Among Luxembourg’s most important historic sites, the Neumünster Abbey Cultural Exchange Centre (CCRN) reopened in 2004 after ten years of restoration work. Most recently, it completed a two-year consultation that has seen event and technical design company KTDS Technical Support install an L-Acoustics Kiva II system in its Robert Krieps Building.
Formerly Neumünster Abbey and dating back to the 17th century, the building is located in the Grund district on a Unesco world heritage site. A turbulent history has seen the Benedictine abbey house a hospital, a prison and gendarmerie barracks, and an orphanage. In the mid 1800s, it was also home to a military hospital for the troops of the Germanic Confederation. World War II political prisoners were later held here.
Having survived four centuries, the group of buildings that makes up the CCRN (part of a network of Cultural Exchange Centres located throughout Europe) is now a public institution dedicated to cultural projects, with the Robert Krieps Building housing a 283-seat theatre that hosts concerts, plays, dance, films and conferences. With expanses of wood and a high ceiling, the room has an intimate atmosphere, with nothing separating the audience from the actors or speakers, as the first row of seats has been installed on the floor of the 14m-wide stage.
The overall system was designed by Olivier Deladoeuille, Technical Director of KDTS, and the loudspeakers purchased through XLR, L-Acoustics certified distributor for the region, who were also involved with the project from the outset. They worked closely to the requirements of the site operator, with the installation also performed by the KDTS team.
‘We chose to use L-Acoustics partly because it was what the customer wanted, but also because of its brand positioning within the Luxembourg market,’ Deladoeuille explains. ‘L-Acoustics has been used on major events and in installations in theatres, clubs, opera houses, convention centres, sports arenas and amusement parks in Luxembourg since the advent of their Wavefront Sculpture Technology in 1992, so it is well-known and accepted.
‘We needed to design a system which took into account the needs of the room itself, as well as the artistic programming and requirements of the venue’s operator. With the help of Han Dohmen from L-Acoustics, we arranged a demo of the Kiva II system. It was decided that this would be the perfect solution as Kiva II offers long range, consistent coverage and sound pressure levels throughout the entire area of the theatre, whilst its light weight, elegant lines and clever hanging system made it ideal for the project, particularly as a discrete solution was desired.’
Hangs of six Kiva II are positioned left and right at the front of the stage, with each hang complemented by two SB15M subwoofers. One X12 coaxial enclosure is wall mounted left and right, just in front of the first row of seats, with the flexibility to be positioned between 2m and 4m above ground level, depending on the nature of the event being held, and two SB118 subs are positioned one either side of the rear of the auditorium. Amplification for the entire system is via five LA4X.
‘KDTS has developed a great, trusting relationship with CCRN which made the project possible,’ Deladoeuille concludes. ‘The Kiva II system has been a great success and works perfectly for their needs.’
