INSTALLATION Festival of sound with so many spectacular shopping malls in dubai, it takes something special to separate one from the pack. In Festival city, loudspeaker manufacturer Ateis believes it has found a way, as Barney Jameson discovers
NOT SO MANY YEARS AGO, Nevertheless, Festival centre Texans used to claim that in standings out from the other malls America’s Lone Star State with which it competes at home, everything was bigger, from the and the method lies with Ateis, a cars that oil barons drove to the Swiss loudspeaker, voice-alarm skyscrapers they built. At the and evacuation system specialist, beginning of the 21st century, whose innovative approach to however, that boast is more the centre’s audio requirements suited to dubai, where every new could soon find itself repeated in construction project is seemingly malls across the Emirates. rather valued not only on the basis of than meeting background music its usefulness, but on how far it requirements with a combination exceeds the project that came of concealed ceiling and wall before it. Nowhere else in the speakers, Ateis has introduced world at the moment could the digital beam-steering line array world’s tallest building be nearing technology into the shopping completion, with its successor environment, and the results are already having been announced. as impressive as the building that In the construction capital of the surrounds them. world, competition is everything. The same holds true of the Steering audio spectacular shopping malls that are to be found all over the UAE’s while digital beam steering itself is most developed Emirate. once not new in the world of professional a haven for shoppers and not audio, the concept of fully software- much else, the concept of what controlled arrays being used in Dubai Festival City’s Festival Centre mall is an impressive sight in glass and steel a mall should be has undergone a fixed installation environment something of a revolution beneath such as Festival centre is unusual. Messenger range; Ateis’ series of the desert sky, transforming into a yet the trend within professional fully digital side-lobe free arrays, magnet for tourists, thrill-seekers audio is moving in this direction. which are based on a patented and sightseers. As one enormous Manufacturers such as Ateis and algorithmic technique. delivering mall opens, another bigger, more renkus-heinz have pioneered the a consistent mid-high SPL over incredible project is announced. In technology, and now loudspeaker a distance of 100m, Messenger such an environment, it’s difficult brands such as Tannoy are arrays have begun to find a niche in for established malls to keep up exploring it in a more serious way the market for serving background with their neighbours. than ever before, with their eyes music and voice announcements So how does a mall continue to trained firmly on the installation into particularly reverberant impress when it has no ski slope, market. The future, it seems, is locations. no shark-pool, no claim to being at least partially beam-shaped. All In crescent walk the Messenger the biggest in town to encourage of which makes the work of Ateis Arrays are on home ground, visitors? In the case of Festival ME in the Festival centre more providing BGM and voice city’s Festival centre, the answer important, particularly when the announcement content in a lies in the details; specifically the extent to which dSP beam steering potentially difficult, but not audio details. is being used becomes clear. impossible acoustic environment. But first, let’s make no mistake: Boasting not a single ceiling Seven Messenger XL arrays have Festival centre is already speaker, the mall’s crescent walk been installed around the walkway Ateis ME general manager Hussam Al Haddad is justifiably proud of his spectacular. Squatting on the dubai shopping parade nonetheless at eye level, measuring 3m in office’s work in the mall creek waterfont of the Festival benefits from perfect audio height and delivering horizontal city development, the 2.9m-sq-ft coverage across its curving dispersion of 145° plus controlled the appeal of the Messenger range mall boasts 600 outlets, and will walkway, served only by 14 line vertical dispersion between 5° and for this application obvious. The present the yet-to-be-completed arrays positioned discreetly along 45°. The XL array uses 24 70w area boasts 26m of glass-structure ‘city within a city’ with its beating the outside edge of the corridor. class-d digital amplifiers and has ceiling, with a glass facade at its far heart. opened in March 2007, Following the crescent into Festival a frequency response of 100 to end measuring 40m wide and 65m the centre won the International