MIAMI BEACH, FL – The Frank Gehry-designed New World Center (NWC) is home to the New World Symphony, and along with the 756-seat concert hall, HD video images of the performances are projected onto a 75-by-100-foot exterior wall. To complete the experience, the 2.5-acre, $13 million SoundScape public viewing/listening area has been equipped with more than 160 self-powered Meyer Sound loudspeakers.
The park's architects, West 8 New York, worked with principal sound designer for both the New World Center and SoundScape, Fred Vogler of Los Angeles-based Sonitus. Engineering specifics for SoundScape audio were a collaborative effort on the part of Vogler, his associate Tim Boot, and Rod Sintow and Kelly Prince of Florida-based systems integrator Pro Sound and Video.
Speaking on behalf of the symphony, senior vice president and chief financial officer David J. Phillips noted that "the sound came through with crystalline and immersive clarity from the fabulous speaker system" in SoundScape's debut with the orchestra. He added, "It will be a tough decision now – inside or outside?"
The Constellation system in Miami uses Meyer Sound's D-Mitri digital audio platform. Loudspeaker models include the M'elodie line array loudspeaker, MSL-4, and UPJ-1P VariO loudspeakers, in addition to M1D-Sub subwoofers and 700-HP subwoofers.
The front LCR under-screen loudspeakers and subwoofers are concealed inside large planters adjacent to the building, while dual front line arrays and associated subwoofers are placed inside 40-inch diameter steel columns.
Eighty-eight loudspeakers and subwoofers are tucked into two 26-inch diameter tubular steel ballet bars, raised 20-feet high on both sides of the grassy audience area. Additional loudspeakers are concealed in the projection tower and small "media hydrants."
In all other installations, Constellation active acoustic technology is used to provide flexibility and enhancement of existing interior acoustical spaces. Here, however, Constellation uses a minimum of 22 microphones inside the New World Center as the acoustical starting point, then applies patented VRAS processing algorithms to tailor the sound for optimum effect in the outdoor environment.
"It's been a very exciting project," Vogler said. "We couldn't have asked for a better initial reception, but I think we've only just begun. There's a lot of adventure yet to come, with this system and others like it that are likely to follow."
The New World Center and the adjacent SoundScape both opened in January 2011 and were developed as a $13 million public-private venture by the City of Miami Beach and the New World Symphony. Established in 1987 by conductor Michael Tilson Thomas, the New World Symphony is an orchestral academy that prepares musicians for careers in symphony orchestras and ensembles.
For more information, please visit www.meyersound.com.
