Melbourne RMIT University’s Storey Hall was originally built in 1887. With heritage status and true civic historical significance, an extension adjoining the building was created to add a modern twist to the entire site. Storey Hall’s expansion is an exceptionally innovative building utilising esoteric architecture that is visually stunning in every respect.
The new section of Storey Hall includes a 750 seat auditorium as well as a 230 seat lecture theatre. The theatre is home to regular lectures given at the university and also hosts many of the university’s performing arts nights. Given its heritage status and popular use, Morgan Morris, the hall’s AV Manager, decided a Nexo installation was in order. Factory Sound won the tender and were called in for a custom installation of Nexo speakers fitted to correctly suit the typical incline format of a lecture space.
Great effort needed to go into avoiding sound energy being dispersed onto reflective panels in parts of the theatre and the design had to be proofed from microphone feedback with lecturers regularly using the theatre whilst wearing lapel microphones. The system also needed to be designed with the ability for a surround sound expansion in the future.
To maximize efficiency in the installation and to ensure the best result was attained, Nexo’s GeoSoft software was utilized. Geosoft emulates the room and calculates the best possible sound configuration considering factors such as intended use, speaker angling and reflective surfaces. With that, each side was fitted with Stage Maker hoists hung with 6 x Geo S12’s and 1 x Geo Sub set to cardioid to correctly address the audience. An additional Geo S12 30 was installed under the seating balcony to handle delay and deliver the wider vertical spread of sound. The entire rig is driven by Camco Vortex 6 and Techton 38.4 amplifiers.
Above: RMIT simulation using EASE software.
