Home for the future

Since opening in Gangnam in 2000, the LG Arts Center has been at the heart of art and culture in South Korea, hosting all genres of performances from classical, traditional and popular music to ballet, musicals and plays. The centre showcased more than 867 works and 6,300 performances during its time in Gangnam, attracting more than 4.5 million audience members. The final production to be staged at the Gangnam venue in July 2022, Shakespeare’s tragedy Coriolanus, was helmed by Yang Jung-ung who directed the opening ceremony of the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. Then the theatre went dark as staff focused on the long-planned move to a new home.

Back in 2017, construction had begun on a new arts centre managed by LG’s non-profit organisation, the LG Yonam Cultural Foundation, in the western district of Magok, an upcoming area next to the LG Group’s R&D complex LG Science Park and the new Seoul Botanic Park. “Though Magok is a fast-developing area, it does not have enough cultural infrastructure,” Shim Woo-sub, head of the LG Arts Center, said during an online press conference. “It is a young, fast-developing city with a floating population of 300,000. The LG Arts Center will become a new cultural landmark of Seoul.”

Designed by Japanese architect Tadao Ando with a total area of 41,631m2 – double the size of the former venue in Gangnam, which had one 1,103-seat hall – the new arts centre houses the 1,335-seat Signature Hall and the U+ Stage black box theatre which can accommodate up to 365 seated audience members, as well as the LG Discovery Lab, which will be used for education and to present new technology developed by LG’s R&D facilities just across the street. It is easily accessible from central Seoul, with the city metro directly connected to the new venue.

The three-storey building is characteristic of Ando’s architectural style, which traditionally combines simplicity and minimalism. Each area has been designed to create the feeling of being in a different space, enhanced by the use of different – but neutral – colour palettes, as well as diverse shapes and materials, with an easy flow between each area to enable user-friendly visitor access.

The main lobby and entrance, the Gate Arc, employs the architect’s trademark bare concrete walls, with wide steps beneath the arched gateway leading up to the LG Signature Hall. Just off the main lobby is the Tube: a long corridor lined with curved wooden battens, off which the LG Discovery Lab is located. Also leading from the main lobby is the Step Atrium, a stairway descending to the underground metro station on the basement level, which also houses a car park and restaurants.

The new building was an opportunity to install both theatres with the very latest technology. Accordingly, the Signature Hall has been installed with DiGiCo Quantum 7 and SD10 consoles and a d&b audiotechnik Y-Series speaker system, while the U+ Stage black box theatre is equipped for immersive and surround sound performances with another d&b system, together with DiGiCo SD12 and Yamaha CL5 consoles. Both are a major step up from the analogue Midas Heritage analogue system in the former theatre, and sound manager Bum Hun Lee and his team have been getting used to working with the new technology.

Lee has been at the LG Arts Center for most of its existence, starting work at the Gangnam location in 2002. He explains that while the types of productions staged in the new venue won’t differ too much from the previous programming, the centre will be able to offer better technical facilities, increased flexibility and improved acoustics. Central to the sound system in the LG Signature Hall is a 256-input DiGiCo Quantum 7 console at FOH, capable of handling the most complex productions, with an SD10 144-input console for monitors – both supplied by local distributor, Soundus, which also provided training for the technical team. A control room above the auditorium is used to record performances, mainly for archival purposes, for which Soundus provided a DiGiCo SD11 console. Midas Pro6, M32 and Heritage 3000 consoles, as well as a Roland M300, are also available for use in the theatre. A number of stageracks including DiGiCo SD-, SD-MiNi and D-Racks, along with Midas DL351 and DL16 and Roland models can be moved to wherever they are needed, giving the centre a vastly increased flexibility compared to its previous fixed system.

Lee has been enjoying getting to grips with the new DiGiCo consoles. “DiGiCo is world-class, and the consoles’ sound quality and functions are great,” he says, with a particular nod to the preset feature. “It’s so convenient to use the presets on the DiGiCo and, when outside technical teams rent our hall, they can use USB memory sticks to access their presets. It has really sped up preparation and operation. And, although DiGiCo has more functions than other consoles, it’s not as complicated as I thought – it’s not been difficult to get used to the new systems.”

