The new Perelman Performing Arts Center (PAC NYC), located at the site of the original World Trade Center in Manhattan and comprised of the John E. Zuccotti Theater, Mike Nichols Theater and the Doris Duke Theater, is equipped with the d&b audiotechnik Soundscape spatial audio platform working with supporting components to serve a wide range of performances and presentations.
Designed by architecture firm REX, led by founding principal Joshua Ramus, the facility’s capabilities were developed in collaboration with executive architect Davis Brody Bond, theater consultants Charcoalblue, and acousticians Threshold Acoustics. The John E. Zuccotti Theater (seating up to 450 people and known during the design phase as theater A), the Mike Nichols Theater (seating up to 250, theater B), and the Doris Duke Theater (seating up to 99, theater C) can be used independently or combined, can transform into 10 different proportions that collectively adopt more than 60 stage-audience arrangements with capacities ranging from 90 to 950 seats.
“Charcoalblue was hired in 2013 as the theatre consultants for the Perelman,” says senior consultant Josh Loar. “I joined CB in 2021 and took over as lead AV consultant and designer for the Perelman to see it through opening. This involved both working with existing infrastructure plans that had been in motion and approved long before I joined, and accommodating the evolving creative ambitions of the organization as it staffed its artistic and executive leadership team. I have always held d&b products in very high esteem – to my ears they are one of the two topmost manufacturers of loudspeakers and processing for live audio in the world, and their speakers have a deserved reputation for musicality and clarity.”
Loar explains the Perelman developed a programming brief that was ambitious, looking to serve both musical events (everything from chamber ensembles to fully amplified contemporary music), theatre (straight plays and musicals), dance, opera, spoken word, and film.
“In extensive conversations with the client, we developed a plan that focused on delivering a ‘kit of parts’ system, which is to say a collection of equipment that can be repurposed in dozens of different configurations to suit different production needs,” he notes. “As such, we wanted to make sure that the Perelman had enough tools in its arsenal, and that those tools minimized model types, so that boxes not in use by one production could serve as spares for other productions.
“Additionally, because the Perelman is nearly-endlessly reconfigurable, and they permitted approximately 64 different initial configurations, they needed speakers to accommodate traditional end-stage, in-the-round, and a host of other shapes.
“Our approach was centered on two basic ideas,” Loar contiues. “First, we were to provide a stock set of configurations that act as a baseline for the venue – these are configurations that allow rental events or short-run events to select one of Perelman’s already-tuned configurations and run with it. The understanding here is not that these would always be the designs for any given configuration, but that these were baselines for times when a sound designer was not part of a touring company’s coterie of staff, or for when they are presenting musical events that don’t typically have a theatrical-style sound designer. And second, we wanted to incorporate Soundscape capabilities for full sound design flexibility in the venues.”
In developing iterations of the designs with the Perelman artistic team (who included a review panel of professional designers brought in to evaluate Charcoalblue’s work), they focused d&b Soundscape capabilities on the B and C venues, with the idea of creating a “sound designer’s playground” where anyone could actuate sound in three dimensions via the object-based panning system. The license is flexible, and can be used in theater A, but the idea for theater A was that it would (mostly) be a slightly more standard mixing environment, run in variations of stereo, LCR, or mono in default modes, or in totally custom modes for theatrical use.
Soundscape enables further connection between the stage and the audience to help create a more intimate experience. While Soundscape systems typically require more loudspeaker positions than a traditional PA setup, the loudspeakers can often be smaller cabinets at each position, improving sightlines or tucked away out of sight. Since both level and delay processing are independently utilized per loudspeaker position in real time, multiple loudspeakers are producing sound simultaneously to create accurate localization for the audience.
En-Scene is the Soundscape software module for object-based signal management. This extends the basic matrix function of the DS100 Signal Engine with an object-based positioning tool for every input. In addition to the possibility of independent positioning and moving up to 64 sound objects, an algorithm-based control of up to 64 loudspeakers is provided, based on the loudspeaker positions and their assignment to function groups.
Meanwhile, En-Space is the Soundscape software module to enhance or build an acoustic environment, either indoor or outdoor, based on convolution of many impulse responses captured in acoustically renowned performance spaces ranging from chamber recital to large concert halls.
Over the course of several revisions, Charcoalblue landed on a point source system utilizing d&b Y10P, Y-SUB, 8S, and 44S loudspeakers mounted in a wide range of configurations. Further, they specified V-Series arrays and point sources paired with V-SUBs for end-stage and other array configurations.
“We also designed some expanded systems, where the Perelman elected not to purchase all recommended units, but to hold the designs as reference for rentals when needed,” adds Loar. “This includes SL-Series boxes (they bought SL-SUBs, but left SL tops for rental when needed), additional 44S boxes, and E-Series boxes. We also designed the lobby sound system, centered on E-Series (E8, E6, E12X-SUB), and a small kit of M4 and M6 stage monitors.”
Loar led the CB team in designing PA configurations, with support from colleague Ben Truppin-Brown, who developed and refined individual PA configurations, and colleague Alex Dietz-Kest, who supported the team in a range of situations with quality assurance, testing, and documentation. “Our work was enormously aided by the support of Drew Levy, Michael Eisenberg, and Steve Seable from d&b, Micah Zucker on the Perelman team, and Phillip Peglow and his team at Sound Associates, (who held the contract for PA equipment) and Masque Sound, who executed the building-wide infrastructure installation,” notes Loar.
“It is very exciting to have a full d&b system with V line arrays and extensive Y point sources while also having dedicated DS100’s and being able to utilize all that Soundscape has to offer,” says Zucker, who serves as lead audio, PAC NYC. “During our opening season, we have switched configurations regularly and the flexibility Soundscape provides gives us the ability to pivot from one configuration to the next. Sometimes when we move between shows the PA configurations remain, but we change designers. When one designer wanted vocal delay matrixing, and the next designer wanted a LR and Sub system, having d&b products including Soundscape and the rest of their line has made the job of changing configurations quickly much easier and smoother. This also allows us to recall the settings the next time we return to a configuration.”
According to Loar, “d&b provides an excellent backbone to ensure beautiful, lucid sound reproduction in any configuration.”
