Stormen transforms with ease, with help from d&b.
Just inside the Arctic Circle, in northern Norway, the city of Bodø’s brand new, multipurpose Stormen Konserthuset is an important addition to the area’s cultural facilities. “From the initial planning stages, the acoustic quality of the various venues was a major element to consider,” explains Stormen’s Technical Director, Håvard Christensen. “In the initial bidding process there were both cheaper and more expensive offers, but the products from d&b audiotechnik, and the solutions presented by DrammenLyd, were by far the most efficient and the most elegant. “We contracted DrammenLyd to install d&b V-Series systems in three of the venues. We’ve also acquired two portable E-Series systems that we can deploy anywhere in the one of the centre’s open spaces.”
The Main Hall is the largest of Stormen’s venues and has been designed to radically change shape to suit a broad range of performance styles. “The stage can be completely transformed,” says Christensen, “from a classical acoustic hall to a theatre stage with the usual proscenium, legs and borders. In the auditorium the reverberation time can be altered by the use of movable absorbers built into the side and rear walls. The hall has to be able to handle any kind of musical and performance genre, so the loudspeaker system and the design needed to be able to accommodate everything from the softest acoustic amplification to thunderous rock. We employed the talents of London based ARUP Acoustic to make the design.”
“In the Main Hall the V-Series system is supported by Y7P and E6 loudspeakers,” explains Jonas ‘Jones’ Wagner from d&b Education and Application Support in Germany, who worked on the installation, along with DrammenLyd’s Managing Director, Rasmus Eide. “The Y7Ps cover the upper balcony at the front sides that are shadowed by the balcony itself and not touched by the main system, while the little E6s act as front fills on the stage lip. The original plan was to fly the system higher, but by lowering the system the audience has a much better orientation towards the stage and also we have achieved a better time alignment between the flown array and the stacked subwoofers.”
Acoustic flexibility was also a defining parameter in Stormen’s Small Hall. Intended for classical, jazz and small rock/pop performances, the hall can seat up to two hundred and fifty using retractable amphitheatre style seating. To accommodate all variables, the V-Series system, combining V8s, V12s, V-SUBs and Q10s for front fill, has been installed and programmed with two distinct system configurations. In SINUS, Stormen’s four hundred and sixty capacity club venue, the same configuration is repeated, but here the V-SUBs can either be ground stacked or flown as an array. Intended for larger pop, rock and jazz events, SINUS also features extensively treated walls and ceilings to avoid disturbing other parts of the complex.
The system was completed on budget and final commissioning took place just two weeks before the opening show. “DrammenLyd has proven to be a very solid partner in the process; very flexible in the way they worked and the after support has been exceptional,” concludes Christensen. “We couldn’t be happier.”
Photographs courtesy of David Grandorge©