The main L-R array in the Signature Hall is composed of 12-per-side d&b Y8 and Y12 line array loudspeakers, with low frequencies bolstered by a total of six V-SUB subwoofers, all powered by D80 amps. A centre cluster of 13 T10 speakers is powered by D20 amps, while two SL-GSUB stacked subs are powered by a D80 amp. Front fill is provided by 12 44S flush-mounted speakers, with three Vi7p point source speakers per side for the L-R balcony system. Two delay systems of eight 44S speakers are used for each of the stalls and the balcony, with a further three Vi7p speakers for a second balcony delay system. A surround system consisting of 58 5S and eight E6 compact models covers the entire auditorium including the balcony. A portable stage monitor system combining d&b M2, M4 and M6 wedges and E12 speakers is also provided. All d&b systems were supplied by d&b audiotechnik Korea.

There is an extensive range of microphones from beyerdynamic, Sennheiser, Shure, DPA, AKG, Audix, Electro-Voice, Crown, JZ, Neumann, Røde, Schoeps, Countryman and Radial, including a Shure Axient wireless mic system. An equally extensive range of outboard equipment encompasses Lexicon, Eventide, TC Electronic, Manley, Amek, DBX, Klark Teknik, BSS, Aphex, Drawmer, Eventide, Yamaha and Bricasti models, while a Clear-Com HMS HRM system takes care of comms, and a flexible selection of playback equipment is on hand.

The U+ Stage black box theatre has moveable seats up to a capacity of 365, allowing the venue to be used in different configurations including in-the-round and for catwalk fashion shows. The immersive d&b system consisting of 60dB speakers can be controlled via d&b’s Soundscape sound design software, which allows the sound to be moved to wherever the audience is located during a particular configuration, as well as moving special effects and sound objects around the room. Lighting fixtures from ETC, Selecon, Robert Juliat and Kupo can also be moved around freely, depending on where they’re needed for individual productions.

The main system consists of five flown d&b Yi10P loudspeakers with four Y-SUB subwoofers, also flown. Ten 44S speakers provide front fill, with a further six for side delay and six 5S for rear delay. Two 10S-D and six 8S speakers provide the side surround channels, with four 8S and eight 4S speakers as rear surrounds, six 8S speakers for overheads and a further three 8S models as stage support. This extensive surround system, driven by d&b 30D and 10D amplifiers, is under Soundscape control. A DiGiCo SD12 console has been installed along with two SD-MiNi Racks and two D-Racks, giving the flexibility needed for the theatre’s various configurations, as well as providing a control surface for Soundscape, with software in the DiGiCo console designed in collaboration with d&b to enable surround panning. A Yamaha CL5 with four Rio3224-D stageboxes is also on hand in the U+ Stage theatre.

Before the system was installed into the U+ Stage theatre, Lee’s experience of immersive technology was mainly confined to magazines and online articles. “I thought that it would be nice if the new immersive technology could be applied at our wonderful theatre, which was being built with the future in mind,” he says. “When the contract was awarded to DiGiCo and d&b, it was suggested that we try Soundscape. It was challenging for me because I’d never heard d&b’s immersive system but, as I was confident that one of the top speaker manufacturers could provide a great system, I accepted their suggestion. As far as I knew, DiGiCo was not compatible with Soundscape but, when the sound systems were almost installed, Soundus gave me the good and timely news that DiGiCo now offered compatibility with Soundscape. I’ve been able to enjoy the immersive system with a high level of convenience, and I especially like the surround panning feature on the console.”

Two M2, four M4, two M6 and two E12 speakers powered by D80 and D20 amps provide a portable stage monitoring system, and similar microphones, outboard and other peripheral equipment to that in the Signature Hall are also available for flexible deployment throughout the theatre.

The new LG Arts Center got off to a flying start, with one of the first performances in October 2022 being the London Symphony Orchestra and pianist Cho Seong-jin, conducted by Sir Simon Rattle. In early 2023, Hero, an exploration of Korean history, became the first musical for the new venue, while several music concerts and an awards ceremony have also been staged. The LG Yonam Cultural Foundation will run the centre for 20 years before donating the building to the Seoul Metropolitan Government. It’s a great prize for the cultural afficionados of Korea and long-time visitors to the LG Arts Center, with the promise of many diverse, cutting-edge productions in a new, improved venue.