Harman Professional Solutions Delivers World-Class AV Performance to Seoul Dragon City Hotels

Systems integrators Winmeditech and TechData, recently deployed a range of complete HARMAN Professional Solutions AV systems in the Seoul Dragon City hotel complex.

Opened in October of 2017 by AccorHotels, Seoul Dragon City contains 1,700 guest rooms spread over four hotels, all within an interconnected series of skyscrapers. Billed as a "lifestyle hotel-plex," the massive facility features 11 restaurants and bars, 17 meeting rooms, two multi-function grand ballrooms, and four full floors of entertainment in a Sky Bridge -- the first of its kind in the world -- suspended between two of the towers.

In order to deliver exceptional audio, visual, lighting, and control throughout the massive complex, TechData and Winmeditech deployed an end-to-end Harman solution made up of 428 JBL Professional speakers, 31 Crown amplifiers, eight Soundcraft mixers, 35 BSS signal processors, 147 AKG microphones and accessories and 212 AMX control systems.

"2017 has been a record-breaking year for AccorHotels in South Korea, highlighted by the launch of this largest project we have signed in the country featuring four hotel brands in the same complex, including the introduction of Grand Mercure and Novotel Suites in this market," says Patrick Basset, chief operating officer of AccorHotels, Upper Southeast and Northeast Asia. "The Harman Professional AV solution provided by TechData and Winmeditech enables us to deliver world-class audio, video, and lighting throughout the entire Seoul Dragon City complex, all with exceptional control. It is an impressive system, and we are extremely pleased with the results."

TechData was hired to design audio systems for many of the critical areas in the complex, while Winmeditech was hired to provide smart environments for the AV and control systems. The Harman system is divided into 13 main zones that cover the two grand ballrooms, three dining rooms, four meeting rooms, a fitness center, two gyms, and the building-safety center. JBL VerTec VT4887 and VT4886 line-array loudspeakers and VT4882 subwoofers deliver audio in the ballrooms, and a variety of Control Contractor Series speakers and EON Series speakers handle the smaller spaces. Power is provided by Crown DriveCore Install series amplifiers.

"With the grand ballrooms serving as multi-purpose venues, we were hired to design a highly-customizable audio system with superb clarity for any event," says Jonathan Choi, technical engineer, TechData. "To meet these requirements, we selected JBL Professional Vertec line arrays as the main speaker system. When the ballrooms are partitioned into smaller spaces, the output system will switch automatically via the integrated control system to utilize the ceiling speakers as the main speaker."

Audio is mixed on Soundcraft VI-3000 72MO and GB4-32 consoles, and processed via BSS BLU-806, BLU-326, and BLU-100 signal processors. The system includes a wide range of AKG microphones to accommodate any type of event, including D5S and D7S vocal mics. The control infrastructure includes a range of AMX products, including AMX NX 3200 NetLinx controllers, MMC-1000-NC tabletop touch panels, and MKP 108L keypads. The Harman systems are configured to allow for centralized monitoring in the building-safety center, requiring fewer operators and reducing costs.

"Seoul Dragon City is positioned locally, regionally, and internationally to be a global landmark, and it was important for us to have world-class audio, video, lighting, and control solutions in our state-of-the-art facility," says Jerome Stubert, cluster general manager of Seoul Dragon City. "The complex features the widest range of convention spaces in Seoul, and the Harman AV solution enables us to accommodate a wide range of events -- from corporate meetings to private events."

"Harman Professional Solutions is a one-stop solution for audio, visual, lighting, and control systems," says Ramesh Jayaraman, VP & GM Harman Professional Solutions, APAC. "We are extremely privileged to be associated with the first ever grand lifestyle-hotel complex in South Korea, providing effective and efficient audio, visual, lighting, and controls solutions powered by our iconic brands. We thank our partner, TechData, for their deep technical expertise, relationship, and customer-first approach."