Los Angeles-based Offenhauser/Mekeel Architects oversaw the redesign of the AMPAS room, and Warner Constructors, the firm behind many of Disney's theme parks, spearheaded construction. To create the room's audio and video systems, and provide acoustic design, Offenhauser/Mekeel brought in Menlo Scientific Acoustics, who have brainstormed acoustical and presentation system designs for venues including the Getty Center and the Getty Villa Museums. Menlo principal Neil A. Shaw worked closely with the Academy and Offenhauser/Mekeel in the design, while Thomas Gregor Associates executed the AV concept.
The meeting room features state-of-the-art video and laptop equipment and is based around a 44-seat hand-crafted wooden conference table some 40ft in length. Creating a sonic environment on par with the room's aesthetics meant designing an AV system that was as efficient as it was invisible. Shaw explains: "One of our goals was to create a sound reinforcement system that had a natural sound while providing clear audio reinforcement. We wanted people around the table to be able to hear the sound from any point in the room in a natural manner, as if they were sitting right next to the person speaking, rather than at the other end of the table."
Simplicity was another important concern. "At any given meeting, there are at least a few people who have never been in the room before" Offenhauser observes. "The system is so simple to use that virtually no one has been intimidated by it. You don't have to know what you're doing to use the room."
After auditioning a number of different conferencing systems, the Sennheiser Installed Sound (IS) system was chosen: 22 ME34 condenser mics, a cardioid-patterned mic, and MZH3042 15" gooseneck mounts comprise the system. Two ME36 mics, a lobar-patterned mini-shotgun from the same IS line, mounted on MZH3015 low-profile goosenecks, were installed on an adjacent staff table. "We performed several listening tests with conferencing mics from a number of leading manufacturers, and the Sennheisers turned out to be the best fit for this project in terms of sound quality, aesthetics, and ease of integration," says Shaw.
Aesthetics were a significant consideration. "The industrial design of several of the other candidates simply wasn't acceptable to the architects," says Greg Kirkland, principal with Thomas Gregor Design. "Some were simply too large, had unappealing goosenecks, or just didn't have the look they were after."
"The ME series really is Sennheiser engineering at its finest," says Shaw. "The audio quality is head and shoulders above anything else we tried for this application. Plus, its industrial design has a very high-end look and feel, which was particularly important to this client."
"The Sennheiser system really turned out to be one of the high points of the entire installation, in terms of audio quality, styling, and ease of installation," says Kirkland. "Just plug it in, and everything works. That's what you want in a conference room system - once you install it, you should never have to come back."
Audio is run through a MediaMatrix MM96ONT mainframe unit, connecting to four MM8802 breakout boxes. Processing is then provided via three MediaMatrix RJ-Series DSP modules, which configure each position's unique mix-minus-one audio content. Each mic station also employs a Happ Controls momentary push-button and LED.
Mounted above the seating area are 22 JBL 24C in-ceiling speakers, positioned to follow the oval outline of th
