To remain one of the top-ranked places to study in the UK, Southampton University has invested in a highly flexible new building with eight floors of AV. Paul Milligan reports.
The University of Southampton, on the south coast of England, is home to 25,000 students and is ranked in the top 20 of UK universities. In 2016 the university received planning permission to develop a new teaching and learning centre on its Highfield Campus, which is now home to the University’s Centenary Building. It has been named so in celebration of 100 years of teaching at Highfield Campus and offers an impressive range of AV facilities across eight floors.
This project was tendered by the main contractor BAM Construction. The brief was to provide a modern and innovative teaching and learning centre to improve the student experience and help ensure the University of Southampton maintains is position as one of the top 100 universities globally (QS World University Rankings 2019). AV and IT consultant Cundall specified the project for a number of specific AV spaces including two lecture theatres, a 250-seat main lecture theatre and 100-seat Harvard lecture theatre, nine seminar rooms, two flat floor spaces, a computer-based training room, MBA learning and common spaces with five additional meeting spaces and nine group study pods all providing a variety of options for teaching, learning and study away from the main campus library.
The systems integrator for the project was proAV, who has had a long-standing relationship with the University and has been handling its AV support for more than 10 years. “We were approached by the main contractor to bid on the AV element of the Centenary Building,” says Richard Everard, senior business manager, proAV. Having won the tender, proAV was appointed early in the process prior to construction.
Both the large 250-seat lecture theatre and the 100-seat Harvard use Epson EB-L1500UH 12,000 lumen projectors to display content on DNP Supernova Infinity projection screens chosen because of their high contrast standards. Two 4.5 x 2.8m screens in the large theatre and one 3m x 1.8m were installed to match the bespoke requirements of the space. Based on two globally recognised standards to create the system and performance metrics it was decided at system design stage that DNP screens would provide the best result for the space. The DISCAS standard covers image size, resolution, viewing positions and angles and when used together with the PISCR /ISCR standard from AVIXA, which concerns image quality and contrast, the specification results in the best possible outcome.
Other AV in the larger lecture theatre includes an iiyama 22-in T2252MSC-B1 touch screen, Axis M5055 PTZ cameras, projector mounts from Unicol and a 15-in Crestron TS-1542-B-S touch panel.
In addition to the projection system in the Harvard Lecture Theatre, Sony 49-in 4K displays are used as repeater screens to support the alternative layout.
Audio in these lecture theatres is managed through a Biamp Tesira DSP which provides audio processing, including signal routing and mixing, equalisation, filtering, dynamics, and delay, as well as control, monitoring, and diagnostic tools with an alternative Biamp model chosen to suit the smaller Harvard space. These work alongside Inter-M amplifiers, KEF ceiling speakers, Crestron wall speakers, JBL Control 65 P/T pendant speakers, Revolabs wireless mics and Audio Technica gooseneck mics (Harvard space only) to enhance the audio experience, minimising sound loss and delivering stable sound for presenters and students. Custom Top-Tec adjustable lecterns feature Wolfvision VZ-3 Series document cameras for content sharing. The University of Southampton is a Crestron house, so inside the new building visitors will find 10-in Crestron TSW-1060-B-S touch panels for AV control, lighting control is also managed via Crestron wall-mounted keypads.
The two flat floor spaces have been designed to provide active learning in small groups of up to 120 students at a time. Multiple displays (8 x 85-in Sony FW-85BZ35F 4J displays) around the outside walls enable students to view content from a variety of angles and a Crestron DM 16x16 Matrix enables any source to any display and also allows students to work in separate huddle groups and present locally to their nearest 85-in display. Local group control is managed via 5-in Crestron touch panels located by each display whilst the large 15-in touch panel control at the variable height lectern ensures the lecturer can maintain overall control and also share content from a particular group to all other displays to create an interactive learning experience. Audio is provided via 12 JBL Control 65 P/T pendant speakers.
The seminar rooms provide additional lecture space for smaller groups of 20-30 students at a time with Sony 85-in FW-85BZ35F 4K displays throughout and Crestron control of sources and distribution housed within the lectern rack. Axis PTZ cameras were installed to provide lecture capture and HD video streaming or playback of recorded events and seminars. Wireless microphones ensuring lecturers can present and move about the space freely. The two largest seminar rooms (7-003 and 8-003) each feature a 98-in NEC LFD to accommodate the longer viewing distances in the room.
