The Project

The premier aquatic facility in the City of Nanaimo, BC, urgently required an upgrade. The legacy systems at the Nanaimo Aquatic Centre were failing. The original equipment was never meant for a wet environment and had stopped working.

Furthermore, the system was too complicated for most staff to operate. Too many knobs and connections left users confused about how to operate it.

The Challenge

Pools are a notoriously difficult acoustic space. Hard surfaces tend to bounce echoes around the room, spiking noise levels to uncomfortable levels. Noise can blur together, making listening difficult. To solve these problems, Chroma created a virtual acoustic model of the space. Based on this model, we precisely positioned speakers to avoid echo and optimize clarity.

The clients also required equipment that would stand the test of time. Pools are a corrosive, wet environment that can rapidly degrade electronics. Also we considered ease-of-repair and lifecycle cost when selecting equipment.

New programming demands also required the system to perform many tasks at once. For example: aquacise in the competition pool and background music in the leisure pool.

The Result

Chroma designed and specified a complete sound system for the pools. We selected speakers for their precise coverage pattern and for durability. We also ensured the system was installed safely and resisted the negative effects of a moist environment.

Working with the users and AV integrator, we also designed a simple control system. Staff to easily configure the system for their programs with a few button presses.

The new system is intelligible, cost-effective and easy to use.