AV Case Study: Jungle Adventure Playground

The Jungle Adventure Play Centre in North Lakes (Sunshine Coast) is a place where kids can safely play. In a kind of ‘jungle’ environment. Obvious? Maybe, but it’s worth pointing out that such facilities are important these days for providing somewhere children can play and the parents are confident the equipment is thoroughly – and regularly – checked for any faults, the building itself has total security preventing the little monsters escaping or anyone getting in, and the management is on top of keeping everything ship-shape and operating smoothly. You can leave any legal representation in the SUV, in the carpark with a can of soda and packet of chips. The focus is firmly on the kids having fun, but there is a nod to corporate events too when, potentially, the MDs and CEOs just can’t resist a go on the slippery-slide at company Christmas parties. No surprise, with a winning formula, the JAPC is a growing business with now two locations in Queensland.

Designing a PA system to cater for a centre like this has plenty of challenges. Brisbane Sound Group (BSG) was more than up to the task, particularly since BSG has fitted out the other JAPC previously at Tingalpa.

INTO THE MAZE

The majority of the play areas are inside a single, very large and purpose-built building. There are outside activities as well such as outdoor eateries and mini-golf, but the real jungle chaos happens inside. This was a new install, and a new centre, which always has its advantages if the contractor’s project management is on track. The various playground activities create different AV zones, plus you have the café which is licensed, administration, amenities… the usual areas in a venue of this nature. Unfortunately, BSG wasn’t given access until relatively late in the scheme of things and this posed the obstacle of getting around… well, the obstacles. Kids’ playgrounds are all about obstacles, right? You can possibly imagine the clutter of ingenious devices, the slides, tunnels, swings, climbing frames, scaling walls – the size and scale of the physical activities is mind-boggling, and they include nets or cages so the kiddies won’t plunge to their deaths, plus a myriad of safety harnesses.

Try getting your largest A-Frame ladder or scissor-lift amongst that lot.

FOREWARNED IS FOREARMED

Having worked on the Tingalpa centre, it revealed to the BSG team the problems of speaker choice and placement, figuring out clear dispersion fields and line-of sight. Josiah Kerridge, BSG’s Installation and Projects Manager explains, “Accessing the high ceilings and walls to get speakers into position was often a real challenge, and then running cables to them too. We were determined not to compromise and found solutions every time.”

Where there was any kind of suspended ceiling or nominal surface in the play equipment design, the choice was Optimal Audio UP6 ceiling speakers with a backcan to protect the unit and ensure it performed to specs. When ceiling mounts weren’t possible, Optimal Audio Cuboid 6-TXB were placed to take full advantage of the 130° x 120° dispersion. On a few occasions, BSG utilised the building’s existing network cabling infrastructure to deploy a Dante audio network and remotely located amps where access for new speaker cabling wasn’t feasible. Outside, FBT Shadow-112CT speakers have everything covered and will easily survive that fickle Queensland climate.

This was when Audio Brand’s expertise and advice proved invaluable. Josh Bonnici, BSG’s Operations and Marketing representative tells us, “Audio Brands was a great help in narrowing down speaker choices and the appropriate amplifiers to power everything. Technical support was always there the moment we needed anything.”