Ceitronics was the systems integrator for one of the largest and most complex audio-video projects in the country--the $5 million audio-video upgrade of San Francisco City Hall. The integration, designed by audio-video consultant Ken Fause of Smith, Fause & McDonald of San Francisco, includes a complex weaving of audio, video and communication technologies within the rigid architectural confines of a historic building. It was completed January, 1999.

Hidden inside the ornate Beaux Arts walls of the historic building, the new communications system installed by Ceitronics provides for amplification and recording of city government procedures, and links council chambers and committee meeting rooms for public broadcast access to most City Hall proceedings.

Marble facing and hardwood paneling were removed from City Hall's steel skeleton to repair structural damage caused by the earthquake, providing an opportunity for the building to be completely rewired for advanced communications capabilities. Ceitronics unspooled miles of interconnected fiber optic and copper cables in City Hall, now enclosed within its newly restored surfaces. The newly installed fiber optic infra-structure provides future upgrade potential as technology changes through the 21st century.

Historic Renovation
“Ceitronics is one of a handful of system integrators within the United States that could execute a project of this level of complexity in a space of this size with this kind of turnaround,” said Ceitronics project manager Jim Thielemann.

The City Hall audio-video integration is part of a $293 million seismic upgrade and other improvements to the 83-year-old national historic landmark, considered by many preservationists to be the most significant interior public space in the country.

The 500,000 square foot granite and marble monument covers two city blocks. It was damaged significantly in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, when the force of the quake twisted the building’s 90,000 ton dome like a cap on a bottle, and cracked the walls and roof substantially.

Basement Control Center
Space and cooling limitations, as well as the historical character of the building, dictated that the majority of the audio-visual equipment be placed in the basement. The basement now contains the head end computer control center, two broadcast studios, and routers for all the video, audio systems, MATV, and processors.

“Ceitronics had to integrate 21st century audio-visual systems within the historic building with zero architectural impact,” said Thielemann. “Our work needed to be invisible upon completion. None of the numerous runs of conduit could be placed on the interior walls because of restrictions regarding the ornate marble, thus concealed conduits were required. Also, traditional projection systems would detract from the beauty of the Mandurian oak paneling, thus alternative solutions were sought for video presentation.

“Smith, Fause & McDonald’s solution was to install networks on fiber as the transportation medium for all signal types,” Thielemann said. Video is sent directly from cameras in the meeting chambers over fiber via transceivers to the basement. The video signals are then sent to a Pesa Matrix switcher for distribution. This allows the broadcast studios to originate a broadcast from any of five meeting rooms. Video broadcast signals are sent back up to the rooms via fiber for display on touch panels or on TVs. For the first time, all public meetings can be broadcast to the general public as well as throughout City Hall offices.

New Technology
Audio is pre-amplified, digitized, and multiplexed. It is then processed by the Peavey Media Matrix equipment, routed and distributed by the routing switcher, and re-multiplexed and sent back to each meeting room. There it is converted back into analog, and amplified for distribution in the room.

This lengthy audio signal “chain” required custom software developed by Peak Audio for the Rave multiplexer for the QSC Rave product, called Rapid Rave. The Rave system reduces signal delay and full loop transmission time to allow the Media Matrix system ample processing time. The unique pairing of QSC Rapid Rave and Peavey Media Matrix is the first marriage of these technologies.