The facilities include 16 conference rooms (with capacities varying from 15 to 420 places) as well as three halls of different sizes (with capacities of 1700, 650 and 430 seats respectively). Of the three halls, the best known to the general public is the Europasaal. It is this architecturally outstanding venue that provides the setting for the presentation of the annual Wider den Tierischen Ernst awards that brings the carnival in Aachen to a conclusion.
The progressive installation of a comprehensive alarm and sound reinforcement system in the building began back in 2004. Now the long-term project has finally been completed. The company responsible for the planning, calculations and implementation of the installation in the galleries, conference rooms, the Europasaal and the catering area was Günter Quaden Elektronik, which is based in nearby Herzogenrath.
To ensure even but at the same time comprehensive coverage in the Eurogress, the team led by Patrick Quaden and Sascha Sieberichs performed detailed acoustic calculations in advance of the installation.It was the variation of over 9m in the height of the ceiling of the Brüsselsaal that posed the greatest problem.
"At the same time, it was essential that the speaker systems blend in harmoniously with the architecture and interior design of the hall," says Patrick Quaden, managing director of Günter Quaden Elektronik. "Due to the very tight schedule for the installation of the sound reinforcement system, it was essential also to plan everything - down to the very last detail - in advance."
In the light of their calculations, Quaden and his team concluded that the best solution would be a combination of Dynacord and Electro-Voice components including 274 Dynacord DL 72/32 A, 10 HCS 12 ceiling loudspeakers and 14 Dynacord VL 262 full-range cabinets. To amplify the signals, they opted for 45 Dynacord DPA 4140 and seven Electro-Voice P1200RT power amplifiers. The system is controlled by two ProMatrix 4000 audio matrices along with three DPC 4530 paging stations accompanied by DPC 4350 extension units. In all, this system offers 80 selection keys.
The biggest challenge for the team was the 1700-seater Europasaal, as it was planned to use this space for major events that would frequently be televised. Ulysses simulations revealed that the best solution would be a sound reinforcement system in which coverage for the entire room was provided from a single central location, the ideal configuration being in this case a centre cluster of seven Electro-Voice SX600PIX loudspeakers.
(Jim Evans)
