Grow with the Flow
Nov 1, 2001 12:00 PM,
By Debbie Elcock
IF YOU ARE PLEASANTLY SURPRISED TO FIND A gurgling brook lined with lush flora in the middle of an office court, the chances are good that Aquascape had something to do with it. Aquascape Designs Inc. manufactures ready-to-assemble pond kits and water gardens. Founded over a decade ago in Batavia, Illinois, Aquascape today is one of the fastest-growing privately held companies in the nation.
With two divisions, the company stays busy all year round, averaging over 150 installations a year. During summer months, Aquascape’s construction division installs and upgrades its unique integrated pond systems and oversees company research and development, continually upgrading and refining the company’s pond designs. During the winter months, Aquascape educates landscapers and pond installers around the country on the simplicity and benefits of aquascaping. Build-A-Pond Day is one of the educational programs Aquascape uses to increase product awareness.
Aquascape founder and president Greg Wittstock (“The Pond Guy”) built a business on ponds that work in harmony with Mother Nature. Wittstock works toward a similar harmony for his employees, fostering personal development and goal achievement for everyone. In keeping with the company’s principles, Aquascape created a work environment that gives employees the comforts of home. When the company moved into its new state-of-the-art facility — complete with audio, video and telecom applications throughout — substantial attention was paid to furnishing the facility with the latest equipment and technology for employee enjoyment and recreation.
THE COMFORTS OF HOME
“People are most familiar with the home environment,” said Joe Karlich, Aquascape CIO. “It’s easier to transition to a work environment when you enjoy the same amenities you do at home.”
Among the amenities included are a lounge, fitness center, putting green, and a sports court where employees play basketball, tennis and street hockey. In addition, Aquascape installed an audio system to enhance the surroundings. Aquascape’s total investment to create this home-like environment came to tens of thousands of dollars per employee. “We wanted to create an environment where our employees would enjoy coming to work,” said Karlich.
The east side of the building is where employees go for fun. Located on the first floor, the gym and lunchroom have both audio and video systems installed. The second floor, known as the entertainment center, includes the sport court, ping-pong table, fooz-ball table and other spaces for leisure activities. Next to the sport court is the lounge, where employees can watch television on a large LCD projection screen that is hooked up to a satellite receiver.
A ROBUST WORKSPACE
The 100,000 square feet of warehouse and office space that comprise the rest of the building are devoted to accommodating Aquascape’s increasing business. The 76,000-square-foot distribution center/warehouse required an effective audiovisual system with high-quality music and paging. “We were impressed with the audio/video setup at a local sports venue,” said Karlich. “It was similar to what we had in mind for Aquascape. We asked the owner who had done the installation, and he referred us to Brad Lound, owner of L&M Antenna & Satellite, a Chicago-based video contractor.”
L&M sub-contracted Procom Sound Systems of Burr Ridge, Illinois, to install the audio. For Procom president, Keith Spale, Aquascape was, “one of the largest projects we have ever done.”
L&M’s Lound stated, “We do a lot of custom work on restaurants and bars. There’s no such thing as a cookie-cutter way to design an installation. We work with each client to make sure they get what they want.” Aquascape was no exception. A system was specifically designed to give them the ability to add onto the A/V systems down the road.
Part of the custom design involved SoundTube speakers. Asked about the Aquascape installation, David Wiener, chairman and CEO of SoundTube Entertainment said, “[We are] very excited to work with a reputable company like Procom, who takes pride in installing high-quality audio systems designed to meet the needs of their clients.”
Distribution Center
The audio system operates through a combination of wall selectors and infrared remotes controlling the tuner and satellite. A 25-disc CD changer and amplifier were installed in the distribution center, enabling the employees to play their own CDs.
