Masjid Misr
10.000 sqm marbel mosque in Africa
Delivering on Egypt Vision 2030
To alleviate pressure on public infrastructure in Cairo, the Egyptian government made the bold decision to move all municipal activity and official governing institutions to a newly created administrative capital, 50km outside of the city.
The Misr Cultural Islamic Centre (MCIC) is one of a variety of sites in the new capital including entertainment venues, stadiums, parliament, a presidential palace and other cultural entities.
HOLOPLOT has provided the audio solution for the Misr Mosque, situated in the heart of the MCIC complex.
Masjid Misr
Introduction
The brief
Deliver the highest possible audio intelligibility for an extremely reverberant 10.000sqm space, while protecting the architectural integrity of the building.
The solution
A hidden HOLOPLOT X1 sound system.
Applying X1’s revolutionary sound control capabilities, the installed system achieves unmatched intelligibility, with dramatically reduced hardware installation requirements.
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50%
reduction in acoustic treatment
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70%
reduction in hardware installation points
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0.6
average STI measurement
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100%
uncompromised interior design
“Our arrays are sized and positioned for coverage from exceptionally remote and high locations - up to 23m from the ground - yet still deliver incredibly high speech transmission index values.”
Emad El-Saghir, Fellow at HOLOPLOT
Masjid Misr
High expectations
01. Create the most engaging, intelligible worship experience
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Unmatched intelligibility
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Consistent listening experience across the entire mosque
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Correct audio localisation for all positions
02. Preserve the architectural vision of the mosque
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Leave the marble interior and ornate decorations untouched
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Minimise visible technology
03. Deliver an intelligent, flexible system design
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The system configuration is optimized for standing and kneeling listening positions with no need to manually switch between presets
Create connection
in a staggeringly large space
The mosque covers an impressive area of 10,000 m2 with most of the surfaces exposed to sound made from highly reverberant marble.
The central dome is 60m high and the interior worship space broken up by a number of pillars, also made from marble.
An unconventional approach
Targeting and avoiding
To optimize intelligibility, all areas not regarded as listening areas or areas that could cause reflections are designated as avoidance zones within HOLOPLOT design software.
Thanks to its sound control capabilities in both the horizontal as well as vertical axis, X1 has the unmatched ability to actively prevent undesired energy spillage onto any room boundary, including the side walls. HOLOPLOT 3D Audio-Beamforming technology enables the precise steering of sound, allowing for sound to be contained within defined zones.
This combination of target and avoidance zones inside the system design approach significantly improves speech intelligibility without the need to acoustically treat the space.
The corridor
Beams
Two 4x2 X1 arrays situated on the far left and right hand side of the building create coverage corridors, delivering clear audio without a drop in level for an area that’s 93m long and 18m wide respectively.
SPL
Results
SPL homogeneity in the corridors (targeted) is 84% at +/- 3dB while in the central areas (avoided) the SPL drops by 13 dB at 1kHz.
The front
Beams
X1 arrays in 3x1 and 2x1 configurations are positioned on either side of the entrance, with the minbar (prayer pulpit) to the left. This part of the system design covers the frontal congregation space with clear, targeted audio - the precision helps to keep levels around the minbar to a minimum by avoiding feedback and interference echos.
SPL
Results
SPL homogeneity in the front (targeted) is 89% at +/- 3dB while in the central areas & corridors (avoided) the SPL drops by 13 dB at 1kHz.
The center
Beams
X1 arrays in 2x2 configuration at the dome targeted to the audience area below are at exceptionally high mounting positions (23m) yet are still able to provide high quality audio with great intelligibility.
SPL
Results
SPL homogeneity in the central area (targeted) is virtually 100% at +/- 3dB while in the front & corridor areas (avoided) the SPL drops by 7 dB at 1kHz and 10 dB at 2kHz.
The back
Beams
Another X1 array in 2x2 configuration at the dome targeted to the audience area below is at an exceptionally high mounting position (17.5m) yet is still able to provide high quality audio with great intelligibility to cover a 50mx25m rear area.
SPL
Results
SPL homogeneity in the central area (targeted) is 85% at +/- 3dB while in the front, central & corridor areas (avoided) the SPL drops by 18 dB at 1kHz and 20 dB at 2kHz with virtually 100% of homogeneity..
Array positioning
A hardware vanishing act
It’s not unusual that attempts are made to hide or mask loudspeakers and associated hardware in an installation environment. Color matching, flush mounting and screens are often considered.
In this instance two methods were used to physically conceal X1 modules - metal screens and painted cloth.
What is particularly unusual however - and truly unique to HOLOPLOT - is the fact that X1 is mounted as high as 23 metres in the air, far out of sight and mind, with no compromise to sonic performance. An incredible difference from the ideal mounting height for most conventional sound system solutions.
Add to this X1’s ability to intelligibly compensate for signal loss caused by masking materials via its proprietary algorithms and we have what can only be described as a ‘hardware vanishing act’.
"Thanks to X1’s ability to not only control sound in the vertical but also horizontal, it achieves unbelievable intelligibility.
HOLOPLOT exceeded our expectations in both the quality of sound, and in hiding the equipment in such a way that it blends in seamlessly with the interior."
— Emad Shenouda,
Projects Director at integrator Audio Technology
