Set against the backdrop of the Swiss Alps, the Klangwelt Toggenburg cultural centre offers a unique blend of architecture, nature and sound.
The facility’s new Klanghaus and Peter Roth Resonance Centre (Resonanzzentrum) invites visitors to engage with sound in an entirely new way.
The Klangdom, Switzerland’s first sound dome, is equipped with 33 Genelec Smart IP loudspeakers to deliver a one-of-a-kind auditory journey.
It celebrates sound by capturing textures and rhythms typically found only in nature – such as the whistling wind – carefully designed through 3D recordings and spatial compositions to immerse listeners in the area’s sonic environment.
The project is spearheaded by Swiss-based audio design company Idee und Klang. The company’s sound sceneographer, Ramon De Marco, says: “The concept was extraordinary.
“The Klangdom was conceived as a dedicated space for listening. The aim is to guide visitors into the essence of sound – sometimes contemplative and meditative, sometimes ecological and cultural.
The dome consists of three metal rings mounted with loudspeakers to create a dynamic listening environment. During the installation, the rings offered limited cable access, causing unexpected complexities.
“Due to the motion of the rings, careful acoustic planning was essential to achieving the desired result,” says De Marco. “In this case, the Smart IP models proved invaluable thanks to their single-cable design.”
Eight 4430 Smart IP loudspeakers are mounted on each of the top and bottom rings, with 16 on the larger ring in the middle. A central ‘voice of God’ loudspeaker is installed at the top of the dome.
Layers of audio
The speakers are grouped into small hubs on the rings, each of which delivers a distinct layer of audio that can grow into an immersive soundscape within the dome.
Freelance audio engineer Arev Imer says: “Using Dante Controller and Virtual Soundcard, we identified, named and routed the loudspeakers. And with the help of Smart IP Manager, we achieved a flat frequency response that complements the room’s acoustic treatment.”
Idee und Klang mixed the audio for the Klangdom, utilising the loudspeaker hub configuration for precise and dynamic distribution of sound to enhance the overall immersion and spatiality of the experience.
‘A poetic journey’
“Every hour, a 15-minute introduction is played through the loudspeakers, alternating between two different versions,” says De Marco. “Both begin with a poetic journey – from the origin of sound to the present – combining custom 3D recordings with archival material.”
The introduction draws the listener’s attention to soundscapes and acoustic ecology, immersing them in the sonic environment of the region. The second emphasises natural music, such as overtone singing.
“It is planned that the system will be used for spatial compositions, generative ambisonic textures and commissioned works that explore the full 33-channel set-up of the loudspeakers,” says De Marco.
Imer adds: “This project was an incredible opportunity to work on an immersive, publicly accessible multichannel listening space.
“Unlike conventional environments, this installation invites visitors into a space dedicated entirely to the art of listening.”