Post on 05-Apr-2020
CASE STUDY
THE ARMOURYAT ARSENAL FC's EMIRATES STADIUM
Immersive new AV experience brings theatmosphere of match day to Arsenal'snewly refurbished flagship store…
The Project Brief
Working with Arsenal's interior design
team 442, installer Knektd Ltd was asked
to design the audio for four in-store
The Armoury re-design, launched at the
beginning of July 2019, has been timed to
celebrate Arsenal's renewed partnership
with sponsor adidas and reveal the
2019/20 home kit. “The new store, says
Arsenal's website, “is a shrine to nostalgia
and the club's rich history with adidas,
and includes a caged skills area where
you can have your skills rated by a
member of the first team…Customers
heading into the store will be able to see a
host of exciting digital content on the in-
store large screens and experience the
thrill of a match day by sitting in Unai
Emery's touchline chair and sampling the
smell of freshly-cut grass in the stadium
themed change rooms”. Commenting on
the refurbished space Arsenal retail
director Simon Lilley said: “The newly
refitted Armoury is our flagship store at
Emirates Stadium and we're proud to
provide a best-in-class retail environment
for our fans”.
A comprehensive refurbishment of
Arsenal FC's flagship store has provided
the opportunity to combine audio
effects and video displays in a multi-
zone AV design, created to empower the
retail experience with the sights, sounds
and excitement of match day.
zones. The brief required immersive
sound for a new virtual 'player tunnel' at
the entrance to the store; atmospheric
sound for three themed changing rooms;
precise audio level and intelligibility for
the areas in front of two new video walls,
and high quality continuous SPLs for 'The
Cage', a Virtual Reality area where
customers can enjoy training pitch skill
challenges with the Avatar of a first team
player. Knektd's project leader Stewart
Maynard selected Sonance Pro Series
and Sonance Invisible speakers for the
f i r st three zones and a Yamaha
Commercial PA system for 'The Cage'.
The Knektd team relied on Ease software
to optimise the sound in each zone and to
blend individual audio zones globally with
the store's in-house sound. Ease analysis
also provided Knektd and 442 with a
design blueprint to agree prior to
installation.
“Customers gain access to the new
Armoury through a walk-in player tunnel,
imbued with a realistic match day
ambience that places them with the
players on their way to the pitch from the
locker room. To create this effect the
sound needed to be non-directional with
no obvious source, so we used three
Sonance IS4C invisible speakers in the
ceiling. These are entirely concealed
behind plaster but retain high intelligibility
and dynamic range for the most natural
simulation. To complete the surrounding
ambience we installed two Sonance Pro
Series PS-C63RT 6” in-walls at low level on
the tunnel sides. Triggered by a PIR sensor
these reproduce the sound of football
boots on a hard surface, helping
customers to imagine they're walking with
Stewart Maynard takes up the story. “We
were absolutely delighted to be asked to
pitch for this prestigious project by 442,
after recommendation by the Armoury's
music streaming provider and audio
effects creator Open Ear. 442's specific
brief was for immersive sound to create a
sense of a shared experience with the
Arsenal Club and team. Essentially the
new Armoury would be an audio
experience as much as a visual one, the
two coming together to inspire customers
with the excitement of a match day. A
greater sense of 'being there' would
generate stronger customer loyalty and
sales. So the challenge was to create
believable atmospherics in specific
zones.”
Store Entrance
the team.
"Then we used Ease EQ software to mix
the output for a realistic effect within the
tunnel and to blend tunnel ambience with
store's background sound.”
Welcome to The Armoury: entrance tunnel meets the store's interior.
The Changing Rooms
“Part of 442's design for the new Armoury
involved changing rooms with a choice of
design themes based around the sights
and sounds of the Arsenal Tube Station,
the Club's Locker Room and the Emirates
Stadium itself.”
team player. The brief here called for
immersive high output SPLs over longer
durations, so we deployed a Yamaha
Stagepas PA system for this zone.”
We were absolutely delighted to be asked to pitch for this prestigious p r o j e c t b y 4 4 2 , a f t e r recommendation by the Armoury's music streaming provider and audio effects creator Open Ear. 442's specific brief was for immersive sound to create a sense of a shared experience with the Arsenal Club and team. Essentially the new Armoury wou ld be an aud io experience as much as a visual one, the two coming together to inspire customers with the excitement of a match day.
Stewart Maynard - Knektd Ltd
Sonance Pendants provide precise sound level and intelligibility for the Video Walls.
The Cage
The Video Walls
“For the area around the large LED
displays we designed a sound field loud
enough to draw shoppers' attention
without being overly dominating. We
used two Sonance Pro Series PS-P43T
Pendants for each, allowing us to set a
precise height for the speakers, blending
with store aesthetics while delivering
optimal sound levels around the screens.”
“The new retail space also offers an
interactive feature called 'The Cage'. It is,
literally, a caged area in front of a large
LED screen, in which customers can
practice football tricks with a virtual first-
“For added authenticity these areas are
enhanced by individually designed
soundtracks played through a Sonance
Pro Series PS-C43RT 4” in-ceiling speaker
installed within each booth.”
The Challenges
“Offering easier access and greater install
flexibility, the larger retail space at the
Armoury made wiring and speaker
installation fairly straightforward. The
design brief did however require the most
discreet installation in order to allow the
various 'being there' illusions to do their
work. The major creative challenge
brought our experience and judgement to
bear on 442's design vision. We had to
justify our choices and simulate the audio
performance on paper before any work
started. Using Ease software we could
switch speakers and change their
positions in real time to design the
simplest way to achieve optimum
coverage. This process proved invaluable
in building understanding between the
teams and ultimately, delivering the audio
results they were after. Of course, this was
the most satisfying part. We also built in
some level control to enable shop staff to
adjust the system for busy match days and
other days. Some degree of staff training
was required.”
Themed Changing Rooms at The Armoury.
The Cage Virtual Reality area equipped with high-SPL Yamaha Commercial PA system.
Retail
Using Ease software we could
switch speakers and change their
positions in real time to design the
simplest way to achieve optimum
coverage. This process proved
i n v a l u a b l e i n b u i l d i n g
understanding between the teams
and ultimately, delivering the audio
results they were after. Of course,
this was the most satisfying part.
Stewart Maynard - Knektd Ltd
Sonance
PS-C43RT Pro Series 4" In-Ceiling Speaker (x 3)
Equipment:
PS-P43T Pro Series 4" Pendant Speaker - pair (x 2)
IS4C Invisible Series Speaker (x 3)
PS-C63RT Pro Series 6" In-Ceiling Speaker - pair (x 1)
+44 (0)1256 638500 www.habitech.co.uk
Stagepas 400BT System (x 1)
XMV4140 4-channel amplifier (x 3)
Yamaha Commercial
PS-C63RT PS-P43TPS-C43RT IS4C
400BT XMV4140