The Capita Symonds Acoustic Engineering team were faced with a daunting challenge – turning the historic Point Theatre in Dublin into a 14,000-seat modern concert venue. The whole site had to be transformed and completely redeveloped from the existing warehouse space into a world-class venue with unparalleled acoustics. The challenge? The building is right in the centre of a residential area – requiring Capita’s acoustic team to come up with a solution that means the noise from the newly named O2 Dublin did not exceed its planning licensing limits.

Meeting the acoustic engineering demands of the venue (for both the styles of music and audience sizes) was a massive challenge. The volume of the arena was unusually high, making acoustics a major issue. Sophisticated acoustic software was used to map out the acoustic layout of the new arena even before it is built.

A total of over 5,000 tons of steel, 13,000 metres of duct work, 7,000 metres of pipe work and 270 kilometres of cables were used to construct the new venue. The roof of the O2 now has the most up to date acoustic design in Europe and audiences are treated to acoustics never before experienced in an Irish venue.

Watch the film to find out how Capita Symonds used their specialist software to overcome their challenge while managing to adhere to the strict planning requirements and keeping the neighbours happy!