“Aquascape wanted a high-fidelity system for music and paging in the distribution center,” explained Spale. “Their previous warehouse speaker system was not laid out well, which lead to many dead spots throughout the warehouse. From the beginning, I recommended installing 24 SoundTube HPR8-T60 speakers distributed throughout the space. But because of the storage rack layout, we added three supplementary SoundTube HPR8-T60s for complete coverage.”
In the large, cavernous room with a lot of concrete and cinderblock surfaces, the main challenge was installing a sound system that would evenly distribute audio throughout the space. The number of hard surfaces gave the area a lot of reverberation and made it very difficult to spec the room. “Because of high ceilings and hard surfaces, our warehouse is not a typical audio install,” Karlich added. “We wanted a speaker system that would give us full coverage over the entire warehouse.” SoundTube’s HPR8s did just that.
The HPR8 is a high-efficiency, high-SPL speaker with an 8-inch driver using SoundTube’s patented BroadBeam technology, which dramatically reduces the number of speakers necessary for even coverage and high-quality sound. Components include a coincident driver and 2-inch titanium compression tweeter. Time alignment, smooth polar response and ultra-high SPL are some features of the HPR8-T60. SoundTube’s HP series’ sensitivity ranges from 94-98dB 1W/1m with maximum SPL levels up to 120 dB.
The warehouse ceiling height ranges from 33 feet in the center to 28 feet at the eaves, making it very difficult to get full, even sound coverage throughout the distribution center, with typical mounting hardware. “Once we determined the best height for the speakers, we used SoundTube’s standard mounting solution for open-ceiling applications. We hung SoundTube’s off-the-shelf aircraft cable from the support beams to the high-power speakers at a consistent 25-foot elevation,” said Spale. “The hanging cables gave us the ability to adjust the height of each speaker. If the HPR8 did not exist, the warehouse install would have been much more difficult with compromised sound coverage.”
“The SoundTube speakers sound incredible,” Karlich added. “Walking from one side of the warehouse to the other, you cannot tell where the speakers are located. The system produces an intelligible, even wash of high-quality sound throughout the warehouse without inhibiting the functionality of the space.”
Using SoundTube’s HPR8-T60 speakers, Procom completed the warehouse installation in just three days, including wiring and leveling the speakers. Procom had phase one of the Aquascape installation completed in about three weeks. Phase two, the east side of the building, was recently completed with both audio and video components.
Offices
Audio and video capabilities were installed throughout the 11,000-square-foot office space. “Based on the ceiling height and square footage of the main office area, 26 Soundolier FA138-T87 speakers were equally spaced to form two rows of 13 and installed into the drop ceiling structure overhead,” explained Spale. “The remaining two Soundolier FA138-T87s were installed in the two restrooms.”
Procom installed Speakercraft 6.1MT2 in-wall loudspeakers in each of the four corners of the president’s office, directing sound to the desk from all angles.
Each individual office was set up so employees could create their own environments. Using the remote control, employees can listen to anything from jazz to alternative rock to ESPN Sports Center. A wall-mounted infrared eye was placed near every desk to operate the audio system by remote control. Mounted to each desk in each office is a 5-inch black-and-white monitor for audio and video programs.
The main controls were programmed using a ProntoEdit remote control. The Pronto remote, known for its adaptability, allows the user to customize his or her own device. The touchscreen is programmable to automate certain key functions on the remote. “We pre-programmed the system for simplicity,” said Karlich. “We did not want to confuse anyone using the remotes, so we programmed all audio and video signals to work the same on all remotes.”
ENTERTAINMENT CENTER
In addition to the main office area, Procom installed two Soundolier FA138s in both the lunchroom and gym. In each area, the two speakers were equally spaced and installed into the drop-tile ceiling.
The entire facility was wired for video. Satellite splitters are used to hook up the Direct TV satellite system to 23 Sony SAT-B55 satellite receivers. At this time, only the east side of the building is using video screens. Both the lunchroom and lounge are set up with InFocus projectors and Tivo satellite receivers. The fitness center has three 27-inch JVC televisions installed for employees to watch as they work out.
