Welcome to Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center

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Welcome to EMPAC

Tour stop audio transcript

The 220,000 square-foot Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center, or EMPAC, is a signature work of architecture that brings together four main venues as well as smaller studios and lab spaces under one roof. All can be used independently and simultaneously, allowing us to present events and dedicate space to research and residencies. The building includes many firsts and exceptional attributes in the fields of acoustics, structural integrity, theatrical presentation, and digital media. High-bandwidth computer, audio, and video networks create a technical infrastructure unlike any other performing arts center, and when linked to Rensselaer's supercomputer, our venues provide opportunities for research that surpass those of most other media research centers. Before we get started, let me explain the many ways you can explore our beautiful space. -You can click on the forward facing arrow to start walking around. -You can jump to the next stop by clicking on the "Next" button. -Now, if you already know where you want to go, you can select any location by using the list OR by clicking directly on the map. -Lastly, remember that you can explore any particular location in more detail by clicking the supplemental icons.

Concert Hall

Tour stop audio transcript

The concert hall combines the outstanding acoustics, refined materials, and comfort of great concert halls of the past with the flexibility and technology of the 21st-century. The hall's superior acoustics come from a number of innovations. Convex walls and other shaped surfaces allow performers or loudspeakers to be anywhere in the hall, and a fabric ceiling was developed for both for its acoustic and aesthetic properties. Air rises quietly from under the seats rather than being forced down by noisy fans. Visually, staging elements or screens, projectors, and platforms can be flown anywhere in the hall; and high-definition video can be projected on the 56' wide screen.

Theater

Tour stop audio transcript

The theater incorporates theatrical technology and capabilities that were previously found only in the most advanced stage spectacles. The sixty-foot flytower (the space directly above the stage) allows for scenery, screens, and lights to be flown in and out. Computer-controlled rigging means that anything – props, projectors, or people – can be flown (and controlled by computer in real-time, a first in theater technology) throughout the stage space. The theater is as quiet as a recording studio and has the technological infrastructure of an HD video studio. The low stage allows for tangible immediacy between audience and performers.

Studios

Tour stop audio transcript

The Goodman Studio/Theater and studio 2 are exceptionally versatile spaces for the integration of digital technology with human expression and perception (sometimes referred to as "multimodal environments."). Catwalks and control rooms are located above and outside the studios to allow for completely unencumbered space, and for the projection of lights and images virtually anywhere in the volume of the studios. Acoustic wall tiles offer a completely novel approach to the acoustics of immersive sound environments. Both studios are equally quiet and highly networked, rewarding audiences and supporting experimentation by artists and researchers alike.

Cognitive and Immersive Systems Lab (CISL)

Tour stop audio transcript

The Cognitive and Immersive Systems Lab, or CISL, is a multi-year collaboration program between Rensselaer and IBM Research to lead the frontier of research and development in immersive cognitive systems. CISL promotes a culture of multidisciplinary research across science, engineering, art, communications, architecture, and business. Our mission is to create scientific breakthroughs and technical innovations that augment group intelligence in real-world scenarios. The core platform of CISL is the Cognitive Immersive Room (or "Situations Room") - an immersive, interactive, reconfigurable physical environment. The domains investigated for the Situations Room include cognitive and immersive learning, corporate decision-making, cyber-enabled exploration, and discovery, and intelligence analysis.