Pavilion of Ireland

David’s usual immersive approach of active speaker solutions was not possible on this occasion, due to the limited space available for multiple audio and power cable runs. Speed of deployment was also a key consideration, as the pavilion will be on-tour around Ireland throughout 2026, following La Biennale di Venezia. David and the team installed 33 SB Acoustics 6.5” speakers integrated into folded TQWT (Tapered Quarter Wave Tube, also known as "Voigt Pipe") enclosures. The Voigt Pipe is a simple but effective enclosure that appealed to the team due to its human-scale dimensions. The TQWT enclosures are integrated into the timber structure, which is made up of twelve equal segments. Eleven of these speakers form the exterior ring, and 22 make up the interior ring. Each ring plays a different soundscape composed by David. The outer soundscape is loosely composed of field recordings taken around Ireland, with each speaker broadcasting a different recording. However, as one moves into the inner ring, the soundscape becomes more focused. At this point, all 22 interior speakers work together as a surround sound array, playing a composition that contains poetry, voice recordings, strings and electronics, as well as mechanical sounds taken during the manufacturing process documenting the actual making of the pavilion. David and the team turned to the LP² range. An MA32/LP² and an MA16/LP² provided the peerless Innosonix DSP coupled to very high-quality multi-channel amplifiers. At only 1RU each, LP² units occupy a fraction of the space of a conventional solution. The sound mix itself was created utilizing the custom loudspeaker arrangements in the SPAT Revolution spatialization engine. During the mixing stage, David took advantage of Innosonix’s Dante and AES67 connectivity to feed the LP² devices via AES67. In addition, a Mac mini running the open-source intermedia sequencer Ossia Score with Dante VSC was connected to the Innosonix amplifiers, with Dante switching between both protocols.