The University of Toronto Scarborough recently built the Sam Ibrahim Building, an expansive, five-story building that houses lecture halls, faculty offices, collaboration spaces and more. Six “feature” lecture theaters were central to the development: Conveyor, Cave, Keystone, Collaboratorium, Cloud and the flagship Arrow Group Innovation Hall (formerly known as the Campfire), which features a 360-degree seating arrangement. Each of these spaces presented a common challenge — delivering exceptional audio clarity to ensure every word spoken by professors is heard with precision.
To address the task, the university partnered with Contact Distribution Ltd, a Canadian distributor of audio products, and integrator Global Unified Solution Services Inc. (Global USS). Together, they designed and installed a bespoke Renkus-Heinz ecosystem into each theater based on the UBX Series passively steered columns and C Series point source loudspeakers. Lead architects CEBRA and ZAS aimed to create an emotionally stimulating study environment that encourages sensory-forward, inclusive learning. According to Bill Coons, director of Contract Distribution, “These rooms look and sound dramatically different from anything I’ve seen to engage the students and make the learning experience more effective and fulfilling.”
Courtesy / Renkus-Heinz
Overcoming Acoustic Challenges
The layout, design and materials used in lecture theaters can impact how sound travels and is perceived by attendees. Factors like reverberation can severely affect speech clarity. Understanding these psychoacoustic challenges allowed the project team to choose an audio system that delivers sound with optimum clarity, reducing the effects of reverberation and any other acoustic issues that can make speech more difficult to understand. With tiered seating, varying angles and rake, the challenge was to find a way to ensure 100% intelligibility in each unique space.
“The overarching challenge for us was providing a solution for rooms that were already designed, with cable pathways already in place,” explains John Busza, CTS-D, systems designer at Global USS. “Our installation team therefore had to work with the space they were given, making Renkus-Heinz’s adaptable solutions a perfect fit.”
Blake Markle, manager of classroom technology and film services at the University of Toronto Scarborough, recalls raising an early concern about the project’s audio setup. “I was at an industry event with [Busza] early on in the project, and I expressed my concern that the speaker arrays we would be using in the larger feature rooms wouldn’t provide sufficient coverage,” he explains. These rooms, designed to accommodate 100-200 seats, presented unique challenges due to their irregularly angled ceilings and materials, which ruled out the use of ceiling or pendant speakers. The only viable option was to rely on two speaker arrays mounted on the front wall.
Courtesy / Renkus-Heinz
Renkus-Heinz Tailored Audio Solutions
The solution came in the form of the Renkus-Heinz UBX8 arrays, compact yet powerful units capable of delivering sound that reaches even the back rows. Markle notes that his initial skepticism was put to rest once the installation progressed far enough to test the audio. “I was happy to confirm that he was right,” he says. “It’s invaluable to work with an AV partner who listens to your concerns, provides reassurance, and delivers on their promises. Selecting the right equipment is a key part of that process.”
Four of the lecture theaters each received a pair of UBX8 loudspeakers, while the fifth theater doubled up on this approach. These pre-steered passive column loudspeakers deliver precise coverage, intelligibility and exceptional sound quality. Thirty CX61 loudspeakers were chosen for the Arrow Group Innovation Hall due to their wide dispersion, the flexibility of a rotatable horn and a subwoofer size suitable for the vocal range. “The overall caliber of audio intelligibility that Renkus-Heinz is known for is always something to keep in mind for delivery of sound in a school – students need to hear the message clearly,” remarks Busza.
Because of the variation in tiered seating, the coverage was simple to model in some rooms, whereas others required more placement and tilt adjustments. The UBX8 loudspeakers’ passive UniBeam technology helps deliver the consistent coverage needed. The columns were placed on the sides of the dual projection screen setups, with the 120-degree dispersion bringing sound into the middle of the first few rows. The UBX8’s precise, asymmetrical vertical pattern control was also helpful for the tiered layout, ensuring clear audio in every seat.
“In one particularly challenging room, the cable rough-ins were lower than the integrators preferred when looking at the EASE Focus modelling, with priority given to covering up the rough-in with the bottom of the speaker rather than dressing cabling on the wall,” recalls Busza. “This led to the loudspeakers being significantly lower than needed. Together with Contact Distribution, we decided to mount a second pair of UBX8s above the first pair, rotated 180-degrees so that the down-tilt of the vertical dispersion faced upwards instead. This provided a longer array and therefore clear audio coverage to the rear rows.”
Courtesy / Renkus-Heinz
The flagship Arrow Group Innovation Hall’s unique 360-degree seating arrangement challenged the team to find an audio solution that provides the same professional audio quality. “The hexagon-shaped room has six sections of seats with six rows each, meaning lectures take place ‘in the round,’” explains Busza. “Six angled walls above the sections house large direct-view LED videos. In the center where the lecture is delivered, the ceiling is higher and more open. The first two rows of seats are exposed to this large space, whilst the rest are positioned under a lower ceiling.
“The room’s layout meant a suspended cluster of loudspeakers would impact sightlines for the displays and fail to reach the rear audience rows,” Busza continues. “Instead, the decision was made to mount point source cabinets along the bottom of the central perimeter with five loudspeakers along each bulkhead – three aimed towards the rear of the audience and two aimed towards the front.” Global USS opted for CX61 loudspeakers due to their 150degree horizontal and 60-degree vertical dispersion, their compact form working well in such a confined space. “This meant the front section of the audience would receive sound from behind; there was no other manageable solution in the space,” says Busza. “However, the exceptional performance characteristics for which Renkus-Heinz is renowned would still ensure high intelligibility.”
Renkus-Heinz Audio Elevates Learning Experience at UofT Scarborough
The six theaters in the Sam Ibrahim Building are now fully equipped to support lectures with clear, intelligible audio free from distracting reverberation. This upgrade underscores the University of Toronto Scarborough’s commitment to creating high-quality educational spaces. Featuring Renkus-Heinz UBX8 and CX61 loudspeakers, the new system ensures precise, consistent sound, enabling students to remain focused and engaged while giving professors confidence in the impact of their presentations.
Reflecting on the collaboration, Busza highlights the teamwork involved in overcoming the project’s challenges. “I’ve worked with UofT for quite a few years on several projects now. Blake Markle is great to work with,” notes Busza. “It was an accomplishment working together to get through all of the construction, site condition, and design hurdles and deliver the systems to the university’s satisfaction.”
