CASE

HELSINKI MUSIC CENTRE ,

In the heart of Helsinki is the new and praised sanctuary for music, The Helsinki Music Centre. It has put Finland among the leaders in the world of concert houses. The success can be credited to the good acoustics of its numerous halls where a completely new approach to the concept of functionality in performance and production technologies was integrated into the design.

Main Hall.

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Akukon Ltd Hiomotie 19, 00380 Helsinki, Finland. Tel. + 358 (0) 10 3200 700 www.akukon.com The main Concert Hall is a vineyard style 1704 seater Client Helsinki Music Centre and and it is intended primarily for acoustical music per- Nagata Acoustics formances. As for the other halls The Camerata has Developer Koy Helsingin Mannerheimintie 13a adaptable acoustics best suited for chamber music, Project started 2005 while The Sonore was created chiefly for singing per- Opened 2011 formances, whereas The Black Box serves as a nest for Project type New construction electronic music, and The Organo hall was designed Architect LPR-arkkitehdit Oy specifically for organ music. Aside from becoming a notorious landmark of performance spaces, the centre Akukon services • Sound reinforcement, stage ligh- ting, stage mechanics and radio & also contains a plethora of other rooms including a TV production system design (as rehearsal hall, an auditorium, recording spaces, several a principal consultant) control rooms for both sound and picture, as well as • Acoustical design and site su- teaching spaces. pervision (as a sub consultant of Nagata Acosutics) Akukon’s Ari Lepoluoto was in charge of the designs Akukon’s team Performance technology for lighting, sound, stage mechanics and av produc- and audio visual production tion systems. ”The Helsinki Music Centre is the musical technology stage of our time. It is suitable for all types of music, • Project Manager: Ari Lepoluoto from the traditional acoustical performances to com- • Other team members: Tapio puterised electronic music, from a solo performer to Ilomäki, Janne Auvinen, Toni vast symphony productions, from delicate acousti- Poikonen, Sara Vehviläinen, Mira Pykälistö, Mika Hammar and cal atmospheres to colossal electronic swells. All this Tuukka Heikkinen under one roof, side by side, in six different purpose • Stage mechanics: Subconsultant built halls”, he demonstrates the idea behind the multi Akumek Oy, Timo Risku functionality of the centre. • Electrical wiring design for performance and av production Akukon was the principal consultant in lighting, sound, systems: Erkki Hakanen, Kimmo stage mechanics and av production system design. Kulta, Konstantin Oreshkin, Marko Salonen and Paavo Tanninen The acoustic consultant for the project was Nagata Acoustics Acoustics of Japan and Akukon was their subconsultant, • Project manager: Olli Salmensaari with the responsibility of the design the acoustics for • Other team members: Anssi the smaller halls, rehearsal rooms and studios. Ruusuvuori, Lauri Vikström, Sara Vehviläinen, Oskar Lindfors and According to Olli Salmensaari, Akukon’s principal con- Nella Näveri sultant for acoustics, one of the goals of the acousti- IT and information concept cal design was to get the sound insulation between development projects different spaces to the highest possible level. Sound • Ari Lepoluoto proofing the spaces from outside noise was also a goal Total cost of project 180 milj. € of utmost importance. “Aside from sound insulation, the fundamental idea for the concert halls was to give them just the right ringing quality”, Mr Salmensaari sums up. The control rooms for the recording studios and the smaller performance halls are mainly Akukon’s Anssi Ruusuvuori’s creations.

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Akukon Ltd Hiomotie 19, 00380 Helsinki, Finland. Tel. + 358 (0) 10 3200 700 www.akukon.com The Hi-Tech Aspect of the Music Centre The primary users of the Music Centre are the Finn- ish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, and the . Mr Lepoluoto explains that successfully fitting together the audio- visual demands of performance, television and radio broadcasting, as well as the teaching requirements of the Sibelius Academy has been one of the greatest challenges Akukon’s AV-department has faced to date. “The availability of electronic means of communicat- ing is far greater than in any previous concert venue in Finland. One of the under-lying concepts for the centre was to enable a large audience to watch the One of nine music control rooms. performances live at a remote location, either at home or in a movie theatre. This is why the performance and av production technology is very modern, even by international standards”, Mr Lepoluoto appraises. In order for the Music Centre to maintain its leading position in technology, the foundations for system technology have been laid with care. Designing and situating all the equipment rooms and user spaces along with planning the cabling for the entire build- ing was a great challenge for Akukon. Any changes and upgrades to the music centre’s equipment in the future needs to be easily facilitated, which could potentially prove challenging due to the complexity and vastness of the structure. “The need for universal Main video control room for TV and webcasting . cabling was realised in the design. The cabling has to be suitable for at least the next two decades”, Mr Lepoluoto comments. Apart from the basic structure of the centre, Mr Lepo- luoto is particularly proud of the high extent of inte- gration between performance technology and infor- mation technology. “Majority of the equipment can be run over a network. Changing the control settings and solving acute problems takes place at a desk in front of a computer screen. This means the user does not need to seek out the equipment rooms, which could be located miles away in such a large building” Mr. Lepoluoto clarifies. He also praises the fixed HD- camera system operated via remote controls, which represents a rare triumph of high technology in the Main Hall music control room. midst of performing arts.

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Akukon Ltd Hiomotie 19, 00380 Helsinki, Finland. Tel. + 358 (0) 10 3200 700 www.akukon.com Main Hall .

Chamber Music Hall. Sound and lighting equipment on the canopy.

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Akukon Ltd Hiomotie 19, 00380 Helsinki, Finland. Tel. + 358 (0) 10 3200 700 www.akukon.com