From its earliest beginnings in 1870 Putney Methodist Church has been a story of development and growth. Initially a dual-purpose church and school room, it was soon upgraded to a larger space, much admired for its lofty tower and Victorian Gothic features. However, when a Second World War V1 flying bomb fell directly opposite the church, the blast rendered it unusable until it was rebuilt in 1952. Now the church has been given a high-tech makeover with a new sound system, theatrical lighting for the worship band, state of the art LED house lighting and a beautiful new aspect courtesy of colour changing LED external luminaires.
Sound System
Clarity proposed several modifications and additions to the church’s sound system to improve the features and flexibility of the equipment and greatly simplify the control for non-technical users. The design of the system makes it suitable for the multi-functional, community culture of the spaces.
We always use professional products that have a proven track record for being durable and reliable and believe in a ‘plug and play’ mentality to keep things simple. “Our specification required that the existing loudspeakers be replaced with high quality, discreet speech reinforcement line array loudspeakers from Yamaha underpinned by a pair of Yamaha subwoofers. These units offer a unique combination of outstanding sound quality and their slim format blends seamlessly with the fabric of the building rendering them almost invisible.” Wall-mounted audio controls in tandem with wireless iPad operation ensures that no one is excluded from accessing the system.
Yamaha digital processing incorporating DANTE provides limiting, compression, feedback suppression, automatic gain control for microphones and multiple connection points for maximum versatility. Audio coverage is excellent and intelligibility superb.
Internal and External Lighting
Clarity introduced a wirelessly controlled new house lighting system. The award-winning range of modular, highly efficient lighting is being used in venues all around the world including the Royal Albert Hall and the Tower of London chapel, so we were confident that this space was in safe hands. Due to some very clever design features, these fixtures can be fitted into places of worship without the need to rewire (providing the power cabling is of a suitable standard). Appropriate fixtures were chosen to perfectly suit the nave, aisles and chancel ensuring even, consistent cover throughout and making the most of must-see features such as the wonderful beam-work in the ceiling.
Externally, colour changing battens are positioned at the bottom of each of the five main windows to highlight the architectural details whilst five powerful colour-changing luminaires illuminate the main tower and front aspect of the church. For the benefit of the congregation, additional external fixtures are positioned externally to bring the Chancel’s stained-glass window to life in the evenings.
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