Church of St Mary's Assumption
New Orleans, Louisiana
Project Type: Renovation
Audio Renovation: 2011
AD Scope: Audio
Completed in 1860, the Church of St Mary's Assumption is a historic building with architecturally marvelous detail on an astonishingly grand scale. The facility has been home to St Alphonsus Parish since its completion, with masses still regularly held there to this day. The facility was designated a National Historic Monument in 1974 and has undergone renovations to preserve its character, including the current one to repair damages resulting from hurricane Katrina. As a part of this renovation, the church decided to upgrade the failing sound system.
The sound system was designed to provide maximum intelligibility throughout this acoustically challenging room. Due to the architectural and historic nature of the space, low profile speakers were essential. The design used various sizes of column array speakers to control where the sound was directed while maintaining uniformity of coverage throughout the space. Clearly reinforced spoken word and light music now fill the space without unnecessarily exciting the reverberant field or leaving a negative architectural footprint on this beautiful space.
