Stage Audio Works integrates d&b into first international-standard arts venue in Mauritius.
The Indian Ocean island nation of Mauritius is better known for its glorious beaches and lagoons than for culture and the arts, but since gaining independence in 1968, Mauritius has developed into a high-income diversified economy with growing industrial, financial and ICT sectors to underpin tourism. The cultural scene received a massive boost in 2018 with the inauguration of the Caudan Arts Centre in the nation’s capital of Port-Louis.
The Caudan Arts Centre (CAC) is quite simply a landmark arts and conference centre in the East African region. Designed by Arup UK with systems integration services from Stage Audio Works (SAW) in South Africa, CAC is the first truly international-standard venue in Mauritius; it incorporates a stunning 431-seat theatre, a rehearsal space, three bars, a restaurant, and four well-equipped, modular conference spaces. The jewel in the crown of CAC is undoubtedly the theatre which is designed to host a wide variety of events from all forms of performance art through to conferencing and even movies. Kooshal Dwarka, CAC sound manager, noted “the theatre has incredible acoustic properties that are specially designed for unamplified performances”.
Kooshal was very happy with the choice of d&b as the theatre system. “With regards to sound consistency, d&b is far ahead of other manufacturers, with its ArrayProcessing feature providing a consistent tonal balance across the space,” he remarks. “T-Series offers a very comfortable power-to-size ratio, perfect for our 431-seat auditorium; it is capable of handling any type of music, from classical to rock with enough headroom to handle powerful music without blasting the ears of the listeners!”
The system is based on L/R hangs of eight Ti-10L and two T-Subs per side with a central cluster of two V7P point source cabinets. Two V-G subs per side provide further low-end reinforcement whilst a range of 5S and E6 loudspeakers are deployed as under-balcony fills, front fill and effects loudspeakers. A single Ti-10P per side for outfill duties plus six M6 stage monitors and a range of Sennheiser wireless microphones and a wireless assisted listening system complete the line-up. This is all integrated with Yamaha consoles across a Dante network and managed via a Q-SYS Ecosystem which also handles the sophisticated video show relay system based on Blackmagic Design video technology with SDI distribution.
In addition to the theatre systems, SAW also provided digital signage and BGM/paging solutions for the foyer and public areas along with touch screen controllers to manage simple functions like audio source selection, music player control and volume.
The installation allowed CAC to patch devices anywhere in the theatre – from the catwalk to the fly floor, stage, orchestra pit, auditorium, control room, foyer and BOH. There are facility panels all over the building with analogue XLR ins and outs, network ports, SDI and multi-mode fibre, and even speakon sockets on some panels; all connections were made on a patch bay in the equipment rack. This allowed for reliability, performance, plus ease of operation and configuration.
Further to the theatre, there is also a fully modular conference space that can be divided into up to four separate conference/events areas thanks to fully sound-proofed partitions. Each area has its own comprehensive AV system that may be used on its own or combined as part of a larger system as required. SAW were recently called back in to integrate a fifth conference space called La Scala, which has a capacity of around 150 seats with a partition that allows the creation of an art gallery space. SAW extended the theatre’s Q-SYS network to incorporate the new AV system comprising a Christie projector, a Dalite motorised screen, QSC loudspeakers and Sennheiser microphones.
At every stage of the build, installation and commissioning, Kooshal has been thoroughly impressed with the competence and level of service delivered by the SAW team. “Caudan Arts Centre is the very first venue in Mauritius with an installation of this type and quality,” he notes. “I had the chance to witness some of the installation works just before the opening of the building when the whole site was still full of dust and concrete debris. It was amazing to see how all the cables (approx. 68km) were neatly laid through other installations to be terminated and tested at the patch bay and equipment rack. Every single cable running through the building is labelled, as per the schematic drawings.”
He recalls that SAW’s service and professionalism, even under pressure was impeccable. “Their technical support is second to none and they are always on hand for advice or anything else we might need. They are a great partner to have.”
The aim of the project was to create a centre of excellence for art and culture, offering the very best in terms of space and facilities to artists and audiences alike. Shows varying from local, regional and international that ensure that the next generation of artists have a platform to perform.
