1. •Theatre Consulting
•Stage Technologies
IS001 SPRING / SUMMER EDITION
The new 1,761 seat venue, which celebrated its grand opening in late 2014, is the
center piece of a multi-billion dollar development owned and operated by Bloomberry
Resorts and Hotels. One of the most unique features of this lyric style theatre project
is the integration of architectural acoustics, active electronic acoustics, and direct
reinforcement systems all being designed from the outset as an integrated
whole. Integrating active acoustics and PA design into a construction project from the
earliest design phases is still a relatively new concept. At Solaire, we have none of the
surfaces introduced to generate early reflections for stage sound, a feature that only
causes problems for amplified sound. There is no tonal modification from surfaces
around the main arrays, allowing the theatre to deliver very clear, uniform, and
uncolored sound reproduction.
Cont. on next page>>
The “active acoustics” or Constellation™ system includes a total of 63
ambient microphones that are placed over and around the stage and
seating areas, with signals feeding a D-Mitri™ digital audio platform hosting
VRAS™ acoustical algorithms. On the output side, for introducing
calculated early reflections and late reverberations into the space,
Constellation™ employs a total of 213 small Meyer Sound self-powered
loudspeakers. The theatre has about a dozen basic acoustical presets to
work with everything from hard rock to jazz, pop, symphonic, and
Broadway shows. The room also has a preset, just for presentation
purposes of a very long “cathedral” setting. Additionally, the theatre has
the option to route the main audio mix console into the systems for special
surround effects, if desired.
Solaire Theatre,
Manila
Billed as a “Harbinger of the Future”, the new Theatre
at Solaire Resort and Casino in Manila’s expanding
Entertainment City complex, has earned an instant
acclaim for bringing first class amenities and cutting
edge theatre technology to audiences in the
Philippines. Coherent Design acted as principal theatre
consultant for the project, as well as designer of the
theatre’s entire technology package. Coherent Design
also acted as the primary acoustical consultant for this
state of the art project.
www.coherentdesign.com
•Audio
Hong Kong +852 2815 0911 Las Vegas +1 702 757-3000
www.coherentdesign.com
•Acoustics
• Data IT Infrastructure
• Video

2. Although the Theatre at Solaire has ample
facilities for accommodating front of house gear
on touring productions, the in-house equipment
roster is very rider friendly for most international tours. The
house PA system includes 12 speaker cabinets per side, a
Meyer Mica line array hung left and right of the proscenium
on chain motors with 6 Meyer 1100-LFC in a direction
subwoofer array.
The theatrical lighting systems, designed by David Starck and
Sean Greener of Coherent Design, are also state of the art.
Middleton, Wisconsin based Electronic Theatre Controls was
selected as the provider of the dimming and control
systems. Six ETC Sensor3 power control racks fitted with 576
modules, including ThruPower modules, were specified and
installed. The venue also employs an Eos Ti lighting desk with
8,000 outputs. Additionally, an ETC Unison Paradigm
architectural control system is used for houselights and work
lights.
As the theatre consultant, Coherent Design was also
responsible for the design and specification of the theatre’s
stage systems. The stage floor is a tongue and groove maple
floor with resilient rubber pads to provide for performer
injury protection. The stage structure is engineered to 12kN/
m2
load. The stage is approximately 690 m2
with a
proscenium of 17.5 m x 12.3 m.
The Christie Digital Brio product lines is designed for corporate
as well as academic environments. This product line is
designed to allow for easy presentation and collaboration, as
well as supporting the BYOD (bring your own device). Brio
allows businesses, teachers, and students to easily share,
discuss, and contribute ideas.
Brio allows you to bring group members together with up to five
(05) computers, smart phones, or tablets; by wirelessly
streaming content onto displays, while channeling audio through
a conference room or classroom’s sound systems. Groups can
share content, edit in real time, save their work, and capture
action items for quicker follow-up, thus avoiding the challenges
of a traditional collaboration session.
Simple Session Management
While not required for standard operation, Christie Brio solutions
offer session moderation through a user interface that can be
accessed from the touch enabled meeting room panel or from
any web browser. The user interface rearranges source layouts,
controls audio, opens up whiteboard sharing, and enables
remote collaboration and more advanced functions. Sources
can be removed from the display without disconnecting them.
Solaire
Constellation is an extraordinary breakthrough in acoustical science
providing an effective solution to the complex challenge of attaining
optimal, yet flexible acoustics in building design.
“
”
The stage rigging and fly system include 62 line
sets, six electric sets, and seven lifting lines per
set. The theatre has a 907kg arbor capacity,
including batten weight. The house curtain is
19.5 meters by 13 meters to match the interior
design and can function as a guillotine, traveler,
and center split.
