Designed by Hopkins Architects and opened in October 2025, Oxford University’s Schwarzman Centre boasts all the facilities expected of a leading educational institution.
Alongside the Bodleian Humanities Library, plus research and lecture facilities, are world-class spaces for the development and performance of music and arts, equipped with sound solutions from d&b audiotechnik.
Its showpiece venue, the Sohmen Concert Hall, is intended primarily for unamplified orchestral presentation, but in order to host amplified performances when needed, it is equipped with d&b’s new CCL system, which brings cardioid performance to a new class of compact line array.
Elsewhere, in the versatile, experimental space of the Black Box Performance Lab, the latest multimedia presentation technologies include a versatile rigging grid and a flexible, immersive d&b Soundscape sound system.
Leading theatre consultancy Charcoalblue, who had led the design of technical performance infrastructure, was asked to consider sound systems for the Concert Hall and the Black Box.
Charcoalblue’s Paul Franklin and Dicky Burgess knew that the Concert Hall’s need to be multi-use would call for a compromise of sorts. Burgess said: “They needed a top-quality mobile solution – a PA that was deployable, not permanent, because architecturally, the room is beautiful.”
The Black Box, meanwhile, needed a playback system with enough processing and source flexibility to reproduce the ‘immersive’ mixes created in the centre’s Dolby Atmos-equipped music studios.
Once d&b audiotechnik was chosen to provide the solutions – not only for its product quality, but also for its commitment to ongoing involvement with the facility – Creative Technology was selected to supply and install the solutions.
Burgess recalled: “CT’s tender stood out both for the level of support they would give to the project, and also for their impressive track record with Soundscape.”
d&b’s new CCL (Compact Cardioid Line Array) was chosen for the Concert Hall’s deployable main PA, consisting of two mobile ground-stacks, left and right, each of two CCL-SUBs, two CCL12 and one CCL8.
Additionally, 44S cabinets provide front-fill, Y7Ps cover the balcony, and a combination of E8 and E6 boxes covers the choir stalls. M6 monitor wedges and a B6-SUB (for drum-fill) are available for the stage, and D40s are the chosen amplifiers.
“The size was one of the main reasons for choosing CCL, but also the cardioid technology,” said Burgess. “The amount of sound produced by those small cabinets is quite amazing.”
In the Black Box, the d&b Soundscape system comprises three 360˚ ‘rings’ of d&b 8S loudspeakers – 16 on the lower ring, 16 on the middle, and another nine, plus two 21S-SUBs, in the ceiling.
The choice of Soundscape was aided by the imminent release of d&b’s new software, Create.Control. A major step forward for d&b Soundscape, Create.Control’s intuitive visual interface offers extensive sound object and show control possibilities.
Crucially for this application, it includes control of the Z-axis in the Soundscape environment –essential for the required Atmos playback.
James Frost, Project Engineer for Creative Technology, said, “Create.Control is a huge improvement in the d&b ecosystem, making Soundscape more approachable.”
The Schwarzman Centre signals a new phase for Oxford University’s cultural ambitions. Its new programme will draw creatives and thinkers from around the world to focus on experimentation and co-creation together with Oxford’s communities and academics, enhancing artistic endeavours for generations to come.
Thanks to the expertise and attention of d&b audiotechnik and Creative Technology, as the university explores new possibilities for art and sound, it will have at its disposal one of the finest resources in Europe.
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