Square, meanwhile, reveals a 1.5khz, with a maximum SPL of high. overlooking the facade are Shopping centre of the year prize at huge open area rising up in glass, 93dB (with pink noise) at 40m. the tiered balconies of the square’s the 2008 Global retail and Leisure marble and metal. It is as bathed Additionally, a further seven slightly first and second floors, while on Awards, and just a brief visit makes with reverberant properties as it smaller Messenger L arrays have the ground level, centred in the it clear why; the answer lies in is sunlight – a challenge for the also been installed, standing 2.39m performance area, is an artificial its water-features, its glass-and- visiting musicians who use the high and using 18 70w amplifiers pond that can be either wet or dry steel architecture, and the mix of square as a performance area. yet each. A stroll through crescent depending on the occasion. with boutique shopping coupled with here Ateis has met the challenge walk with Ateis ME general manager all of these difficulties in place, the the super-retailer outlets such as of an acoustic space more akin hussam Al haddad, quickly reveals Square has an rT60 measurement Ikea and hyperPanda that have to an airport ticketing hall than a why the company is taking such (the time it takes for a reverberant found a home in the Power centre live music venue, with a system pride in the installation – as visitors sound to drop by 60dB) of 4.5 portion of the mall. Like everything comprised almost entirely of fixed move through each array’s coverage seconds. else in dubai, Festival centre dSP-controlled arrays. The system pattern, the audio remains even According to Mr Al haddad: ‘with seems enormous compared to its sounds remarkable, despite the and constant, yet unaggressive. this difficult acoustic environment, competitors elsewhere in the world. materials surrounding it suggesting But it is only upon entering the client requested a solution But this is dubai, and nowhere else that it really shouldn’t. Festival Square that Ateis ME’s that could provide intelligibility for A hard to spot Ateis Messenger in the world is quite like it. The reason is called the true challenge becomes clear, and announcements and evacuation, array in Festival Square
5 PRO AUDIO MIDDLE EAST January–February 2009
Pro Audio MiddleEast_JanFeb09.in56 56 19/12/08 20:27:36 INSTALLATION Festival of sound with so many spectacular shopping malls in dubai, it takes something special to separate one from the pack. In Festival city, loudspeaker manufacturer Ateis believes it has found a way, as Barney Jameson discovers
NOT SO MANY YEARS AGO, Nevertheless, Festival centre Texans used to claim that in standings out from the other malls America’s Lone Star State with which it competes at home, everything was bigger, from the and the method lies with Ateis, a cars that oil barons drove to the Swiss loudspeaker, voice-alarm skyscrapers they built. At the and evacuation system specialist, beginning of the 21st century, whose innovative approach to however, that boast is more the centre’s audio requirements suited to dubai, where every new could soon find itself repeated in construction project is seemingly malls across the Emirates. rather valued not only on the basis of than meeting background music its usefulness, but on how far it requirements with a combination exceeds the project that came of concealed ceiling and wall before it. Nowhere else in the speakers, Ateis has introduced world at the moment could the digital beam-steering line array world’s tallest building be nearing technology into the shopping completion, with its successor environment, and the results are already having been announced. as impressive as the building that In the construction capital of the surrounds them. world, competition is everything. The same holds true of the Steering audio spectacular shopping malls that are to be found all over the UAE’s while digital beam steering itself is most developed Emirate. once not new in the world of professional a haven for shoppers and not audio, the concept of fully software- much else, the concept of what controlled arrays being used in Dubai Festival City’s Festival Centre mall is an impressive sight in glass and steel a mall should be has undergone a fixed installation environment something of a revolution beneath such as Festival centre is unusual. Messenger range; Ateis’ series of the desert sky, transforming into a yet the trend within professional fully digital side-lobe free arrays, magnet for tourists, thrill-seekers audio is moving in this direction. which are based on a patented and sightseers. As one enormous Manufacturers such as Ateis and algorithmic technique. delivering mall