The National WWII Museum in New Orleans tells its visitors the story of the American Experience in the war that changed the world – ‘why it was fought, how it was won and what it means today, so that generations will understand the price of freedom and be inspired by what they learn’.
To accomplish its goal, the museum’s multiple A/V projects are evolving through a series of phases, with more in the works, thanks to a US$370m million capital expansion that will quadruple the size of the original facility. Various consultants and integrators have been involved in the project, with JBA Consulting Engineers’ Rob Pourciau serving as Director of Artistic Engineering/Audiovisual.
A key attraction is the 250-seat Solomon Victory Theater, home of the 4D cinematic experience Beyond All Boundaries, which literally moves and shakes the audience. The theater is equipped with a 120-ft-wide perforated curved projection screen and LCR audio courtesy of six PNX151T loudspeakers.
‘We spent more than 24 months on designing the Solomon Victory Theater,’ Pourciau says. ‘I believe we had 36 discrete channels of audio. We were very mindful of the cinematic application because we had 4D where objects were flying in and out within the space. We needed to place speakers within very unique spaces to get very specific coverage for the audience. Renkus-Heinz provided a wonderful solution.’
Nine PNX82 loudspeakers provide front fill to the first three rows, while four DRS18-2B subwoofers add the essential impact to accompany the experience. ‘We couldn’t stick the subs in a typical location due to structural limitations, so we flew them directly above the catwalk. We designed the subs to couple with each other, so they really focus the energy right down on the patrons.’
Another popular spot in the museum is the US Freedom Pavilion/Boeing Center, a multipurpose exhibit space. Three diagonal screens cover the walls, with more than a dozen vintage planes suspended overhead. Five Iconyx IC16 arrays and 13 CF61 point-source systems enable the system to be easily reconfigured based on the exhibit in the space. ‘The whole idea of a museum of this scale is to have spaces that are constantly changing, with new exhibits coming in,’ Pourciau says. ‘We needed a very flexible audio system with a lot of control that could be reconfigured for a multitude of uses.’
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lsewhere in the museum, the Stage Door Canteen is a classic 250-seat, 1940s-era venue, offering evening and matinee performances of headline acts, signature musical productions, big bands and dancing. ‘It’s a true performance space,’ says Pourciau. ‘It has a main floor and a balcony with seating. It can be used as a restaurant with live entertainment. There’s a proscenium stage like a small theatre.’
The space is outfitted with left and right arrays of three TRX121 loudspeakers each, along with six SGX41 boxes for front fill. A pair of BGS15 subwoofers provides low frequency coverage.
Renkus-Heinz also plays a large part in other areas of the museum, including a pair of Iconyx IC16 steered arrays in the atrium of the Louisiana Memorial Pavilion, a challenging space that supports large events and banquets, including multi-media and live entertainment. ‘We’re dealing with many hard surfaces,’ Pourciau explains. ‘There’s a very large glass curtain wall. We used Iconyx for this application because we wanted to make sure that we focused the sound on the patrons and not on the reflective surfaces.’
The museum offers a wide range of other exhibits, with Renkus-Heinz will contining to play a part in it.
More: www.renkus-heinz.com
