A two-channel, four-speaker system the events programme had outgrown
Full 7.1 surround sound for film screenings
A breakout room that faces the stage or rotates 90°
Speaker positions restricted by Grade II listed status
13 speakers across both rooms, one flexible system
Royal Institute of British Architects, London
13 speakers cover every shape Jarvis Hall can take
Jarvis Hall has been the Royal Institute of British Architects' lecture and examination space since its London headquarters opened in the 1930s. Behind a moving tapestry, a hidden breakout room lifts the 284-seat hall to a 400-person capacity and can rotate its orientation by 90°. The upgrade had one brief: full 7.1 surround sound and multi-room flexibility, inside a Grade II listed building.
Case Study
Cultural / Theater
Electro-Voice
Dynacord
Europe
Royal Institute of British Architects, London
13 speakers cover every shape Jarvis Hall can take
Case Study
Cultural / Theater
Electro-Voice
Dynacord
Europe
Jarvis Hall has been the Royal Institute of British Architects' lecture and examination space since its London headquarters opened in the 1930s. Behind a moving tapestry, a hidden breakout room lifts the 284-seat hall to a 400-person capacity and can rotate its orientation by 90°. The upgrade had one brief: full 7.1 surround sound and multi-room flexibility, inside a Grade II listed building.
- Venue
- Royal Institute of British Architects
- Location
- London, United Kingdom
- Install partner
- T S Professional Sound+Light
- Product highlights
- Electro-Voice EVC, EVU · Dynacord IPX10:8, SONICUE
The venue
A 1930s hall that changes shape
The Royal Institute of British Architects opened its London headquarters in the 1930s, with Jarvis Hall created as its lecture and examination space. The main hall seats 284. Slide back the moving tapestry at the rear and a hidden breakout room lifts capacity to 400, either facing the main stage as one large hall or rotated 90° as a space of its own.
RIBA's events programme had outgrown the audio. A two-channel, four-speaker system could not deliver the full 7.1 surround sound that film screenings now demanded, and any new hardware had to respect the protected historic building. T S Professional Sound+Light took on the project with a clear brief: a system as flexible as the room itself.
“We originally had quite a limited system in here. We had a two-channel, four-speaker system but because things have grown for RIBA on the events side, we required full 7.1 surround sound to cater to film screenings. In addition to this, the orientation in the breakout room can either face the main stage when it is being used as one large hall or can be rotated 90°. This led to a design with 13 speakers across both rooms.”
Steve Barrett-WhiteAV Manager, RIBA
The challenge
Surround sound for every configuration of a listed hall
Every event at Jarvis Hall can mean a different room: one large hall or two separate spaces, a breakout room facing the stage or rotated 90°, a lecture one day and a film screening the next. The design answer was 13 speakers across both rooms, all working as one system.
The building's Grade II listed status restricted where those speakers could go. Positions were plotted on custom brackets and the design agreed in consultation with Electro-Voice before installation began.
The solution
Electro-Voice coverage, Dynacord power and control
Over 3 days, the T S Professional Sound+Light team installed Electro-Voice EVC-1122s as the main system, EVC-1082s as side fills, and EVU-2082Bs as centre fills in the main hall, with a pair of EVC-1181 subwoofers under the stage for low-frequency support. The breakout space features 3 more EVC-1082s to serve either orientation.
Power and control run through a pair of Dynacord IPX10:8 amplifiers. The 8-channel installation-dedicated models carry fully integrated high-resolution 96 kHz DSP with Dante and OCA functionality, which eliminated the need for a separate audio matrix. SONICUE sound system software completes the setup, giving RIBA's engineers a real-time speaker view GUI to monitor impedance, control levels, and mute speakers when needed.
- Electro-Voice EVC-1122 main loudspeakers
- Electro-Voice EVC-1082 side fills and breakout room coverage
- Electro-Voice EVU-2082B centre fills
- 2 Electro-Voice EVC-1181 subwoofers under the stage
- 2 Dynacord IPX10:8 amplifiers with 96 kHz DSP, Dante, and OCA
- SONICUE Sound System Software
“It had to be surround, but we were restricted with where we could install the speakers by the Grade II listed building status. So, we plotted where the speakers could be installed on custom brackets and agreed on a design in consultation with Electro-Voice.”
Keith UptonManaging Director, T S Professional Sound+Light
The result
A system as flexible as the room itself
RIBA's technicians now select a preconfigured amplifier setting for each use of the hall, whether it runs as a 284-seat lecture space or a 400-person room with the tapestry drawn back. That has opened up the possibilities for how the space is used, and the team can assure clients the sound system is optimized for their needs.
For RIBA, the flexibility ran both ways: Electro-Voice and Dynacord came out as the number one choice for Jarvis Hall because of how the brands worked with the venue and its architects to create the best possible system for the space.
One preconfigured setting per hall configuration
Full 7.1 surround sound for film screenings
Real-time monitoring in SONICUE's speaker view
Custom brackets that respect the Grade II listed interior
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