Holoplot brings creative digital art space Lightroom to life

The system design consists of two matrices Holoplot X1 at each end of the room. Each of them integrates four X1 Modul 96 and four X1 Modul 80-S, hidden in predefined wall cavities, each one at a different height.

Lightroom is a blank canvas prepared to host a varied program of creative content. A discreet cube-shaped space, four stories high, Located in Kings Cross and equipped with the latest audio and digital projection technology, including Holoplot solutions.

The inaugural exhibition “David Hockney: Bigger & Closer (no smaller and farther away)” It is the first in a series. created in collaboration with leading artists and innovators. The show features a score by contemporary American composer Nico Muhly and sound design by Gareth Fry, winner of the Olivier and Tony awards. The Lightroom sound system was supplied by the X1 Matrix Array from Berlin professional sound company Holoplot and installed by the integrator Creative Technology.

After four and a half years of preparation, Lightroom was conceived by the design studio and production company 59 Productions y London Theatre, creative engine of the Bridge Theater. A space that has been created to be London's new home for artist-led shows.

The Bigger Exhibition & Closer allows audiences to delve into Hockney's thought process and creative motivation, generating new perspectives on some of his best-known works and other more recent ones.

“We have produced many large scale video mapping shows, exhibitions and plays, but we had never had our own space”, explains Richard Slaney, CEO of Lightroom and former CEO of 59 Productions. “Given the proliferation of immersive shows, we wanted to do something different. Hockney topped our list of artists. The idea of ​​working with him was ours., but the exhibition itself is his creation. It's hard to imagine from the outside, but the basement has 14 meters deep, which allows us to make projections of up to 11 meters high”.

Looking for a suitable audio solution, that could turn Lightroom's ambitious concrete structure into a soft-sounding gallery space, without compromising the visual effects of 360 degrees. They realized that conventional speaker solutions would require multiple wall cavities or mounting positions on all four walls to achieve the desired immersive effects..

“The initial brief was to think of a sound system for Lightroom that would offer good sound coverage and that, besides, will not disturb the neighbors of the office located above the main space”, explica Fry. “It had to be invisible so that the four highly reflective concrete walls could be an unobstructed projection surface from floor to ceiling.. It was an immense challenge because, as it is built, the space has a reverberation time of over six seconds and there is very audible background noise from the projector fans. All this is the natural enemy of intelligible sound”.

Fry's initial design was a traditional point source based sound system, with speakers hidden in various spaces in the space.

He suggested Holoplot and a system design that only required two positions within the room, but it offered more creative tools that could be used to generate immersive effects. The system not only provided the answer for the current exhibition, but also paved the way for future exhibitions.

“There are many things that Holoplot can do that I have never heard any other speaker system do.. But, first of all, provided us with a system capable of delivering intelligible sound with very uniform coverage in a very reverberant space “.

The final system design consists of two Holoplot X1 arrays at each end of the room. Each array consists of four X1 Modul 96 and four X1 Modul 80-S, recessed and completely hidden in predefined wall cavities, each one at a different height. The acoustic center of the East array is 4,61 meters and that of the West array to 6,66 metros. A traditional audio solution, with opposing sources, would have created phase and overflow problems between the sources.

Thanks to Holoplot's exclusive optimization algorithms, it is possible to define the listening area, as well as the relative sound pressure level of each zone. This allows for uniform coverage of each matrix, regardless of the listener's position in space. Besides, Each array is strategically placed behind color-matched acoustically transparent material, that preserves the integrity of the projection surface of 360 degrees.

The immersive effects used in Gareth Fry's sound design were created using wavefield synthesis functions (Wave Field Synthesis – WFS) from X1 to create virtual fonts. These were placed at a certain distance from the north and south walls, where it was not possible to integrate arrays or point sources.

The positions of the virtual sources are defined in Holoplot Plan, the sound system design software that allows you to visualize the impact of X1 capabilities in any space.

'Bundled' waves reflect off the wall as if there were a point source placed there, allowing the listener to locate the sound from a position where there is no matrix. The key to the Lightroom experience was that visitors could locate the sound of these reflections anywhere in the main space.. to get it, multiple reflections were distributed along the north and south walls of the enclosure.

“The biggest challenge of the installation was getting the speakers in place”, explica Jack Strong, Creative Technology Business Development Manager. “With specially designed carts to help maneuver the cabinets, an experienced team and good planning, everything was like silk”.

Now that the system is installed, Any adjustments needed for future projects can be made through the Holoplot software, eliminating the need for mechanical steering or adding additional cabinets.

“The notion of having a freely adjustable speaker array without making any physical changes to it is very much a paradigm shift”, said Fry. “As sound engineers, We are used to having microphones whose directivity can be adjusted from omnidirectional to supercardioid with the flip of a switch.. Con Holoplot, this is essentially the same, but for a speaker”.

“Lightroom is huge, It's an immersive experience., but done differently. It is more personal and evokes emotions. It has a story and is sequential, so you can enter at any time”, Slaney concludes.. “I think we have raised the bar in terms of technology. We may not be changing the basis of art exhibitions, but without a doubt we are in a historical moment within that range of different experiences. Holoplotha has been the key to making the exhibition alive with sound”.