University of London: Senate House

AV INSTALLED

Logitech Rally

Logitech Sight


Logitech Tap

Q-SYS PTZ  

Q-SYS AVoIP

TOP-TEC lectern

Samsung displays

Yamaha speakers

TK-Team acoustic correction panels

Sennheiser TCC2


Panasonic projector

​​​​​​​University of London case study

Built between 1933 and 1938, The University of London’s iconic Senate House is a Grade II* listed building renowned for its striking Art Deco design and its historical significance as the former home to the Ministry of Information during World War II. More recently, the building has been used as a blockbuster movie set, but its primary modern day function is as a central hub for academic activities within the University, as well as a conferencing and event venue

GVAV were selected to work alongside consultant Hewshott to supply and install audio visual upgrades for Senate House in 2024 with the aim of ensuring cutting-edge functionality across a variety of room types including meeting rooms, teaching rooms, and a large divisible conference room. Each space needed to be tailored with bespoke audio-visual solutions to meet specific user needs.

Due to the nature of the building, any works undertaken would require listed building consent and authorisation from Historic England so as to safeguard the special architectural and historic interest of the building. This was an important consideration throughout the project, and to meet conditions of the listed building consent provisions were put in place to make use of existing power, data and floor boxes. Any new surface containment had to be minimised and decorated to match the existing design, blending into the surroundings. No chasing of the walls was permitted to route cabling, while dado rails and ceiling cornices could also not be interfered with

Meeting room upgrades

One of the core functions of Senate House in the 21st Century is as a space for meeting and communication. The existing AV installation in the building’s meeting spaces had very limited hybrid functionality, and a key requirement of this refresh project was to bring updated systems with new functionality to these spaces.

Where possible, the client was keen to recycle equipment across its upgraded meeting rooms to avoid unnecessary electronic waste. Surveys were undertaken and provisions made to retain existing displays in these spaces. Pull-out wall brackets were supplied and fitted in four meeting rooms to ease AV maintenance. It was specified that works also needed to utilise existing display furniture to house devices such as cameras, speakers and displays. This was overcome through detailed surveys and agreements to vary design specifications for camera heights, upgrading the systems within these spaces using existing fittings without compromising meeting quality.

To do

These meeting rooms have been redesigned with collaboration at their core. Logitech Rally video bars are mounted underneath the rooms’ displays while Tap controllers provide one-touch hybrid functionality, allowing users to meet in-person and externally for seamless communication. Offering 4K capability, 5x optical zoom and 6 beamforming microphones, the all-in-one Rally Bar is a more than capable solution for Senate House’s medium and large meeting rooms. Coupled with a table-top Logitech Sight 315° camera for extended video coverage, this dynamic pairing

creates an immersive meeting environment for those joining externally, while providing a non-intrusive solution that blends in with the rooms’ furniture.

Zoom enabled teaching rooms

To support hybrid learning environments, some teaching rooms have been integrated with cutting-edge conferencing technology for one-touch access to Zoom Rooms.

Consisting of an NV-32-H Core, a Core 8 Flex and NV-21-HU Encoder/Decoders, Q-SYS AVoIP systems for each teaching room have been designed, functioning as stand-alone AV infrastructure with all communication between AV peripheral devices such as microphones and cameras handled by an in-room AV switch in order to minimise the load on the client’s network.

Integration of the design into the client network warranted additional network port connections above the single connection that had been installed as per the original design requirements. Unable to run further Cat 6 network connection on the client infrastructure, provision was made to reactivate and utilise existing Cat 5 network connections within the space.

Backlit TOP-TEC Gemini lecterns serve as a teaching hub in these spaces while housing a Logitech Tap meeting room touch panel, allowing in-room users to connect with external participants with ease via Zoom Rooms. Video is captured by Q-SYS NC-12x80 PTZ cameras.

Whilst being certified by both Zoom and Q-SYS, this solution was being pioneered as a new configuration by the University, which presented challenges for programming and network integration. Working with Q-SYS and Zoom engineers, a permissions issue tracing back to the University’s security settings was identified and resolved by GVAV. This resolution was shared with Q-SYS and Zoom stakeholders to improve future project design and delivery.

In order to configure these hybrid teaching rooms to meet the client’s requirements, additional cabling for power and data needed to be accommodated. Sized appropriately for ceiling microphone and camera cabling requirements, D-line trunking was identified as the least intrusive solution to dovetail with Senate House’s heritage features

To do

Samsung 85” displays are installed in these rooms to provide clear, bright visuals with 4K capability alongside Yamaha Dante slim line array speakers mounted vertically either side of the display for premium audio.

