How is audio-visual equipment built into a school library?

Audio-visual equipment goes into a school library in two stages. Cable, power and data run while the walls and ceilings are open, and the screens, speakers and controls go on after the linings are done.

Getting that order right is most of the job, because a missed cable is very hard to add once the room is finished.

Multi-zone use

A school library rarely does one thing at a time. One class sits at the screen at one end while a small group works quietly at the other, and later the whole room comes together for an assembly.

Multi-zone audio-visual infrastructure is what allows that. Each zone gets its own display and sound, and the zones can also be linked for the whole room. The cable routes come from how the school wants to use the space, so that conversation with staff comes before any drawing.

The hidden stage

Everything the room relies on later starts here. Cable paths, power points and data points are fixed in position while the framing is still exposed and an installer can reach every part of the wall.

Backing goes into the walls at the same time, since a heavy screen needs something solid to hold on to. Ceiling speakers and projectors have to line up with the ceiling grid and leave room to reach them later, as covered in ceiling replacement and access panels.

Sound in the room

Good speakers cannot fix a room that echoes. Hard floors, glass and bare walls throw sound around the room, and the problem gets worse when two zones are running at once and each one is trying to be heard over the other.

Linings and floor finishes are chosen with this in mind, which is why the audio-visual design and the finishes belong in the same conversation. The options are set out in acoustic treatment in learning spaces.

Joinery and network

Custom joinery often holds screens and hides cables, so its drawings have to match the audio-visual layout before anything is made. A hole in the wrong place on a finished panel stays visible for good.

Screens also sit on the school's network, so its IT staff need to see the plan early. A library fit-out can include communications and security upgrades in the same contract, which keeps that cabling in one set of hands.

Tests and handover

Each zone is tested on its own and then with the others. Staff are shown how to run the system, and the manuals go into the handover documents, as described in handover documentation and operation manuals.

Monument's library work

At Cambridge Park High School, Monument delivered a complete library fit-out in a live environment. At Cranebrook High School, a fire-damaged library came back into service with new ceiling and floor linings, interactive audio-visual works, lighting, security and furniture. The full scope of a fit-out is covered in how a school library is fitted out.

See our work