MONDO | STADIA spoke to Dominika Obwarzanek, Senior Application Engineer at d&b audiotechnik, to discuss the realities of designing sound for the modern stadium. Nine years and dozens of stadium projects on from her first, Puskás Aréna, Obwarzanek explores what it takes to build a single system that can serve a Champions League final, a stadium concert, and other events without compromise, and why she’d rather call the process “optimising” than compromising at all. From early manufacturer involvement in construction projects to retrofitting for community and fan expectation, she outlines the precision, and the pressure, behind acoustics in venues where there’s only one chance to get it right.

Can you tell us about your background, and how you came to be at d&b audiotechnik?

I’m originally from Poland, and I hold a Master of Science in Technical Acoustics. Aeronautics was actually the other path I considered, but the choice became easier once I looked at it honestly. I spent most of my life in ballet school, and that teaches you early on that nothing lasts forever — at some point you have to make a decision and commit to it. My decision was to stay connected to sound, specifically the opera house environment. I tried moving to front of house, but I wasn’t particularly good at it, so my academic choices took me a different direction instead. My first job in audio was with Konsbud Audio as a Project Engineer. I then had a stint with the Adamson distributor and got a broader perspective on the industry, before joining d&b, where I’ve now been for nine years. 

Read the full interview from ISSUE 49 below: