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