Renowned Uruguayan architect Rafael Viñoly’s latest masterpiece is one that does his native country of Uruguay proud: the new terminal at Carrasco International Airport, near Montevideo, which is served by a combination of Bosch Praesideo public address systems and an extensive distribution of Electro-Voice ceiling loudspeakers
System design/installation contractors PROMÚSICA supplied the mass notification and life safety communications systems.
“PROMÚSICA did an exceptional job designing and installing these systems,” says Juan Montoya of Bosch, “which can handle everything from routine paging through to emergency notification – all with the highest level of reliability and speech intelligibility.”
PROMÚSICA worked together with Bosch system engineers to precisely address rigorous international airport standards. Key components in this effort are Bosch Praesideo public address systems – utilized at numerous airport installations around the world – and EVID recessed ceiling loudspeakers.
A digital system for public address and emergency notification, Praesideo employs optical fiber for communication and offers interference-free audio along with a high level of redundancy.
The system is fully programmable and compatible with other security systems, including fire detectors, warning and emergency systems.
Simple to set up and modify either locally or remotely, a typical Praesideo system is designed in the form of a combination network cable and fiber ring.
“While this architectural environment is very easy on the eye, it is not so friendly from an acoustical perspective,” Montoya adds. “The software-based audio simulations and acoustic research confirmed the typical challenges posed by glass, granite and high reflective ceilings, where high levels of RT60 are the norm.
“We were able to select products that met these challenges exactly – both Bosch and EV have a very wide range of products for commercial audio applications like this. Bosch LBC3210/00 line arrays loudspeakers were perfect for counteracting this reverberation, and offer excellent directivity control for uniform coverage and intelligibility.”
More than 1,500 Electro-Voice loudspeakers, including EVID C8.2HC high ceiling models and EV 205 4-inch ceiling speakers, were installed.
Montoya continues, “The C8.2HC was designed for high-ceiling spaces where poor acoustics can be offset by precise coverage and high-definition, full-bandwidth acoustical performance. The EVIDs provide sound quality that is closer to a full-sized loudspeaker than a typical ceiling speaker.
“It’s hard to see them up there as they blend in so well, but they can be heard loud and clear. The entire installation raises the bar for form and function in airport audio systems.”
A few of the new Electro-Voice ceiling loudspeakers in place at Carrasco International Airport.