Columbia Regional Airport (COU)

The Columbia Regional Airport (COU) is owned and operated by the City of Columbia, Missouri. COU is a commercial passenger airport serving Columbia, Missouri. Located about 2 miles southeast of Columbia in Boone County, Missouri, it is the only commercial airport in Mid-Missouri and serves the state capital of Jefferson City.

This project entailed Phase 1 of a new terminal. AVANT ACOUSTICS designed the public address system and room acoustics for all public areas throughout the terminal, including the implementation of the MIZZOU fight song in the baggage claim area when passenger luggage arrives.

AVANT ACOUSTICS provided the following services:

• Paging System Design
• Room Acoustics Consulting
• Noise Control Design
• System Commissioning

Project Highlights:

AVANT ACOUSTICS collaborated with architects to design Columbia’s new terminal with the latest digital, network-centric paging system. New head-end and ambient noise-sensing equipment for processing paging announcements was provided as well as new, digital microphone paging stations throughout the terminal for initiating clear, intelligible announcements. Both live and prerecorded announcement capabilities, loudspeaker distribution systems, and interface with other systems were included.

Location: Columbia, MO
Facilities: Airport
Client: RS&H Architects
Designer: Edouard G. Charland, Emily Jaumard

Washington Dulles International Airport

AVANT ACOUSTICS’ experience at Dulles International Airport includes the original Concourse B terminal and expansion projects (approximately 60 gates), as well as mobile lounge docks, a pedestrian walkback tunnel, and stations for automated trains used to transport passengers between the concourse and the Main Terminal. A series of sterile corridors and dedicated mobile lounge docks are used to transfer international passengers to the expanded International Arrivals Building. Most recently, paging system upgrades were designed and commissioned for the Concourse C/D terminals.

AVANT ACOUSTICS provided the following services:

• Room acoustics consultation
• Audio-visual communication (paging) systems design
• On-site system commissioning including operator training and assistance during the first use

Project Highlights:

The systems designed by AVANT for the airport include computer-controlled paging systems that provide software configured announcement routing (live and prerecorded) to the various loudspeaker zones in the airport.  Large monitors are used to visually display graphics as well as text for prerecorded messages, synchronous with the corresponding audio announcements.  Prerecorded announcements can also be heard and seen in multiple languages.

Location: Washington, DC
Facilities: Airport Expansion Projects
Client: Big Sky, Inc., HOK, PGAL, & Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority
Designer: Edouard G. Charland

Wichita Mid-Continent Airport

Wichita, Kansas, known as “the Air Capital of the World” because of its long history of aircraft design and manufacturing, now has a terminal worthy of its heritage. With 12 gate holdrooms, ticketing and baggage claim halls and security screening areas, the new terminal is spacious, filled with light, and designed to evoke flight and aircraft design.

AVANT ACOUSTICS provided the following services:

• Room acoustics consultation
• Architectural and mechanical noise control
• Audio and video communication (paging) system design
• On-site system commissioning including operator training

Project Highlights:

Through a 10+ year design process, AVANT ACOUSTICS worked closely with the project architects and engineers to ensure a comfortable acoustical environment with an integrated audio and video paging system. The computer-controlled, network-based paging system meets current needs while allowing for future reconfiguration and expansion. Dedicated microphone paging stations and a system of ceiling-mounted loudspeakers provide intelligible announcements throughout the terminal.

The visual display of prerecorded general messages and flight announcements enable communication with deaf or hard of hearing passengers. Audio levels are adjusted automatically based on ambient noise sensors.

Location: Wichita, KS
Facilities: New Terminal Building
Client: HNTB
Designer: Edouard G. Charland