Audio and video connections, along with an RS-232 jack, have been installed in the lunchroom and lounge. Aquascape uses the lunchroom for company meetings, so the area needed to remain free of equipment and clutter. The RS-232 jack allows a laptop, VCR, satellite or DVD player to be connected to a permanently mounted ceiling projector.
SYSTEM CONTROL
Located in Aquascape’s main computer room, three 7-foot-tall equipment racks hold the amplifiers and processors for the large multipurpose system. The equipment racks house all the control systems, keeping the office area free of electrical equipment and wires. “We had some concerns that we made sure to address with Procom,” said Karlich. “We wanted all our components protected from dust, heat and foot traffic.” The only things the user sees are infrared collectors and wall-mount source selectors.
Twenty Separate Zones
Each zone has been set up with its own satellite receiver and tuner. These same zones also share two 25-disc CD changers. “The shared audio sources had to be split into 20 separate zones and wired for both mono and stereo,” explained Spale. Installing two RDL ST-MX3 stereo-to-mono summing mixers, Procom summed the left and right audio signal to mono for select zones.
Procom also installed three Rane DA216a distribution amplifiers to send the audio signal from the CD players to each zone amplifier. Mono zones incorporate all individual offices, open office space, the lobby, the warehouse and the sport court. The stereo zones include the lunchroom, gym, conference room, meeting room and the president’s office.
The systems in the individual offices, conference and meeting rooms operate via infrared remotes. Xantech infrared emitters and receivers were installed in each of these rooms to transmit signals from remote controls to the main components. To provide power and control of perimeter rooms and offices, Procom installed 19 JVC RX-5000VBK receivers. The rest of the building has a combination of infrared remote controls and wall-mount selectors.
“In public areas, [Aquascape] wanted hands-on audio selectors for ease of accessibility,” said Spale. “Rane 4-channel wall selectors (source select and volume) were installed to interface with five Rane CP52 zone processors.” Rane CP52s control the audio for the distribution center and main offices. To power those areas, a Crown CH2 dual-channel power amp is used. Rane CP52 processors also control the lunchroom, gym and sport court. Crown’s CP660 6-channel amplifier powers the entertainment center located on the east side of the building.
Paging was set up through the phone system. Punching the keypad on the phone allows the user to access the paging system; when it’s active, the music ducks.
RESULTS
“We knew this was a large project. Both L&M and Procom were willing to take a swipe at it,” said Karlich. “Keith and Brad both did a wonderful job. They listened to our needs and accomplished our main objectives.”
“We are happy with the end result,” Karlich added. Procom was able to design the system so everyone could enjoy their own audio selections. “One thing I’ve learned from this installation is that even with the best components, the remote control system makes the installation,” said Karlich. “With simplicity comes enjoyment using the system.”
“The performance is outstanding,” commented Spale. “The finished product sounds incredible and the fidelity is way above our expectations.”
Debbie Elcock is an independent writer.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Atlas-Soundolier
www.atlas-soundolier.com
Circle 238 on Reader Service Card
Crown
www.crownaudio.com
Circle 239 on Reader Service Card
Direct TV
www.directtv.com
Circle 240 on Reader Service Card
InFocus
www.infocus.com
Circle 241 on Reader Service Card
JVC
www.jvc.com/pro
Circle 242 on Reader Service Card
ProntoEdit
www.prontoedit.com
Circle 243 on Reader Service Card
Rane
www.rane.com
Circle 244 on Reader Service Card
RDL
www.rdlnet.com
Circle 245 on Reader Service Card
Sony
www.sony.com/professional
Circle 246 on Reader Service Card
SoundTube
www.soundtube.com
Circle 247 on Reader Service Card
Speakercraft
www.speakercraft.com
Circle 248 on Reader Service Card
TiVo
www.tivo.com
Circle 249 on Reader Service Card
Xantech
www.xantech.com
Circle 250 on Reader Service Card
