Genelec responds to the architectural challenges of the Stockholm music school

In the concert hall of the Little Academy a smart IP speaker system has been installed Genelec that provide the venue with an optimal distributed sound system. This is made up of twenty-two Smart IP models 4420 and four 4430.

When the directors of the Stockholm music school Lilla Akademien, They set out to build a new concert hall on their existing campus, Their mission was to create a very flexible place, that served as a small performance space for professional live music concerts, as a rehearsal room for music school students and as an environment for creative learning. The project took more than two years to complete and the result is an auditorium that combines harmonious architecture, technology and lighting, with a Genelec sound system.

“We wanted to offer students, and to all those who perform in the room, a place where they could truly immerse themselves in their instrument. For this, We needed a sound system that would work for both live classical music, performed acoustically, as for electroacoustic music and live broadcast concerts”, explains Mark Tatlow, artistic advisor of Lilla Akademien.

The Italian architect Giorgio Palù, once the most suitable building on campus has been identified, capable of maximizing design and functionality potential, He set the bar very high in terms of the aesthetic design of the room and left the acoustics of the venue in the hands of the Japanese Yasuhisa Toyota., an international authority in the field of concert hall design. The unusual layout of the room required the collaboration of an international team of professionals from various disciplines., including Swedish integrators Information technology.

Marcus Haraldsson Boij, technical director of the Informationsteknik team, explains the challenges of the project. “Despite the relatively small capacity of 300 places, This is one of the most complex installations I have participated in.. The combination of a stage located in the center, The long reverberation time of acoustic classical music and the design requirement to minimize the number of visible speakers made it very interesting from an acoustic design point of view.”.

Boy, Experienced musician with a background in sound engineering, He fully understood the limitations of the building's cavernous architecture and set out to find a flexible sound system that could work for both acoustic and non-acoustic music..

“We needed to distribute high-quality sound close to the audience without making it louder than reverb. Without a traditional 'left/right' scenario’ and with the audience seated on three different levels surrounding the orchestra, required a different way of thinking – and although I wanted more speakers, It just wasn't possible given the layout of the room.”.

To limit the amount of sound that bounced around the room, It was important to reduce the speaker volume and range Smart IP de Genelec of network models, with its audio performance and near-field clarity, It was an obvious choice..

“By placing them around the space we avoid using a traditional line array system, which would have been too annoying in this environment. instead, We created a unique distributed sound system that took advantage of the volume of the entire room and provided the audience with rich, intimate sound”, Boij continues,

The Informationsteknik team specified twenty-two models Smart IP 4420 and four 4430. Painted in RAL gold color 1036, los 4430 They were the only visible speakers in the entire installation. Two pairs were suspended under the first level balcony, harmoniously combining with the decoration. Additional pairs of compacts installed 4420 every few meters along each section of curved wall between the windows, cleverly hidden in specially insulated recessed boxes.

“We knew that, with the way the walls were built and the design requirements they imposed on us, pulling cables was going to be a problem”, Boij points out. “Consequently, the Smart IP family of active speakers was the perfect choice, since this way we avoided having to worry about hosting external amplifiers, and Smart IP single cable technology made wiring easy”.

Para Lilla Akademien, It was essential that the hall could satisfy the dual demands of the classical music tradition and the music of tomorrow.. The active design of Genelec speakers not only eliminated the need for external amplifiers, But providing multi-channel sound over the Dante network was an unexpected benefit for the school's students.