As these dynamic high-ceiling teaching rooms will be used for hybrid learning via Zoom, audio capture quality has been accounted for with more than just technological hardware. TK-Team acoustic correction panels have been deployed on the walls to negate reverb and echoes for a better video conferencing experience for both in-room and external participants. Meanwhile, a bespoke acoustic solution combining a Sennheiser TCC2 and TK-Team acoustic panel has been

suspended from the ceiling in each meeting room, combining a market-leading microphone with Hush acoustic panelling to capture clear audio in the space

‘Non-Zoom’ teaching rooms

Having delivered two hybrid teaching rooms with Zoom Rooms capability, the intention was to adopt the design for a further six AVoIP hybrid teaching rooms set up for Microsoft Teams. However, a review by the client’s IT Security Team required the UC PC to be dropped from the design so the target rooms could be made available for commercial hire. These requirement changes meant that GVAV would need to work alongside the client and consultant Hewshott to be pragmatic and efficient in adapting the plan for these rooms while keeping to tight time frames, ensuring minimal disruption to room scheduling during a busy period

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Design changes were eventually limited to changing the control panel from a Logitech Tap controller to a QSC TSC-101-G3, removal of the UC PC and associated NV-21s.

Where possible, the cable routings were drawn through floor voids and window risers, while clever use of surface trunking has been disguised by blending in with dado rails, ceiling cornices and picture rails.

To do

Conference room – Woburn Suite

This multi-purpose divisible space has been designed to be used as either a large conference venue or boardroom or as smaller meeting rooms when divided. Due to its size and adaptable layout, this conference space warranted a revision to the design from the teaching rooms and saw the introduction of more cameras and repeater displays into the design.

To incorporate 4K capability into the design, an Epiphan Nano was deployed, while the number of Q-SYS NV-21 Encoder/Decoders increased and the NV-32 was replaced with a Q-SYS Core Nano. Blackmagic and Inogeni converters were introduced into the design whilst control remained with a Q-SYS controller.

Through its intuitive GVAV-designed Q-SYS GUI, the conference room design provides one-touch room setup with the associated configuration for cameras, speakers and microphones tailored for conferencing or boardroom use, allowing full automation for users as a default, whether the room is split up or left undivided.

Like the teaching rooms, the conference room uses Sennheiser TCC2 ceiling microphones integrated within suspended TK-Team acoustic panels, removing the additional need for traditional handheld microphones for presenters and audience alike. Sennheiser Mobile Connect has also been deployed to deliver assistive listening technology for users within the space. Where

additional Samsung repeater displays had been engineered into each room due to a last-minute design change, they naturally displaced acoustic panels from some walls. Avoiding any costly waste, these panels were seamlessly integrated into the design of other teaching rooms delivered within this project. All changes to room design were met within the overall budget for the programme.

A Panasonic projector acts as the main display at one end of the room with 4K quality display. This is coupled with a near-silent Screen International projector screen which, when retracted, quickly affords access to services in riser cupboards behind. At the other end of the room, a Samsung QM98T-B also provides 4K quality display, mounted on an extendable B-Tech bracket, affording easy maintenance and servicing.

Modern spaces for a forward-thinking University

The upgraded meeting spaces, teaching rooms and conference space that have been delivered in this project have been planned for in-room ease of use for the end user, but also with hybrid participation in mind.

The design, procurement and installation process has been considerate of the impact from both an environmental and heritage perspective throughout. Some equipment was recycled or re-used

including existing displays and brackets, while existing power and data infrastructure was utilised to minimise impact on the building.

The rooms’ designs also enable system automations to be introduced, such as the timely shut down of equipment into a standby mode when no use is detected, and powering off during scheduled times of closure. This contributes significantly to reducing the building’s energy consumption and amounts to an efficiency saving for the University’s AV department, who are able to remotely access and troubleshoot equipment in each room, further contributing to efficiency gains and improving the quality-of-service to rooms’ users.

This mix of upgraded spaces within Senate House provide state-of-the-art hybrid facilities for students to study and meet, establishing a blueprint for future upgrades within the building with HD video, high quality audio capture, acoustic treatment and intuitive AV over IP control implemented in each space. AVoIP future-proofs these dynamic rooms, allowing the ability to add or remove devices over time without overhauling the system.

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“Working with GVAV was a seamless experience. Their expertise, professionalism, and attention to detail made the University of London AV setup both efficient and high-quality. They exceeded expectations with outstanding installation quality.

The team at GVAV went above and beyond to ensure our AV system was exactly what we needed. From initial consultation to the final installation, their process was smooth, efficient, and tailored to our requirements.

It has been a huge upgrade, the new AVoIP systems have completely changed the way in which the AV team work, we are now more efficient and able to deliver a higher standard of services to our clients. Users are now able to enjoy fully hybrid environments using Teams and Zoom certified equipment with impressive results.

GVAV have been incredibly supportive every step of the way.”

Adrian Reader

AV Technical Manager, University of London

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