Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) uses Genelec

A total of 25 studio monitors Genelec 8050B and four HTS4B subwoofers constitute the sound system of the Sound Research Studio and Technology (SRST) of the American Rhode Island School of Design (RISD).

The Studio for Research in Sound and Technology (SRST) at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) offers a space dedicated to exploration, technological advancement, and learning within the realms of sonic arts and sound design.

Established in 2018 under the name Spatial Audio Studio, SRST features a meticulously designed space equipped with a Genelec 25.4 channel sound system (comprised of 25 Genelec 8050B studio monitors and four HTS4B home theater subwoofers), an adaptable seminar/work area, a suite of digital composition tools, and a collection of hardware synthesizers such as Serge modular and GRP.

As a research center, the studio facilitates experimentation by faculty, staff, and students, with the goal of obtaining results suitable for peer-reviewed publication, presentation at conferences and festivals, and other forms of dissemination. The SRST hosts conferences and workshops led by designers, artists and technologists, offering a dynamic platform for engagement with sector professionals and inter-institutional research networks.

Shawn Greenlee es compositor, artista sonoro y profesor en RISD, donde dirige el Studio for Research in Sound & Technology, y en sus últimos trabajos ha profundizado en el audio espacial, las matrices de altavoces de alta densidad y los métodos de síntesis de sonido no convencionales. Desde 1997, Greenlee trabaja activamente como improvisador electrónico/electroacústico en solitario, mostrando su talento a través de extensas giras por Estados Unidos y Europa, con notables apariciones en conferencias y festivales. Además, Greenlee tiene un doctorado en Música por Ordenador y Nuevos Medios de la Universidad de Brown y es también un ex alumno de RISD (BFA en grabado).

Spatial audio research

“Back in 2015, I became very interested in spatial audio as an area of research,” says Greenlee. "I started performing at festivals and conferences with massive multichannel sound systems. At that time, we started working on the idea of creating a sound design facility at RISD, a proper studio with a spatial audio array. The main feature of the space is that it houses a 25.4-channel Genelec sound system in a configuration of semi-spherical dome. It is an acoustically optimized room, with an array about 6 meters wide and 4 meters high. An interesting part of the design challenge is that we are located just steps from Providence's Kennedy Plaza Bus Terminal. To achieve an adequate acoustic environment in the space, we worked with the consulting firm Acentech, who did an excellent job with the acoustic insulation. We do not suffer any interference from outside. So even if buses pass this room all day, you'd never know it!”

The space itself is divided between a set of Ambisonic speakers, which are the Genelec speakers, and another side of the room, which is a flexible seminar area. Greenlee notes that once the study was underway, things really took off in terms of student interest in the sound courses that RISD began offering. ”

One of the things that has excited me the most as an educator is seeing students who are fairly new to working with sound as a medium come to courses and get started right away with spatial audio and multichannel sound systems. Whereas I started with stereo and then worked my way up to higher possibilities like surround sound with more speakers, now students come in and immediately think about audio three-dimensionally in terms of composition. They're able to place sounds at X, Y, and Z coordinates and have them move through space, while also thinking about simulating ambient sound and so on. “It's a game changer,” says Greenlee.

Unlike some schools that teach one-hour courses a few days a week, RISD's curriculum is structured differently. “Something that's really exciting for students, I think, is that each session of the course lasts a good part of an entire day,” he adds.