Danala is Charles Darwin University’s flagship education and cultural precinct in the Darwin CBD. The seven-storey facility brings together tertiary teaching, specialist training, and public-facing cultural spaces within a single integrated campus, supporting modern learning, collaboration, and community engagement.
The Challenge
The project required the delivery of a complete, campus-wide audiovisual solution across seven levels, supporting a large number of teaching, meeting, and public engagement spaces.Â
AV works were closely tied to data services, power infrastructure, joinery integration, and staged commissioning as construction progressed floor by floor.
While the project was originally tendered as a specified system installation, several documentation gaps and scope ambiguities became apparent early. Achieving reliable, supportable outcomes required ongoing design development during construction, alongside close coordination with the builder, consultant team, and CDU stakeholders.
The AV Projects Solution
Audiovisual Projects delivered a fully integrated, campus-wide AV solution aligned with CDU’s education requirements and the architectural intent of the building.
Delivery focused on proactive coordination and design resolution. Infrastructure constraints were identified early, risks were addressed before impacting downstream works, and AV delivery was managed in step with construction milestones to support a smooth commissioning process.
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Design Development and Coordination
Throughout construction, AV Projects worked closely with the builder and CDU representatives to resolve key design and coordination requirements affecting teaching and learning spaces.
This included documentation and coordination for AV-related data services and power infrastructure, enabling other trades to progress confidently and reducing commissioning risk. Design input ensured systems could be delivered, commissioned, and supported reliably over the long term.
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Key Improvements Delivered
Targeted design refinements were implemented to strengthen learning outcomes, system reliability, and operational consistency, including:
- Ceiling microphone arrays in video conferencing-enabled rooms to support clear, consistent hybrid teaching and collaboration
- Coordination of appropriate electrical capacity for AV racks and high-load display systems
- Integration of ventilation into enclosed AV cabinetry, protecting equipment and extending service life
- BYO meeting platform (BYOM) capability in staff meeting rooms, improving flexibility and reducing reliance on fixed host PCs
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Commissioning Support and Issue Resolution
During commissioning, AV Projects supported CDU’s AV and ICT teams in resolving several high-impact technical issues that had the potential to delay handover.
This included assisting with the deployment of custom web-based interfaces across touch panels and room booking panels. Independent testing confirmed issues could be resolved without hardware replacement, allowing deployment to be completed across approximately 163 devices in support of commissioning milestones.
AV Projects also undertook detailed AV-over-IP configuration support and network integrity testing across AV endpoints.Â
This ensured infrastructure issues were correctly identified and did not present as equipment faults, enabling reliable end-to-end system testing.
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Key Spaces Delivered
The completed solution supports a broad range of education and engagement environments, including:
- Interactive theatre (240-seat capacity)
- Two divisible festival learning spaces
- Teaching spaces ranging from 20 to 60 seats
- Computer and cyber security laboratories
- Moot court and seminar rooms
- Meeting rooms and online meeting rooms
- Gallery and exhibition spaces
- Public circulation areas and digital signage
- Main outdoor public LED display
The Results
- 519 Crestron DM NVX endpoints deployed (294 encoders + 225 decoders) to standardise AV-over-IP across campus
- 152 large-format screens delivered (147 interactive displays plus 5 large LED feature screens up to 216")
- 40 ceiling microphone arrays installed to improve pickup consistency across teaching and collaboration spaces
- 136 room-facing interfaces rolled out (65 touch control panels + 83 room booking panels) for simple, repeatable room operation
- 210 installed loudspeakers and 41 power amplifiers to support intelligibility and coverage at scale
- A complete room and rack infrastructure build (39 AV racks & 113 keypad controllers) to keep deployments consistent and serviceable
Danala was delivered with a fully integrated, campus-wide audiovisual solution that supports modern teaching, hybrid learning, and public engagement.
The installation has been recognised for its clean delivery, attention to detail, and overall system quality, particularly given the scale and complexity of the precinct. Despite the large number of AV endpoints, only a small number of equipment faults occurred during delivery.
At the completion of the defects period in September 2025, the original AV installation was operating reliably and consistently across the precinct, underscoring the strength of the initial design and delivery.
