broadcastnews NETHERLANDS R brings radio closer to audience
The official opening of ‘R’, the VRT’s Radiohuis (radio house) located in Leuven Town Hall, took place on 8 June, reports Marc Maes
DUTCH LANGUAGE public broadcaster VRT has relocated its Radio 2 Vlaams Brabant studios from the Amerikaans Theater to the historic centre of Leuven, offering the radio station a permanent base in the capital of the Brabant province. The move was prepared almost
two years ago and marks a change in the station’s modus operandi and public approach. The broadcaster appointed Studio Farris architects to incorporate a complete broadcast landscape, comprising two radio studios, a live audience studio, editing rooms, offices and conference facilities into the historic building in Leuven. “The building is situated right in the city centre – with a slight adaptation of the housefront, we built the on-air studio offering a street-view,” explains Roel De Geyter, VRT’s project manager of buildings and technical installation. All of the cabling, wiring and
furniture were supplied by Amptec, which stepped into the project last September. “We started to work in the basement to prepare the installation of the engine room and technical equipment,” says Werner Ertryckx,
technical director at Amptec. “With building work going on, we manufactured the studio furniture – a new concept, and designed in close dialogue with the users, bearing in mind that more programmes are produced with a self-op presenter.” “The crucial difference of the
Radiohuis compared with other VRT radio installations is the unique location of the on-air studio. For that reason, studio furniture was designed to be technically complete but with minimal technical components inside the studio room, smoothly integrated in the furniture. It was also equipped with a signage system and a way of passersby listening to the radio broadcast through vibrating the outer studio window,” added Wim Ermens, project engineer VRT Technology. The ‘R’ Radiohuis’s on-air studio is equipped with a studio configuration identical to other VRT radio studios. According to Wim Moortgat, manager radio operations VRT Radio, this decision was taken some time ago: “The idea is to have a single standard throughout our radio studios, facilitating operations for presenters, engineers and maintenance crew.”
To smooth the relocation to the
Radiohuis, a new basic studio layout was put in place, consisting of a DHD 52 series console, an AVT Magic telephone hybrid system and a Riedel Artist 32 intercom, supplied by Apex Audio. Genelec 8240 and 8250 studio monitors and a Dalet 5.1 playout system complete the set-up. “We’ve ordered the latest Dalet+ system, but with a roll out date of early 2013. We felt that it was too soon to migrate to a new system today. The unique thing is that our radio studio is using the 5.1 to convert the signal directly to the VRT’s main radio server in Brussels,” comments Moortgat. The Radiohuis’s first floor includes the ‘R’-café – a multifunctional audience studio designed for live broadcasts, events and concerts. The spacious room is equipped with a mobile stage and an in-house sound reinforcement
system comprising two D&B Ci9 tops and two E15X subs plus two E12 speakers. “We carried out thorough acoustic research and
decided to install an additional 10 5S and eight 4S speaker enclosures to avoid feedback during live broadcasts,” explains Frank Geerts, Amptec’s PA and theatre sales manager. “The whole system is powered by six D6 amplifiers, steered by three simple controls, and mounted in a central rack. Sound engineers have the option to control the complete installation through WiFi using the d&b R1 control software.” In the back of the café, a
conference room and backstage facility, De Backstage, completes the public part of the building.
While the second floor will be
used for projects dealing with media knowledge, the VRT wants to make the third floor ready for innovative projects. The idea is to install radio equipment, and invite students for workshops. The third floor will also house the VRT’s museum and archives. “The idea of ‘R’ goes beyond
the traditional radio studio building,” concludes Moortgat. “The Radiohuis is more than just the production studio for Radio 2 Vlaams Brabant, ‘R’ is embracing the whole VRT radio.”n www.amptec.bewww.apex-audio.be
The on-air studio offers a street view
Radiohuis also features an area for a live audience