d&b A-Series At Jakarta Mosque

The gleaming white At-Thohir Mosque in southern Jakarta, Indonesia is being lit up by a permanent audio and video mapping installation, accompanied by an inspired narration and soundtrack which audiences experience via a d&b system comprising 10AL-D WR loudspeakers and d&b 18A-SUB WR subwoofers, powered by d&b D10 amplifiers.

The initiative sees colourful imagery projected onto the façade of the newly constructed, architecturally striking mosque each evening. The content tells the story of the life and values of the late automotive magnate Muhammad Teddy Thohir, after whom the Mosque is named, in three-part, 20-minute segments. The projected visuals and accompanying sound design were created by renowned Indonesian multimedia studio Sembilan Matahari.

The AV installation was commissioned by the Thohir family, who built the mosque in memoriam of their father. It was created to extol his principles of the importance of family, respect, education, and strong character. The dynamic projections are based on Indonesian cultural and Islamic geometric patterns, and are designed to uplift and inspire. They have proven to be a hit with the local community, on social media and are now something of a tourist attraction.

The visuals were created by Sembilan Matahari’s Mr. Adi Panuntun, with the narrative soundtrack, music and sound effects team led by Fauzan Rahman Gautama and Way Dwi Arifian. The voiceover is performed by Yusa Bella Putra. Innovative Jakarta-based contractor Albeta collaborated with Mr. Adi Panuntun to specify a loudspeaker, subwoofer and amplification solution for the project, noting that the sound system would be permanently installed in two towers in front of the At-Thohir Mosque, be exposed to a range of weather conditions and is located adjacent to a main road. The system needed to fill the outside localised area with rich, high-quality sound to complement the powerful and energetic visuals and ensure a positive listening experience.

“Due to the fact this projection is a permanent outdoor installation, we required a very good speaker which could accommodate an audience positioned 50 metres from the front of the Mosque, where the two towers are located,” explains William Gendri, Technology Specialist and General Manager at Albeta. “Also key was the size of the speaker. We need them to be compact, so that they could be comfortably installed within the towers alongside the projectors, yet powerful enough to direct enough volume across the designated outdoor space.”

During the project design, Gendri and his team compared the specification of a number of loudspeaker manufacturers, opting for the 10AL-D WR loudspeakers from the xA-Series, and d&b 18A-SUB WR high performance subwoofers.

“In the shootout stages, we realised that when we used d&b 10AL-D loudspeakers we can reach the audience to 50 metres and achieve an average SPL of 96 to 100dB from just a five-metre height from a compact, two-way point source loudspeaker,” Gendri continues. “A line array system would have been too large within the space and we would have needed eight cabinets to achieve what we can with far fewer d&b 10AL-D units. These models also enabled the artist and video mapping engineer to have a lot more flexibility in where to place their projectors, minimising the impact in the towers. Combine this with the light weight of each loudspeaker and the d&b sound quality and we have the right solution.”

Rigged open air in the towers, the projectors are protected from the elements and the loudspeakers required rain and wind protection, too. To achieve this, Gendri chose the Weather Resistant (WR) option of the d&b 10AL-D loudspeakers, which provide an IP55 rating and ensure continuous operation in changing environmental conditions. “They have a very robust build quality, which is perfect,” says Gendri. “We’ve already had weather where the towers were engulfed in heavy rain and there was water all around the speakers, but they continued to work just fine afterwards. Not all brands offer weather resistant versions of their speakers, so we were happy to discover that d&b does.”

The Albeta crew worked with d&b audiotechnik APAC to utilise the d&b ArrayCalc simulation software during the design and set up process. Using this, they could predict performance and create a three-dimensional representation of the listening area in front of the Mosque.

“The d&b team has been amazing, especially our local d&b expert Andreas [Ariandono] who has supported us from start of the project to help deliver the product on time,” adds Gendri. “We’re very happy with the results.”

“All the detail in our designed sound effects as well as the wide range of our music soundtrack is being amazingly delivered,” adds Mr. Adi Panuntun. “This has become the new inspirational public space for people to visit. We have just set a new standard on how video mapping can be delivered to the audience in an outdoor public space.”