With more than 14,500 employees in 37 countries worldwide, QBE is one of the world’s top 20 insurers. Its flagship European headquarters in London features a range of multipurpose meeting spaces, reception, events areas and office spaces. The focal point of the QBE building is the Broker’s Lounge, an impressive 31m x 7.5m space mainly used for presentations, although it can be specifically re-purposed to host live events in a ‘Town Hall’ format, or smaller individual meeting spaces as and when required. To fulfil the need for audio coverage of the flexible space as part of a major upgrade of its AV systems, the audio team was challenged with creating an equally flexible loudspeaker system, including multi-zone coverage. The client’s high expectation in terms of audio quality coupled with a key requirement that the loudspeaker should be invisibly integrated into the room’s décor pointed towards a clear solution.
Supplied by UK distributor 2B Heard, and installed by The Pyramid Group, the system is comprised of an evenly-spaced matrix of down-firing Tornado-KT2 speakers, ceiling mounted and positioned between the slats of the contemporary Hunter Douglas suspended ceiling, flush with the lower edges so as to avoid any possible diffraction effects. Working within the physical constraints of the ceiling structure, the Tornados offered the best combination of pleasing aesthetics and desired dispersion. The speakers are configured in groups of seven, with each group aimed towards one row of seating directly below.
Each group is assigned to a zone on the AMX touch screen control system, allowing the client to select any combination of zones at a single touch, dependent on the room layout and seating. With aesthetics playing such a major factor in the audio system design and in order to maintain an uncluttered floor space, the very compact dual 10-inch Rumble-KU210 subwoofers are also located above the suspended ceiling, requiring only 15 cm of installation space. One sub is assigned to a group of six Tornados.
We worked on a concept that would provide a discreet option. Following initial EASE Focus simulations we then selected a final design, and what we’ve created is an incredibly uniform near field coverage pattern with a natural listening experience even at high levels, and with absolutely no delay effects. For music, the KU210 subs kick in to give serious bass response down to 42Hz. We’ve put as much control over the sound system in the client’s hands as possible. For a music event everything can be full on with subwoofer support, but if they have, for example, a small meeting of only 20 people or so the unused zones can simply be switched off, keeping the audio exceptionally focused. The client is very pleased with the result: the coverage of the room is excellent, spoken word reinforcement is very clear, and the Rumble subs compliment the KT2 Tornados perfectly for a quality music program.
