“Gdańsk has always been blessed with a pioneering, independent way of thinking. Everything starts here, one might say – and innovative spaces like the Gdańsk Institute of Urban Culture, with its L-ISA immersive experience, help the community’s cultural vibrancy to flourish,” says Pawel Kuhn, Marketing Director at Audio Plus, which installed the new audio technology.

Housed in a converted water plant that even features a river running underneath – allowing visitors to traverse via glass floors – the space is fittingly called the Kunszt Wodny (Water Art) building. The Institute creates and hosts a wide range of projects designed to promote culture and nurture the city’s heritage. The building includes a 50-square-meter interactive model of Gdańsk, a café, a bookstore, three workshop rooms, and an auditorium, which Audio Plus has equipped with a state-of-the-art L-Acoustics L-ISA immersive sound system.

The 250-capacity auditorium is adaptable, hosting everything from cinema screenings and concerts to theatre productions, conferences, and commercial hires. A variety of objectives were considered when choosing the audio system. World-class audio reproduction was paramount, but optimal flexibility and versatility were equally important, given the fluid nature of the demands placed upon the space. The system needed to be compact and unobtrusive while still delivering powerful sound. “The city of Gdańsk required the space to be a special, one-of-a-kind venue that would offer a spectacular cultural experience,” explains Kuhn.

Audio Plus’s long-time contractor, Sound Design & Stage Technology, proposed an immersive audio design based on L-Acoustics L-ISA technology for the space. The city of Gdańsk embraced the idea, and the proposal was accepted. Audio Plus, an L-Acoustics Certified Provider Distributor in Poland, was appointed General Contractor for the project, overseeing the installation of sound and stage technology for the entire venue, including the auditorium. This included coordinating several subcontractors: lighting by LTT, stage mechanics by BSC, cinema equipment from Awaco, and finishing touches, including the acoustic cladding, by ESM Systems.

The final configuration consists of five hangs of two L-Acoustics A10i speakers spread across the proscenium, with two flown hangs of two KS21i subwoofers. Seven 5XT speakers placed along the stage lip provide spatial fill, while twelve X8 speakers on the side and back walls provide surround sound. Six additional X8 speakers mounted in the ceiling provide overhead sound. The system is powered by five LA2Xi and one LA4X amplified controllers, with an L-ISA

Processor II managing object-based spatialization. The stage monitor system includes four X12 and eight X8 speakers, powered by two LA4X amplified controllers.

“Bringing this kind of innovative thinking and technology to the city is an achievement for Audio Plus and an incredible honour,” smiles Kuhn. “The L-Acoustics L-ISA installation looks light and simple in the space, but it’s unbelievably powerful at the same time. It’s everything we could have wanted.”

Find out more here:

www.l-acoustics.com