Blanchardstown Shopping Centre Voice Evacuation System

SKS provided the Voice Evacuation system for Blanchardstown, the biggest shopping centre in Europe. The system, which fully complied with the latest EU standards for evacuation in emergency situations, is controlled by a Bosch unit and is installed on a digital fibre optic control system. The design of the system presented particular challenges due to wide open spaces throughout the shopping centre which made the sound reproduction very difficult.

In order to maintain the overall aesthetic of the centre as specified by the architects, SKS customised the design of the speakers to fit into the facade and ensure an even distribution of sound. To guarantee the systems compliance with EU intelligibility standards for voice evacuation, the system was tested by independent consultants, who certified it as fully compliant. To date, we are unaware of any other shopping centre that has been so thoroughly tested in order to verify its full compliance to these standards. This system has various bespoke features such as Ambient Noise Level Sensing, which monitors the noise generated in the centre and automatically adjusts the sound output to ensure announcements can always be heard clearly.