The theatre stage is outfitted with an orchestra pit, with a
useable area of 72 m2
. The front section of the pit includes an
automated scissor lift, which allows it to function as additional
orchestra pit space, additional audience seating or as stage
thrust.
The facility provides 6 Star dressing rooms, 2 four person
rooms, 4 eight person rooms, and 1 sixteen person
room. Additional support facilities include: Green Room,
Crew Room, and Band Room which top out the performer
and crew accommodations.
>>Cont. from previous
Whiteboard
Brio can turn touch screens into interactive whiteboards, allowing participants to add to or
edit an image using various writing and drawing tools. Unique to the Brio, is its ability to
share the same whiteboard in real time among participants in the same or different
locations. The whiteboard is also available through a browser window on a contributor’s
personal device. Users can write or sketch on the shared whiteboard, upload and annotate
images, or save the end result back to their personal device for later use.
Annotation
Brio enables annotation over any displayed content, including video. The end result may be
saved as an image for later use.
Audio
Brio can connect to a meeting/conference room or classroom’s sound system. Presentation
audio is streamed through the wireless protocol and may be connected through the Brio’s
physical inputs.
BYOD
Business and education environments rely on secure information sharing while offering
flexibility in an individual’s device of choice. Many devices are not standard issue, but may
be used for gathering, developing, and sharing information and ideas. Brio creates the
infrastructure that allows all of these devices to network in a common session. Using
wireless connection and communication protocols that are already part of the operating
system enables real-time screen mirroring from participants using Microsoft, Apple,
Android, or computers and devices without installing custom drivers.

3. Classroom Acoustics and
ANSI Standard S12.60More than 400 employees now reside in 214,000 square feet
of modern office space located in Boston, Mass. The once
dilapidated pile of rubble housed everything from a
confectionary manufacturer to a builder of radar equipment
has risen to become a modern corporate headquarters
designed and built with creativity and collaboration in mind.
Coherent Design was engaged on the project
by Nike Corporation, Converse’s parent
company. Every floor in the 10 story facility
is integrated with the latest in presentation and
collaboration systems. The Union, which covers most
of the first floor, is an entirely open space with couches,
huddle spaces, multiple displays using sources such as
Apple TV, Google Chrome, DirecTV, and presentation
resources from hard wired connectivity to the latest in
wireless technology. The space can be used for both
special events with a high powered sound system to
quiet meeting areas or company calls with a large digital
media switcher.
There is a 5,000 square foot company gym with high
quality audio systems, as well as video distribution to
both the machines, and several flat panel displays. A
Yoga room and dance studio round out the workout
facilities.
Each floor is equipped with both huddle type rooms that
include simple collaboration and whiteboard capabilities
utilizing the latest in wireless technology.
These rooms support BYOD and offer a quick simple
solution for collaborative meetings. Dedicated video
conferencing facilities are available on certain key
floors. These rooms are purpose built video
conferencing environments with the latest in video
conferencing technology. (Cisco)
The 10th floor includes a large divisible ballroom type
space. The audiovisual and collaborative technologies
in this space include a large scale digital media
switcher that allows the rooms to act as one or as
single divided rooms. The latest in HDTV distribution
allows Converse to show the most vibrant images on
oversized screens during training, special events, and
presentations. The entire system is controlled via LCD
touch panels providing a simple and easy to use
graphical interface for Converse employees and guests.
Rounding out the technology is the 10th floor corporate
boardroom, with its massive video displays and high end
video conferencing technology, which allows Converse
executives to work in the most advanced collaborative
environment.
Every day, thousands of students across the country are unable
to understand 25 to 30 percent of what’s said in their classroom.
Excessive noise and reverberation in a classroom interferes with
a student’s ability to clearly hear their teacher.
Before reviewing the new standard, it’s important to be familiar
with the attributes of sound found in the classroom that affect a
student’s ability to hear and learn.
Direct Sound
The sound of a teacher’s voice traveling directly from the teacher
to the student is direct sound. It is always beneficial in terms of
speech intelligibility because it is not affected by anything in the
room, making it clear and distinct.
Reflected Sound
Reflected sound takes longer to reach the listener than direct
sound because its path to the listener is longer. Reflected sound
can be good or bad depending on the time delay.
Reverberation Time
The overall effect of reflected sound is called reverberation, and
the time required for reflected sound to become inaudible is
called reverberation time. Short reverberation times are good for
speech intelligibility.
Background Noise
Any sound that is generated outside the building, such as
playground activity, traffic and planes can be considered
background noise. It generally intrudes in the classroom by way
of the windows. Within the building, an HVAC system and
corridor noise can contribute to background noise.
