Supélec and the Paris École Centrale – CentraleSupélec recently inaugurated its third campus on the outskirts of South West Paris.
In order to offer an environment favouring knowledge and training to the next generation of engineers, the school trusted French scenography agency dUCKS scéno, who worked closely with AV solutions integrator Tech-Audio. For the main auditoriums and lecture halls, which are used for lectures and classes and various events including graduation ceremonies, conferences and shows, the integrator specified laser projectors from British manufacturer Digital Projection.
Amélie Chasseriaux, project manager at dUCKS scéno, explained: “This project integrates floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the atrium which spreads across all amphitheatres. It was critical to be able to benefit from powerful projectors capable of delivering enough brightness for students to be able to clearly see the content while taking notes in broad daylight, without having to resort to black-out curtains.”
A total of 12 Digital Projection laser projectors were deployed within the Gustave Eiffel building: seven E-Vision Laser 6500 projectors are installed in the “smaller” 50 to 120 seater auditorium, while an E-Vision Laser 8500 ensures visual content for the 120 seat theatre. Two further M-Vision Laser projectors cater for the school catering area, while three E-Vision Laser 8500s were specified for the Grand Hémicycle, the largest lecture hall which seats 960 students. Extron switching matrices and DTP / HDMI converters were installed upstream, and all control rooms are connected by fibre bypasses to allow for live events transmissions from and to the main areas of the building.
It was important for all stakeholders to respect the architectural work from OMA as well as the dUCKS scéno concept. “The main lecture hall was without any doubt the most complex in terms of integration,” conceded Amélie Chasseriaux.”It was simply impossible to install the projectors in the back of the atrium because of the height of the ceiling and the fact that there was no control room. In order to minimise the visual impact of the projectors, we opted for a rear projection configuration using 0.38:1 ultra-short throw lenses.”
The screens and projectors are rigged under winches and pantographs, and can be hidden in the ceiling when the room is used. When content projection is required, all three screens along with the three projectors automatically come down from the ceiling to reach their position.
Students have been benefiting from the AV equipment since the beginning of the academic year, taking ownership quickly. All lectures and courses can be recorded and made available on the school’s educational platform, thanks to a fully automated video editing system.
