With the installation of a Constellation® acoustic system by Meyer Sound,
Copenhagen’s new Maersk Building demonstrates a major commitment to world-class
dynamic and collaborative 21st-century learning.

Located at the Panum Institute’s Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences on the North
Campus of the University of Copenhagen, the striking new 15-story Maersk Tower
showcases the Constellation in three distinct auditoriums. With more than 300
loudspeakers in three venues, the Maersk Tower boasts by far the largest education-
focused Constellation installation in the world — signalling an important step forward
in the use of sophisticated acoustic technology in support of modern research and
teaching.

All AV systems at the site were designed, engineered and installed by Stouenborg ApS
of Copenhagen under the supervision of project leader Anders Jorgensen.
“The A.P. Møller Foundation’s commitment to offering the most advanced acoustic
solution to the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences was critical to the success of
the project,” says Jorgensen. “Indeed, all principal parties involved in the project
agreed that Constellation would be a catalyst for deeper and more collaborative
learning experiences. By applying the most advanced audio technology, we are able to
offer the ultimate flexibility for each room. Different acoustic settings can be
customised to synchronise with the presentation, whether that is a lecture format, Q
and A, discussion, or even a musical performance. With Constellation, there is no
need for radio mics, eliminating the separation between teacher and learner and
allowing free and perfectly intelligible communication even in an audience of 504
seats. The possibilities are endless in terms of collaboration and new dimensions in
learning.”

Funding for the $225 million addition to the Panum Institute came through a public-
private partnership, with the A.P. Møller Foundation working closely alongside the
Danish Building & Property Agency — as the owner of the building — on the project.
The facility is occupied by the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences and will be used
for education as well as research activities.

“We expect that the Constellation systems, in conjunction with other state-of-the-art
AV technologies within the auditoria, will introduce the highest possible quality of
sound,” remarks Pernille Illum, project consultant with the A.P. Møller Foundation.
“This will drive further developments in teaching and communication, benefiting
students as well as international conferences. We expect these auditoria to become
widely known and sought-after for these unique qualities.”

In the Maersk Tower auditoriums, the Constellation systems tailor the acoustic
characteristics of the space with the touch of a button. In presentation mode,
Constellation carries the voice of a lecturer throughout the room without need of a
podium or headset microphone. In Q&A mode, both lecturer and students can hear
each other without passing around handheld microphones. In one auditorium with
flexible seating (including tables as needed), a group discussion mode allows students
around a table to hear each other clearly while masking distracting conversations from
adjoining groups. Ideal acoustics can also be created for special evenings featuring
musical or theatrical performances.

We expect that Constellation will provide an opportunity to increase communication
among scientists and students by simplifying and supporting their verbal interaction,”
comments Lars Ole Munch Nissen, campus architect and team leader for the
University of Copenhagen. “The systems also will support extended use of blended
learning practices — known to help the study environment.”

Constellation creates flexible acoustics using multiple distributed microphones, placed
throughout the space, which feed signals to a powerful D-Mitri digital audio platform
for processing by the patented VRAS algorithms. The acoustical signature of the room,
as determined by the chosen preset, is generated by dozens of small, self-powered
loudspeakers placed discreetly overhead and around the walls.

The equipment complement required by Constellation is proportional to room size.
The largest auditorium, seating 550, deploys a total of 89 microphones, 124
loudspeakers and 19 networked D-Mitri frames, including core processing, D-VRAS
and input/output. The other two auditoriums, seating 220 and 120, have systems with
32 microphones and 97 loudspeakers; and 32 microphones with 88 loudspeakers. In
addition to the ultra-compact MM-4XP and MM-4XPD self-powered loudspeakers, the
systems also include MM-10XP subwoofers for full bandwidth reproduction. Presets
with extended reverberation envelopes allow use of Constellation to create completely
natural acoustical environments for musical performances, a possible alternate use for
the auditoriums on special occasions.

A fourth, 120-seat space, features two CAL 32 self-powered steerable column array
loudspeakers — widely hailed as a quantum leap forward in steerable array technology
that offers an unprecedented level of accuracy both in its sonic quality and
directionality. CAL is another example of unique solutions that develop from a Meyer
Sound culture that is also dedicated to research and the application of science-based
solutions to some of the most difficult problems confronting audio professionals. The
last 20 Stella 8C ceiling loudspeakers and four MM-10XPs are spread out on two
conference halls and a lecture hall at the top level on the 15th floor. Here, listeners
can enjoy not only the sonic precision of Stella 8C ceiling loudspeakers but also the
incredible view over Copenhagen.

The Maersk building’s full AV infrastructure required the installation of more than 22
km of cable, most of it Cat6a to support current and future networked applications.
Both the Meyer Sound D-Mitri and Biamp Systems Tesira (used for auxiliary systems
and smaller rooms) platforms share the common AVB open-source networking
protocols. Other key equipment specified by Stouenborg includes Panasonic video
screens and projectors, a 4k-capable Crestron Digital Media System, Onelan media
players, and Smart Graphics computer interfaces.

Throughout the project, Stouenborg qualified and evaluated competing products to
ensure that each installed component not only incorporated the latest technology but
also provided the highest overall quality and was best suited to the task. This was
certainly the case with the active acoustics system. “There is no other solution in the
world that comes close to Constellation,” says Stouenborg’s project leader, Anders
Jorgensen.

Opened in January 2017, the Maersk Tower expands the total floor space of the
Panum Institute by 40% and houses some of the world’s most advanced facilities for
medical education and research. The building’s name reflects funding and planning
support from the A.P. Møller Foundation which was established by Mr A.P Møller, who
founded the Maersk Group with his father, Captain Peter Maersk Møller.

In the past ten years, Stouenborg has become one of Denmark’s most influential and
award-winning consulting integrator firms for audio, light and AV. Stouenborg has
pioneered the use of Meyer Sound’s Constellation system in Europe, installing the first
voice-lift system in Europe at Jyske Bank in Denmark. Stouenberg’s Meyer Sound
installation at Blue Planet, the largest aquarium in Northern Europe with more than
700,000 annual visitors, earned both the Commercial Integrator award in Las Vegas
and InAVate award in Amsterdam. Among the Company’s many prestigious projects
with Meyer Sound are the new KPMG offices, the Danish National Maritime Museum,
and the new Ragnarok Museum for pop, rock and youth culture.