Sound Transmission
The amount of airborne sound blocked from transmitting through
a partition is measured in a Sound Transmission Class (STC)
rating. A higher STC rating will Sound transmission through walls
will add to the background noise level in the space, degrading the
ability to hear and understand speech. Single or composite walls,
floor-ceiling and roof-ceiling assemblies should provide specific
sound transmission class (STC) ratings when separating a core
learning space from an adjacent space:
The New ANSI Standard
ANSI Standard S12.60 for Classroom Acoustics addresses the
issues of both reverberation time and background noise and their
effect on speech intelligibility by placing maximum permissible
levels on each.
Under the new standard, the maximum reverberation time in an
unoccupied, furnished classroom with a volume under 10,000
cubic feet is 0.6 seconds, and 0.7 seconds for a classroom
between 10,000 and 20,000 cubic feet. The maximum level of
background noise allowed in the same classroom is 35 decibels
(dBA).
The standard’s acoustical performance criteria and design
requirements apply during the design and construction of all new
classrooms or learning spaces of small-to-moderate size, and,
as far as is practical, to the design and reconstruction of
renovated spaces.
At the present time, the new ANSI standard is voluntary unless
referenced by a code, ordinance or regulation. However, school
systems may require compliance with the standard as part of
their construction documents for new schools.
Converse Headquarters

4. GREEN VALLEY BAPTIST CHURCH
Green Valley Baptist Church, located in Henderson, NV (Las Vegas) was in
desperate need of a major remodel to their sound and video systems.
The majority of the sound system was original equipment, designed and
installed approximately 16 years ago. The church was running
approximately 500 in attendance at the time and has since grown to a weekly
attendance approaching 1,300. The 600 seat room had seen updates over the
years, but a new sound and video system was needed. Coherent Design was
brought in by the church to design the new contemporary sound system.
Coherent modeled the room using options from a couple of different
manufacturers; eventually settling on JBL Vertec as the correct solution. The
room is designed with Vertec line arrays left and right of the stage with side fills
and a center fill for speech enhancement. Panasonic projectors, a production
switcher, and Crestron Digital Media for video distribution throughout the
remainder of the common areas of the facility round out the new system. The
first use of the new systems was for packed crowds during the church’s 2015
Easter Celebration.
Galaxy
Phase II
Wows Macau
Galaxy Macau Phase II is a major expansion of one of the largest hotel
casino and entertainment complexes in the world. Coherent Design was
responsible for designing the entirety of the audio and video systems for
the project. Two hotels, a JW Marriott and Ritz Carlton, are included in this
massive project. Consisting of 450,000 square meters (4,800,000.00 s.f.) of new
resort space and an additional 3,600 hotel rooms and large expansions of retail
and meeting space, Galaxy Macau is truly a state of the art facility. Coherent
Design selected Biamp Systems as the property wide audio processor. The
Biamp DSP is the largest Biamp system ever designed and implemented into a
project. The entire property is served by an IPTV video distribution system.
Christie Digital was chosen to provide projection for all of the meeting and
ballrooms. Crown Audio provides amplification for the entire project and Martin
Audio was chosen to provide speakers throughout the facility.
JasonPritchard
Jason Pritchard recently joined Coherent Design’s
Las Vegas office. Jason has over 25 years’
experience in the professional audio industry. He
has been involved in projects ranging from themed
entertainment in hotels, on cruise ships, and theme
parks to Broadway theatre and national theatrical
tours. Previously, Jason was the Head of Audio for
Cirque du Soleil’s Grammy Award winning show at
the Mirage in Las Vegas, The Beatles — LOVE.
Jason’s past projects include audio project
management consulting for Cirque’s Criss Angel —
Believe at the Luxor, early stage consulting on
Cirque du Soleil’s theatre in Aria at City Center in
Las Vegas. Jason has also assisted Jonathan Deans
with projects in New York and the Dragon Treasure
show at The City of Dreams in Macau, China. He
has written several print articles for industry
publications, and was formerly the Audio Editor for
Stage Directions Magazine. Jason will focus on
Coherent Design’s entertainment and live
performance projects.
SandLeung
Sand Leung has joined the engineering staff in our
Hong Kong office. Sand holds a Bachelor of Fine
Arts from Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts in
Sound Design and Music Recording. Sand comes to
Coherent after three years as a Technology Services
Project Manager with JBA Consulting Engineers
Hong Kong office and previously as a project
manager in audiovisual for PCCW (Pacific Century
Cyberworks) Solutions of Hong Kong. Sand has
been involved in the design of some of the largest
hotel casino projects in the world including: Sands
Cotai, The Venetian Macau, Wynn Macau, and City
Of Dream Manila. Sand joins Coherent Design as
Director of Operations Hong Kong.
3471 W .Oquendo Rd.• Ste. 201• Las Vegas NV 89118 • USA O Unit 6, 17/F Wing Tuck Commercial Center • 177-183 Wing Lock St • Hong Kong