMS118 subwoofers are provided to add impact and extend the frequency range for larger events.
Four compact EMS81x loudspeakers are installed on the side walls. These can be used as delay loudspeakers to reinforce the FOH arrays, or used on their own for different room configurations. A further four EMS81x loudspeakers are mounted on the motorised centre light grid and these, likewise, can be used to reinforce the FOH arrays or on their own according to the use of the Hall. Four EM M-10 monitor loudspeakers provide for stage monitoring and these again provide flexibility as they can also be mounted on stands as a portable PA system.
Rob Whitaker of Marquee AV concludes, “In close cooperation with the Bishopsgate Institute we designed every configuration to be outstanding for its required purpose, and by using EM Acoustics the results are impressive in every scenario. From a powerful system for concerts to a high intelligibility system for presentations, the installation provides the highest quality audio for each application and the infrastructure allows for the required location flexibility.”
