About Onehunga High School case study
Onehunga High School was established in 1959 on its Pleasant Street site, situated in one of Auckland’s oldest suburbs overlooking the Manukau Harbour.
Many families have long histories in the area and have many second or third-generation students. This gives the school a strong sense of tradition and continuity. In addition, Onehunga High School is committed to providing lifelong learning for the community.
As the college looks forward to equipping pupils for life in the 21st century, they require transformative audio, visual and control system updates.
An audio solution for two new state of the art teaching blocks was required. The first, a two basketball court gymnasium with exercise room, locker rooms and teaching spaces. And the second a new technical block catering to the sciences, woodwork, metalwork, art and two commercial-grade kitchens. An atrium space in the technical block also hosts school functions including catered meals where guests can be seated at tables and served directly from the kitchens.
The design specification called for the audio system to be used as a multi-zone paging solution with talkback intercom functionality from each room. Bluetooth and aux audio inputs were required in each teaching space for in-room presentation audio, and the bell system was to also be integrated.
In teaching areas with suspended ceilings, HH Electronics TNi-C4 ceiling speakers were used to provide quality sound while offering a budget-friendly solution. The TNi-C4 is a 4” coaxial speaker with a fully enclosed backcan with ported enclosure extending the low-frequency response over that of a non-backcan version.
To maintain audio continuity, the TNi-W4 surface-mount version of the speaker was used in areas where there was no ceiling and the services exposed. The two-piece mounting bracket ensured quick and simple installation.
The QSC AD-S4T speaker was used in areas where dust or moisture was present. The IP54 rating of the QSC AD series made it the ideal choice for the woodwork and metalwork rooms and the two kitchens. The AD-S4 speakers were also used in the atrium to enable higher operational SPL when occupied by a larger number of people.
To implement the required talkback functionality, a custom panel was manufactured comprising a Shure MX395 boundary microphone and a push button.
From each classroom, a teacher or student can respond to a page or initiate a call to reception. An Attero Tech unDIO6-BT is installed in each teaching space to allow portable devices to access the in-class speaker system.
This panel allows connection via Bluetooth, RCA or mini-jack to provide maximum flexibility. Bluetooth pairing can be turned on or off in each room to prevent students connecting during class time, this is achieved using iPads running QSC’s UCI viewer app.
A QSC TSC-80 touch screen is located at reception for zone selection and paging duties.
The audio equipment shares a rack with the IT hardware and network patch panels. As rack space was at a premium, the QSC MP-A amplifiers were chosen for their low profile and multiple output channels. Both the 4-channel MP-A40V and the 8-channel MP-A80V output 200W per channel and can used to drive both high and low impedance speaker lines. Given the rack space restrictions, and the relatively low output power requirements, the QSC MP-A series of amplifiers were a perfect fit for this project.
