APG signs the audio installation of the largest hall in Paris Expo Porte de Versailles
Owned by the Viparisowner of some of the largest event venues in France, Paris Expo Porte de Versailles is the largest exhibition centre in France. Located in the 15th arrondissement of Paris, it hosts over 120 trade shows every year, including the Mondial de l'Auto, the Foire de Paris, the Salon International del Agriculture, Viva Technology and Who's Next.
Viparis is committed to providing a high quality service for all these varied and prestigious events, and when the site's largest pavilion required a new sound system, theUniline Compact of APG was selected following an electro-acoustic study carried out by the design office LM Ingénierie Audiovisuel (LMI AV). The entire sound system was supplied and installed by the Belgian company Inytium.
Charlotte Brassart and Tristan Hoël-Bâcle, project managers at LM Ingénierie Audiovisuelwere both at the heart of the sound design for Hall 1, using their audio expertise to create a soundtrack for the 7,000 m² venue:
"The diagnostic work included an audit of the existing sound system, as well as a campaign of acoustic measurements - particularly in terms of noise and reverberation time - and electroacoustic measurements to determine sound pressure levels and measure intelligibility," recalls Tristan Hoël-Bâcle. "Following this diagnosis, we created a calibrated digital acoustic model, enabling us to propose the most appropriate solutions. This modelling approach enabled us to stand out from the crowd and facilitate the technical and financial trade-off.
The system had to be both discreet and guarantee excellent intelligibility given the acoustic constraints of the hall, without making any concessions in terms of its ability to broadcast music at satisfactory levels. To achieve such flexibility in the sound system, the team at LM Ingénierie Audiovisuel recommended the installation of 48 APG UC206Wconfigured in twelve clusters of four loudspeakers spread across the hall. In the end, it was Inytium in Belgium, which was chosen as the audio integrator for the sound system in pavilion 1.
Tristan Hoël-Bâcle explains: "The Uniline Compact offered by Inytium is perfectly suited to this type of installation, while offering a very attractive price/performance ratio.
Xavier Goffin, Project Manager at Inytium adds: "The Uniline Compact has a number of advantages that were decisive on this project, such as its weight, reduced dimensions and level of intelligibility. The system's performance enabled us to achieve a uniform result throughout the building.
The system is completed by twelve column speakers Ray-On d'Active AudioAPG's sister company, which are mainly used to broadcast voice and evacuation messages. Maxence Castelain, Support Engineer at APG, comments:
"The integration work carried out by LM Ingénierie Audiovisuel and Inytium was remarkable, and they rose perfectly to the challenges presented by the hall's dimensions (120m x 60m and 25m high), its reverberant surfaces and its glass ceiling. The flexibility and performance of the Uniline Compact system made it possible to overcome these difficulties, thanks in particular to extremely precise control of the acoustic aperture over the entire useful frequency band". "The loudspeaker also has three acoustic channels for excellent musical reproduction, particularly in the low frequencies, and incorporates a driver dedicated to the midrange band, guaranteeing high sound definition in the vocal band." He adds: "Between LM Ingénierie Audiovisuel's study and Inytium's integration, the results obtained exceed even the acoustic forecasts for the characteristics of the venue.
Tristan Hoël-Bâcle explains the calculations made by his team:
"We had two design options: diffusion from the ceiling, or lateral diffusion from the pillars. The first option was quickly ruled out for mechanical reasons such as floor vibrations and load constraints. "The second option allowed us to define a perimeter diffusion. We then submitted two proposals to Viparis: one with four clusters offering a range of 80m and 40m, and a second with 12 clusters offering a range of 30m. The latter was chosen because, given the constraints, it offered the best sound homogeneity and intelligibility".
In addition to the performance ofUniline CompactAPG has also contributed to the success of this installation by making itself available, as Xavier Goffin explains:
"We appreciated APG's responsiveness and flexibility in supplying the equipment and configuring the Powersoft amplifiers we had planned in record time".
The new system was inaugurated at one of the most prestigious shows held in France, the Mondial de l'Auto, which took place in October 2018. Complimented by management following this new installation, LM Ingénierie Audiovisuel reiterated its satisfaction with the choice of APG products by Inytium and the freedom given by the customer.
Tristan Hoël-Bâcle concludes: "The engineering work carried out upstream, as well as the relationship of trust built up with Viparis throughout the various phases of the project, enabled us to select the offer best suited to the needs and constraints of the project, rather than choosing a brand purely on the basis of its reputation. We couldn't be happier and more satisfied with the end result.
