As one of Lisbon’s most distinguished cultural venues, Culturgest has long been a cornerstone of Portugal’s performing arts and events community.
Situated in the Caixa Geral de Depósitos head office building, Culturgest features 11 fully equipped spaces, including two auditoria, and hosts a wide range of programming from theater, music and dance to conferences and film festivals.
Its main space, the 612-seat Emílio Rui Vilar Auditorium, is celebrated for its architectural detail, wood-paneled acoustics and cutting-edge AV infrastructure.
In a groundbreaking collaboration with Audium and FLUX::, Culturgest recently became the first venue in Portugal to implement a fully immersive live sound system with FLUX:: SPAT Revolution while leveraging the venue’s existing cinema surround speaker system for hybrid use.
“Culturgest asked for an immersive system, and after a thorough analysis of the available options, FLUX:: SPAT Revolution was the main choice for this demanding venue,” said Tiago Laires of Audium, the System Integrator for the project.
“In the end, and although we had a high level of expectation for SPAT, both Culturgest and I were blown away by the impressive result.”
The system integrates a FLUX:: SPAT Revolution engine running up to 64 channels from the mixing console, and routing through Dante and AES67 to the house speaker systems.
Thirty-six surround speakers from the venue’s existing setup, covering rear, top and side channels, were reconfigured to support live immersive applications.
The LR speaker system used for traditional live events was integrated into the front, and the entire system was tonally matched and commissioned for transparency and cohesion between operation modes.
The configuration supports multiple operating modes for dance and theatrical productions with up to 32 audio objects, including configurations with all speakers, frontal speakers removed, or main floor only with no elevation.
For acoustic music scenarios, the venue can switch to a reverberation-only simulation mode using the SPAT reverb engine. Commissioning was performed by the FLUX:: team and included extensive onsite training for Culturgest’s two in-house engineers.
“Since the moment we installed our system in our venue, we started thinking about how we could use it in a live sound situation,” said In-House Sound Engineer Ricardo Guerreiro.
“The expectations were high, but I can say that, after almost a year using SPAT Revolution, the expectations were largely exceeded.”
Culturgest has already hosted numerous performances using the immersive setup, ranging from orchestral music to experimental electroacoustic productions.
For Artist, Composer, and Sound Designer Suse Ribeiro, SPAT Revolution opened up entirely new artistic dimensions for her.
“At the Culturgest venue, I was tasked with projecting and implementing a setup that had been in development for several months in the lab,” said Ribeiro.
“Using FLUX:: SPAT Revolution, this goal was not only fully realized but also exceeded expectations. It allowed us to push beyond the initial vision, resulting in an exceptional outcome both technically and artistically.”
She continued: “An incredible overall paradigm shift in my approach to this system and a state-of-the-art mindset change. For sure, the best tool and framework to develop and support notable projects.”
In addition to SPAT Revolution, the system included a digital console and stage rack, networked endpoints, Ghielmetti audio patch panels at FOH and stage, and a refined network backbone to ensure reliable real-time control.
Through deep integration and real-world training, the installation not only improved the venue’s technical capabilities but also gave its engineering and creative teams new tools to inspire the next generation of live sound production.
“We were impressed by the high quality and deep training and commissioning supplied by FLUX:: onsite,” said Laires.
“Not only on the SPAT Revolution software and physics, but also going beyond their scope supporting all the integration with the existing system and all the rest of the networked gear.
“It was the best option to enlarge the high-quality sound system of this venue.”
With its immersive deployment complete, Culturgest is now positioned as a leader in spatial audio performance, bridging cinema and live art with innovative design and creative excellence.
