WOLFSBURG, Germany – For the Hans Scharoun-designed Wolfsburg Theatre, open since 1973, Salzbrenner Stagetec Mediagroup’s systems integration division installed a new audio, video and media system as well as a hazard detection/voice alarm system. The venue’s comprehensive upgrade includes new line array speaker components, console and wired/wireless microphones. A major portion of the upgrade project took place from Nov. 2014 to Nov. 2015. On Jan. 24, 2016, a ceremonial re-opening featured the Brunswick State Orchestra.
More details from Salzbrenner Stagetec Mediagroup (www.stagetec.com):
Wolfsburg is the only city that can boast a theatre designed by Hans Scharoun. Completed in 1973, the venue is already a listed building. The renovation contract therefore specified that all renovation work must follow “conservation practice” and preserve or restore the original condition of the building as well as possible.
Conservation Area with the latest Technology
Salzbrenner Stagetec Audio Video Mediensysteme GmbH, the Mediagroup’s systems integrator, was awarded the contract for renovating the public address system; supplying a new stage management system, new microphones and a hard-of-hearing system, outfitting the control room, installing a video and antenna system, and equipping the venue with a new hazard detection/voice alarm system. The overall package also included the consultation and a maintenance and service contract, so that the theatre benefits from a coherent system with extensive in-service support. “We specialize in offering our customers individual solutions. These are based on carefully selected audio, video and media systems with a stage management console, the seamless integration of third-party products, or a mix of both,” explains Detlef Werner, the systems integrator’s technical project manager.
Seamless Teamwork
In November 2014, a team supervised by the systems integrator’s project manager, Stefan Laubereau, and site manager Ronald Prüfert began to dismantle the old system in Wolfsburg, while Detlef Werner began planning the new system in Buttenheim based on the specifications provided by Jörn Hoffmeier of ADA Acoustics & Media Consultants GmbH. These plans provided the “script” for all subsequent work by the Mediagroup team until November 2015. Almost everything was renewed: the PA system, the mixing consoles and stage boxes, the stage management console, and the voice alarm system, which was installed by the systems integrator’s specialist division based in Chemnitz.
Equipment and Expertise
The new audio, video and media system is for the most part based on third-party products. Data and audio connections for the Allen & Heath system were made using Cat 6 data cables. The theatre in Wolfsburg ordered two new mixing consoles, one for the control room and the other for mobile applications. Playout devices are by Denon, Tascam and other manufacturers, and the sound reinforcement speaker array came from Kling & Freitag.
The stage management system, on the other hand, was designed and built by Salzbrenner and includes several Delec Oratis components for intercom applications. The systems integrator’s Chemnitz-based subsidiary added voice alarm functionality to this system. Combining these two aspects offers the advantage that the system can be used not only in case of emergency but can also be used for paging, for example in the artists dressing rooms.
A classic antenna system supporting satellite reception was also installed with outlets provided in various rooms. This system includes cameras covering a wide shot of the auditorium, the conductor, and the stage technology.
With the successful and on-time hand-over of the system in at the end of 2015 the lion’s share of the contract was fulfilled. Mediagroup specialists are on hand to assist the Wolfsburg Theatre sound engineers during the first performances, including the re-opening ceremony with the Brunswick State Orchestra and others on Jan. 24, 2016. Everything—from the console to the line array to the wired and wireless microphones—has been replaced, which is why the theatre’s sound engineers were trained by specialists from the systems integrator. This has enabled the theatre engineers to acquire all the necessary operating routines quickly and safely.
Stefan Laubereau concludes: “We are delighted that we were able to supply the theatre with an all-new technical installation. You can tell instantly that Hans Scharoun was one of the most innovative architects of theatres of his time. The building’s acoustics are amazing, not least due to several acoustic tricks in its architecture. There is no doubt in my mind that the venue is now on course for a glorious future.”