The computer-based training room has been designed to host 60 students at a time at six-person pods with multiple displays around the perimeter for content sharing and presentations. A single lectern position provides in-room control via a Crestron touch panel, and the room also features a 16x16 Crestron matrix.
The MBA Leaning space is a group-style teaching environment with centralised lectern control by Crestron and dual displays (Sony 85-in 4K), with mounts provided by Peerless-AV. The additional common area is a more relaxed space for breakout activities, both areas have displays for digital signage and IPTV, provided by Onelan. Individual meeting rooms are pared back and feature Sony 55-in displays, in-table AV modules and basic Crestron room control.
The Centenary Building is monitored and managed by a Crestron Fusion management system which can feedback data on room usage and any hardware issues. Digital signage throughout the lobby areas around the main lecture theatre at both levels consist of 60-in LED Samsung displays and a Samsung 3x3 LED videowall all run by Onelan digital signage players, Crestron control and JBL wall speakers for improved audio output. Content for the videowall is produced by the university themselves. An Ampetronic induction loop system runs throughout to support any students and staff with hearing difficulties.
The complete installation took seven months from start to finish, and the majority of the project was specified within the Cundall specification says Everard. “However proAV was asked to change some equipment based on current standards set by the university's in house AV team (iSolutions).” All equipment was built and tested at proAV’s offsite facility before deployment.
One difficult element in major AV projects like this can be getting a buy-in from the on-site IT team, so how did proAV manage it here? “One of the major changes was the Crestron GUI, the university had a set layout it had used for many years but this would make using rooms such as the flat floor space very difficult due to the number of sources and displays. Our programmers put together a number of new GUI designs to allow the University to pick what they felt would work for the academic staff to ensure easy adoption.”
There were three main challenges on the project to overcome says Steven Clinkscale, tech manager, proAV. The first was ensuring the correct sequencing took place for AV, “The principal contractor was good enough to prioritise rooms that had AV in so we could get ahead in the programme. Some rooms were fully complete months before other areas.” The second challenge was coordinating the main lecture theatre, “Due to the height of the space we had to focus on high-level equipment many months before the rest of the space, and a false floor was built to give access to the ceiling, obviously we had to be sure nothing was left out as it would have been nigh on impossible to reach the ceiling later,” says Clinkscale. The third challenge was integrating the two large projection screens, “There was limited space, due to the two bespoke teaching boards being installed underneath them. There had to be some tweaks made to the boards before the screens were installed to ensure enough space.”
The Centenary Building has marked the 100-year history in style with a building that is futureproof and offers a variety of flexible spaces of different sizes for both staff and students as well as study areas for students to focus and revise.
KIT LIST
Audio
Ampetronic induction loops
Audio Technica ES935C6 gooseneck mics
Biamp Tesira Forte DSP
Extron DMP 44 LCD audio matrix
Inter-M PAM-120A amplifiers
JBL Control 5 pendant speakers
KEF Ci200QR ceiling speakers
Revolabs HDEXEMICEU-11 wireless mics
Video
Axis M5014 PTZ camera
Crestron TSW-1060-B-S touch panels, DM PS3-300-C switcher, DM-MD16x16 maxtrix switcher
Dalen security enclosures
DNP Supernova Infinity projection screens
Epson EB-L1500UH projectors
Extron SW2 H4K switcher, DSC 301 HD scaler
Iiyama T2252MSC-B1 22-in touchscreens
NEC V984Q 98-in LFD, E556 55-in LCD display
Magewell HDMI to USB capture device
Onelan NTB-4K-1000-S digital signage players
Peerless-AV mounts
Samsung QM75H 75-in displays, QM65J 65-in displays, UD55E-A 55-in displays,
Sony FW-85BZ35F 85-in displays, FW-75BZ35F 75-in displays, FW-49BZ35F 49-in displays
Top-Tec Gemini 2200 Duet lectern
Unicol mounts
Wolfvision VZ-3 Series document camera