Michael David Leiboff

Retrofitting presentation technology within an existing facility can be challenging.  Perhaps most difficult is accommodating the desire to utilize state-of-the-art audiovisual equipment in a very traditional space, one that is valued for its "historic" look and feel.  While it is tempting to imagine, simplistically, a high tech veneer applied as an overlay, to a beloved, historic, high touch room, the goal of dramatic change, without significantly changing the environment, may be unrealistic.  Furthermore, attempting to hide the technology to preserve the original characteristics of the room, if it is possible at all, will likely be extremely expensive.

Successful modern presentation facilities have in common a number of key characteristics.  For example, all participants in a space can accomplish the following:

·         they can see the presentation

·         they can hear the presenter

·         they can interact with the presenter, and each other

·         they can view activities within the room, even if they are not physically present

In order to accomplish these and other goals, several simple design criteria must be met, among them:

·         visual display(s) and/or projector(s), must be appropriately sized and integrated within the room

·         various lighting scenarios must be available for different presentation scenarios, and external light sources must be voided

·         room acoustics need to be controlled, both from the standpoint of internal reverberation (room finishes) and ambient noise (adjacent mechanical and other noise sources)

·         audio speakers, microphones, video cameras, etc, must be mounted on room surfaces in such a way as not to impede their performance

·         power, LAN and low voltage wiring needed to integrate the various equipment elements must be furnished at the necessary locations

Achieving these design criteria require some physical manipulation of the environment, whether penetrating the floor to create wiring pathways or mounting a projection screen or flat panel display, etc.  While wiring can be made invisible, good quality visual display may not.  Keep in mind that retracting equipment within a floor, wall, or ceiling pocket (an expensive proposition at best) requires physical space, which may or may not be available.  Creating a good acoustic environment may entail altering room finishes.  And, a new lighting scheme, especially one to support video origination, can't help but change the ceiling plan.

Though much can be accomplished using wireless technology for control, LAN, and even video transmission, there is, often times, a trade-off in quality, and almost always entails a higher cost.  Small, ceiling mounted microphones can be used to minimize visual impact, for example, but almost always involve severe compromise in audio quality and intelligibility.

It may be tempting to provide power and wiring connectivity and utilize portable equipment.  This can be successful, but at the cost of intensive setup and break down time and personnel, which over the long run becomes tedious, and expensive.

Our purpose here is not to discourage the integration of high technology within a pre-existing traditional space, but to better match realistic user needs with appropriate expectations.  In order to do that, we recommend the following planning steps be considered.

·         Establish clear objectives for how the room will be used.  Merely envisioning a "flexible" space may diminish most uses beyond the lowest common denominators.

·         Establish appropriate user expectations in view of the physical volume of space available.  For example, if a space is very deep front to back (say 50') and the ceiling height is limited to about 8'6", it is not reasonable to expect that a single image at the front of the room will be visible to all participants.  The same would be true for a room that is very wide, even if not very deep, in spite of a taller ceiling height.

·         Prioritize user requirements.  Distinguished primary needs from those that are merely "nice to have"?  High quality video origination may be desirable, but will set in motion a subsequent set of design drivers that will impact lighting, acoustic and sight line issues.  By the same token, making a larger space divisible carries with it the cost of a movable wall, and the need to reposition it as needed.

·         Establish early on the costs of architecture renovation and equipment to ensure an appropriate balance between meeting needs and budget constraints, prior to solving technical problems, the solutions to which become moot after value engineering.

The integration of technology within an existing environment can be a worthwhile exercise, as long as one is mindful of the old axiom, you can't fit more than a gallon of milk in a gallon sized container.