opens, another bigger, more renkus-heinz have pioneered the a consistent mid-high SPL over incredible project is announced. In technology, and now loudspeaker a distance of 100m, Messenger such an environment, it’s difficult brands such as Tannoy are arrays have begun to find a niche in for established malls to keep up exploring it in a more serious way the market for serving background with their neighbours. than ever before, with their eyes music and voice announcements So how does a mall continue to trained firmly on the installation into particularly reverberant impress when it has no ski slope, market. The future, it seems, is locations. no shark-pool, no claim to being at least partially beam-shaped. All In crescent walk the Messenger the biggest in town to encourage of which makes the work of Ateis Arrays are on home ground, visitors? In the case of Festival ME in the Festival centre more providing BGM and voice city’s Festival centre, the answer important, particularly when the announcement content in a lies in the details; specifically the extent to which dSP beam steering potentially difficult, but not audio details. is being used becomes clear. impossible acoustic environment. But first, let’s make no mistake: Boasting not a single ceiling Seven Messenger XL arrays have Festival centre is already speaker, the mall’s crescent walk been installed around the walkway Ateis ME general manager Hussam Al Haddad is justifiably proud of his spectacular. Squatting on the dubai shopping parade nonetheless at eye level, measuring 3m in office’s work in the mall creek waterfont of the Festival benefits from perfect audio height and delivering horizontal city development, the 2.9m-sq-ft coverage across its curving dispersion of 145° plus controlled the appeal of the Messenger range mall boasts 600 outlets, and will walkway, served only by 14 line vertical dispersion between 5° and for this application obvious. The present the yet-to-be-completed arrays positioned discreetly along 45°. The XL array uses 24 70w area boasts 26m of glass-structure ‘city within a city’ with its beating the outside edge of the corridor. class-d digital amplifiers and has ceiling, with a glass facade at its far heart. opened in March 2007, Following the crescent into Festival a frequency response of 100 to end measuring 40m wide and 65m the centre won the International Square, meanwhile, reveals a 1.5khz, with a maximum SPL of high. overlooking the facade are Shopping centre of the year prize at huge open area rising up in glass, 93dB (with pink noise) at 40m. the tiered balconies of the square’s the 2008 Global retail and Leisure marble and metal. It is as bathed Additionally, a further seven slightly first and second floors, while on Awards, and just a brief visit makes with reverberant properties as it smaller Messenger L arrays have the ground level, centred in the it clear why; the answer lies in is sunlight – a challenge for the also been installed, standing 2.39m performance area, is an artificial its water-features, its glass-and- visiting musicians who use the high and using 18 70w amplifiers pond that can be either wet or dry steel architecture, and the mix of square as a performance area. yet each. A stroll through crescent depending on the occasion. with boutique shopping coupled with here Ateis has met the challenge walk with Ateis ME general manager all of these difficulties in place, the the super-retailer outlets such as of an acoustic space more akin hussam Al haddad, quickly reveals Square has an rT60 measurement Ikea and hyperPanda that have to an airport ticketing hall than a why the company is taking such (the time it takes for a reverberant found a home in the Power centre live music venue, with a system pride in the installation – as visitors sound to drop by 60dB) of 4.5 portion of the mall. Like everything comprised almost entirely of fixed move through each array’s coverage seconds. else in dubai, Festival centre dSP-controlled arrays. The system pattern, the audio remains even According to Mr Al haddad: ‘with seems enormous compared to its sounds remarkable, despite the and constant, yet unaggressive. this difficult acoustic environment, competitors elsewhere in the world. materials surrounding it suggesting But it is only upon entering the client requested a solution But this is dubai, and nowhere else that it really shouldn’t. Festival Square that Ateis ME’s that could provide intelligibility for A hard to spot Ateis Messenger in the world is quite like it. The reason is called the true challenge becomes clear, and announcements and evacuation, array in Festival Square
5 PRO AUDIO MIDDLE EAST January–February 2009
Pro Audio MiddleEast_JanFeb09.in56 56 19/12/08 20:27:36