GAPYEONG, South Korea – The ‘Light of Life’ Chapel, made from more than 600 trunks of Russian red pine that a Korean businessman gathered over the course of 10 years, is an architectural wonder but an acoustic challenge, particularly when the installation requires that the audio gear be heard but not seen. Soundus, K-array’s Korean distributor, provided a system that includes four KP52 ultra slim wall mount speakers that were hidden within the beams, with three KAN200s also wrapped around the shape of the buildings’ structure, in particular the cylinders extending from the roof.
More details from K-array (www.k-array.com)
The ‘Light of Life’ Chapel is a breathtaking masterpiece of architecture with an equally moving story behind its creation but this can sound trouble for any sound engineer tasked with solving complex audio solutions in a demanding environment.
The chapel was built from more than 600 trunks of Russian Red Pine collected one by one by a Korean businessman for more than ten years so he could build this house of Worship in dedication to his late mother who had been praying for him when he ran away from home at a very early age and never returned. Now, he has commissioned the house of worship as a way of expiating and paying homage to his beloved mother.
The chapel is now completed, standing majestically in South Korea, Gapyeong, Gyeonggi. Its design allows the sun rays in through the roof aptly named ‘rays of hope’ reaching the audience. This jaw-dropping design, created by an unknown architect, has attracted plenty of attention including the admiration of the famous contemporary sculptor Jean-Patrice Oulmont, who carved his own work onto the interior of the building. However, in all its beauty lies a mountain of challenges for an audio engineer, especially when there is little room for any other objects, musical instruments and bulky electronics, let alone additional speakers spoiling the architecture. Soundus (K-array’s Korean distributor) were commissioned to install a sound system for the featured Pipe Organ that was installed in the middle of the building and solutions for the day to day speakers.
The chapel interior was built like a colosseum with cylinder structures in the middle. It required the speakers to be positioned out of sight yet provide quality and cover the sound in some of the most complex of spaces. Kyoung-mo Kang explained “This was one of the most difficult briefs I have ever received because of the high expectations for quality and discreetness in such a small but complex space. The Pipe organ is a complicated instrument that requires an intelligent system and K-array was a superb support for this challenge.” Soundus provided 4 x KP52 wall mount speakers which are ultra slim in design emitting a maximum of 128dB with no risk of feedback, that were hidden within the beams. 3 x KAN200s were also wrapped around the shape of the buildings’ structure, in particular the cylinders extending from the roof. “The KAN200s (Anakonda) are a perfect solution for this particular architecture. We could hide them in places that no other speaker could go. The Anakonda’s design really allows us to respect the architecture, especially in a building such as this one.” Since the Chapel was built, it has become a landmark in South Korea and attracts thousands of visitors everyday. In one review by the Korean journalist Huney Kong, he mentions: “To say that this is ‘the most beautiful chapel in the word’ is not enough.” and continues “The melody of the pipe organ flows elegantly throughout the pine wood and completes this beautiful space.”
“There was a lot of pressure on this project. We did not want to spoil this beautifully designed space and K-array’s slim design and quality of sound made our lives easier.“
