By Whitney Winkels PERFORMING ARTS:
Acoustic Upgrades at Canada’s National Arts Centre
Wenger’s new acoustical shell at Canada’s National Arts Centre dramatically improves the acoustics, envelopes the audience in rich sound, and enables the orchestra and visiting artists to hear each other on stage more clearly.
The National Arts Centre in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, is home for - rates with artists and arts organizations across Canada to help create a national stage for the performing arts, including orchestra, theater, dance, educational programs, and more. Over the better part of the last decade, the NAC went through ex-
tensive renovations throughout the building, including in its largest venue, the 2,000-seat Southam Hall. The last component after getting - sive, custom-made acoustical shell to improve the audience experience of all performances. The team assembled included Fisher Dachs Associates and Dia- mond Schmitt Architects, who had worked with the NAC for years on renovating other parts of the Centre, as well as Threshold Acoustics. Wenger Corporation was responsible for building the shell itself and providing the extensive rigging required. Wenger Corporation provid- ed design assist with Fisher Dachs Associates to meet their extensive rigging needs to move the shell into performance and storage posi- tions. The Wenger shell was immense, and the timeline was tight. It would take an integrated project delivery method to enable the team to design, build, and install the shell and J.R. Clancy rigging as quickly as possible.
BUILDING THE SHELL Jennifer Mallard, architect and director at Diamond Schmitt, calls
the previous stage a “black hole.” “We wanted to create a more immersive experience so people can
feel more intimately involved with the performance they’re experienc- ing,” Mallard says.
48 Facility Manager Magazine
The shell was extremely complicated and involved more than 18 months of collaboration.
There are four main components: •
11 onstage towers that can all be moved anywhere on stage and set up for the orchestra
wide
•
Eight forestage towers ranging from 34 to 52 feet tall
Threshold moved the orchestra further into the room and asked
“We spent several days in our Minnesota manufacturing facility with the design team to make sure we agreed on the design concept, and made mock ups for them to review,” explains Mark Ingalls, per- forming arts segment manager at Wenger. “They were amazed that we could design and manufacture these complicated mock ups in such a short period of time. We continued to tweak and improve the custom one-of-a-kind shell that exceeded all expectations.” “The factory visit by the entire design team and owner side was a
wonderful experience to be able to test many of the assumptions that were made about new approaches to the pivot walls, to the way the principal at Fischer Dachs Associates and designer who has worked on the overall renovation since the beginning. “The hands-on session with the engineers ensured the success of the shell.”
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