Case Study: Royal West Academy Of Art

The Royal West of England Academy (RWA) is one of only five Royal Academies of Art in the UK, as a registered charity the RWA has been required to be self-supporting which it has done successfully for over 150 years. The RWA possesses an outstanding Grade II* listed building, galleries and permanent fine art collection and also has HM Queen Elizabeth II as its patron.

Requirement

ITSL Group were engaged prior to the RWA’s refurbishment of the lower levels, one of the existing galleries was planned for conversion into a multipurpose space enabled for meetings, conferences and an additional gallery. The requirement was to provide a flexible system that would be able to switch multiple video sources from the various room layouts, control projection and audio from both the lectern and rear of the room. The audio system was required to be as flexible as the video, the room was designed for program audio but also needed to perform well with voice reinforcement as well as being sympathetic to the aesthetic needs of the building. Lighting was the final consideration, ITSL Group were required to interface with the RWA Helvar lighting system.

Solution

The design proposal was based around the Crestron MPS-250 Multimedia Presentation System, the MPS-250 offers a complete room solution using integrated video & audio switching, internal amplifier, microphone mixing and control processing. The room was laid out into three main areas, lectern, meeting room and rack, the lectern had multiple VGA, stereo audio and microphone inputs as well as a Crestron MPS-B20 control panel. The lectern functionality was repeated at the rear of the room at the rack with the meeting room layout being offered single VGA and audio inputs from the floorbox. A Sanyo 4000 lumen projector was specified due to the high ambient light levels in the room and a Draper high contrast projection surface was chosen to increase the final image quality, these items were controlled via the Crestron MPS-250 processor.
The audio was delivered by utilising directional ceiling speakers to reduce the possibility of feedback through the lectern microphone and the lighting was controlled via RS232 using the Crestron MPS-250 processor.

Equipment

1 x Crestron MPS-250 Processor
2 x Crestron MPC-B20 Control Panel
6 x Tannoy 400DCe Ceiling Speaker
1 x Shure SM400 Gooseneck Microphone
1 x Signet Induction Loop
1 x Sanyo Installation Projector
1 x Draper High Contrast Electric Screen

How will ITSL work with you?

We at ITSL believe in simple, time-tested and robust working principles. The way we work with clients is simple and straightforward. Our projects are divided into 4 main stages.

Consultancy

This is the initial stage of every AV project. Here our aim is to meet our clients and talk about their needs and the final results they want to achieve.

Design

During this stage, our experts will design the solution for our clients and present it to them in a clear and easy to understand manner.

Supply

Once the design is approved ITSL will take care of contacting suppliers and ensure that every piece of hardware is ready for the project at the most cost efficient price.

Installation

Installation is when everything starts coming together. Our qualified engineers will work on-site with you to ensure that everything is to spec.

Commissioning

Before the launch of an AV solution, we run extensive QA to ensure that everything works as intended.

Training

After we’ve finalised the AV project and the hardware is ready to go live we will take care of training all of the staff that will operate it.

Maintenance

AV hardware runs best when it’s properly maintained. ITSL will provide scheduled maintenance on both the hardware and the software.

Support

Even after the work has been completed our clients can still rely on ITSL to take care of any problems on the equipment whenever the need arises.