Sound reinforcement and public address system featuring line array loudspeakers for the neo-Gothic parish church of Our Lady of Lourdes.
A religious building converted into a cultural venue presents a distinctive acoustic challenge. Sacred architecture is designed for contemplation and resonance: high naves, hard surfaces and longitudinal geometries that multiply reflections and increase reverberation. When the same space begins hosting conferences, concerts, theatre performances or presentations, intelligibility and sound field control become the primary concerns.
OPTIMUS supplied the sound reinforcement and public address system for the Pagoeta Sociocultural Space (Pagoeta Gune Soziokulturala) in Urretxu, created following the renovation of the former parish church of Our Lady of Lourdes by the Town Council.
The project combines high-end line array loudspeakers with the all-in-one Compact LITE public address and voice alarm system, providing a comprehensive solution that addresses both the acoustic demands of a cultural venue and the regulatory requirements applicable to public facilities.
From neo-Gothic parish church to cultural facility
The former parish church of Our Lady of Lourdes is a neo-Gothic building constructed around 1945 in the Pagoeta valley. In August 2021, Urretxu Town Council acquired the complex to renovate it and transform it into a sociocultural space capable of meeting the municipality’s cultural, educational and social needs.
Converting a neo-Gothic church into a cultural facility preserves the building’s heritage value—its dressed stonework, buttressed nave geometry and considerable height—but requires the venue’s acoustics to be adapted for uses other than those originally intended: presentations with amplified speech, concerts, screenings, theatre performances and institutional events. All of these require uniform coverage, high intelligibility and precise sound field control to minimise the reflections typically generated by a tall nave with hard surfaces.
The OPTIMUS solution
Sound reinforcement is provided by P08-EN54 loudspeakers, a high-end line array system particularly suited to acoustically complex venues. Line array technology directs sound towards the audience in a controlled manner, minimising the energy radiated towards ceilings and side surfaces and consequently reducing the reverberant contribution that affects intelligibility. The four columns are also EN 54 certified, making them suitable for use as voice alarm loudspeakers.
The system is centred around a Compact LITE unit, OPTIMUS’s public address and voice alarm solution for medium-sized installations, which integrates an audio matrix, two 460 W RMS amplifiers and zone control into a single device. The ME-200L unit serves as an emergency microphone and for operational announcements. The entire system is backed up by lead-acid batteries, ensuring continuity of operation in the event of a mains power failure—an essential requirement for any public facility equipped with an evacuation system.
A versatile solution for heritage sites and places of worship
The Pagoeta Sociocultural Space demonstrates how public address and sound reinforcement systems can be integrated into heritage buildings without compromising their architecture or original character, adapting them to new uses with a technically robust solution.
The same technical combination—line array loudspeakers and the Compact LITE system—is equally applicable to active churches, cathedrals, parish churches, mosques and other places of worship, where the acoustic challenges are similar: high naves, hard surfaces and the need for complete intelligibility of both liturgical speech and music.
OPTIMUS provides solutions for cultural centres, concert halls, auditoriums, theatres, places of worship and converted heritage buildings, combining EN 54-certified equipment with high-end acoustic technology according to to the requirements of each project.
