Discussions began over 12 months ago about the feasibility of holding simultaneous presentations in such a big hall: the requirement was to create eleven 'rooms' - nine to hold 880 people, one to accommodate 1650 and another for 2050 people. The task was to create a cost-effective solution built in a limited time and to provide a high quality finish complete with the all-important soundproof property. As a result, planning began early on as Blackout Triple E and production company Ultimate Events embarked on a series of audio tests with Delta Sound Systems. Such tests necessitated a complete test build of one room plus various temporary structures, which all took place in the venue before the building had actually been commissioned.
The final acoustic solution was to build the rooms with double lined drape walls, hung from catenaries attached directly to the roof structure. The walls included an essential acoustic air gap and were finished at ground level by temporary walling supplied locally. Specific attention was also applied to the air-conditioning system, which entailed one wall in each room having a staggered gap in order to allow airflow. The final event was a huge industry project involving a crew of 350 from many international suppliers working for a period of nearly four weeks.
