Toronto, Ontario, Canada – October 16, 2008 … The glass facade represents transparency – for this building is designed not only as a theater, but will also act as an interface between the Graz University of Arts (KUG) and the public. The House for Music and Music Theatre (MUMUTH) combines stage, teaching, and rehearsal facilities, as well as an open foyer that enables the public to learn more about the KUG and its activities.
This impressive new building, with its unique central spiral element, was designed by the Dutch architectural design group UNStudio Ben van Berkel and Bos – following an international competition that had 212 entries; the project has already been shown as the Austrian contribution to the Venice Biennale Arts Exhibition.
After two years of construction, the building was handed over to the KUG. The official opening ceremony will take place on 1st of March 2009 with a performance of Mozart’s Magic Flute.
At the heart of the MUMUTH building is a large theater that can be used as a rehearsal and workshop area, a concert hall, or a musical theater stage. It is designed for both classical musical theater as well as modern music performances (including electronic music concerts) and features a public address system based on Ambisonics. This technique, realized in the MUMUTH with 29 individually controlled loudspeakers placed in the domed ceiling, is just one focus of research at the Institute for Electronic Music and Acoustics at the KUG; the system operation software has been developed in-house by the Graz scientists.
The audio mixing console installed at Graz will be an OB van variant of the Lawo mc²66 console (without stand). It is equipped with 32 faders and provides 144 DSP channels, plus a router with 9 MADI ports and 8,000 x 8,000 crosspoints. The decision to choose Lawo was based on – among other reasons – the openness of the mc² system to external control. Further benefits include the “star-like networkability with a long-distance remote core and I/O, as well as the large and flexible matrix”.
Another complex Lawo reference project in the theater and experimental field in Austria is the floating stage Bregenz, since 2004 successfully using two mc²66 plus three Nova73 HD cores in a wave field configuration.
About Lawo
Lawo is a manufacturer of digital audio networking systems and consoles for a wide range of applications from small to large scale audio production in television and radio, post production, and live sound. Established in the 1970s, the company’s manufacturing center is located in the Rhine valley town of Rastatt, Germany. For additional information on Lawo’s mc²66 console and all Lawo products, visit the company online at www.lawo.ca.
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