Acoustical Design and

Materials for a Concert Halls

Prepared by :
Ayessa Ann Desaporado
Pamela Penaroyo
Alvin Sabiaga

Introduction:

The concert hall conveys orchestral sound to the

listener through acoustic reflections from directions
defined by the room geometry. When sound arrives from
the sides of the head, binaural hearing emphasizes the
same frequencies produced by higher orchestral-playing
dynamics, thus enhancing perceived dynamic range.
Many studies on room acoustics acknowledge the
importance of such lateral reflections, but their
contribution to the dynamic responsiveness of the hall
has not yet been understood. Because dynamic
expression is such a critical part of symphonic music,
this phenomenon helps to explain the established
success of shoebox-type concert halls.

In concert halls acoustic design there

are two basic discipline:

Room Acoustics
Noise control
- whose needs and solutions are
different, though they must often be
achieved in the sane wall,floor, or
ceiling detail. Sometimes the same
materials are used for different reasons,
and their material;s specification s are
simply separated.

Analysis:

The responsiveness of a concert hall to dynamics

can be traced to the interaction of three factors:
the characteristics of the orchestra sound,
the reflections provided by the room, and the
directional sensitivity of hearing. In this article,
the combined effect of these factors is quantified as
binaural dynamic responsiveness (BDR). The
hypothesis is that lateral early reflections, such as
those that occur in historically successful shoebox
halls and some modern designs, increase the halls
responsiveness to orchestral dynamics due to the
interaction between orchestral spectral excitation,
spatial sound transmission, and emphasized highfrequency content in directional hearing.

These elements correspond to the three

elements of the transmission chain:
source, the orchestra; path, the room; and
receiver, a listener.

Sound of the Orchestra.

In the realm of dynamics, the orchestra sound
involves crucial effects related to the harmonic
structure of the sound. A natural effect with
higher playing dynamics is the perceived
intensification of the instrument sound. An
important phenomenon is the nonlinear
change in the overall spectral shape. For most
orchestra instruments, more higher harmonics
are excited with a more forceful playing style.

The Effect of Lateral Reflections.

In modern times, performance venues are
often designed to replicate the sound
quality of the famed classic halls, but are
also subject to demands for larger
audiences and alternative seating
configurations. Larger audiences preclude
copying the small spaces where classical
music originated, structural technology
allows larger and more flexible spaces
than before, and new hall typologies, such
as the vineyard-style hall, offer an
enhanced social experience

The Effect of Lateral Reflections.

In modern times, performance venues
are often designed to replicate the sound
quality of the famed classic halls, but are
also subject to demands for larger
audiences and alternative seating
configurations. Larger audiences preclude
copying the small spaces where classical
music originated, structural technology
allows larger and more flexible spaces
than before, and new hall typologies,
such as the vineyard-style hall, offer an
enhanced social experience.

Directional Binaural Loudness.

It is a well-known effect that shading
from the head, shapes of the pinnae,
and reflections from the listeners body
cause alterations in the frequency
content entering the ear canals,
depending on the direction of the
incident sound. The directiondependent filter created by these
effects is known as the head-related
transfer function (HRTF).

One discipline is the design of the

auditorium itself; the volume, shaping,
finishes, and furnishings necessary to
achieve the best acoustical
environment for the natural
(unamplified) sounds of musical
instruments. This discipline is called
room acoustics.

For a Concert Hall, good acoustics

involves:
- good distribution of sounds to all the
seats, which depends on proper shaping
and finishes of all interior surfaces.
Natural sound diffusion and envelopment
A sense of intimacy for the audience and a
sense of ensemble for both musicians and
audience
- Proper reverberation times throughout all
frequencies, which depend on the rooms
volume and the total sound absorption of
all materials

Freedom from acoustical faults of

echoes, flutter, and fucos
Freedom from disturbing noises

Surface Materials and

Constructions:

To achieve the designed acoustical objects and considering

the decoration effects, the materials and constructions for
the surfaces of the concert hall are assigned as follows:

(1) Side walls of stage and oblique parts of side walls of

auditorium: 25mm wood planks (or 2 layers 12mm fiber
reinforced gypsum boards covered with wood skin)
decorated with MLS construction.
(2)Parallel parts of side walls of auditorium: 25mm wood
planks (or 2 layers 12mm fiber reinforced gypsum boards)
designed as column form to diffuse sound waves.
(3)Rear wall of auditorium: QRD diffusers made of wood.
Absorptive curtain with a density of 750 g/m2 is hung in
front of the rear wall to change RT value and eliminate
echo when holding conference evens.

(4)Rear wall of stage: Diffusers shaped like

pyramid is designed in the back wall of the
stage. The moveable partition is build with wood
planks. The two sides of the partition are
reflective or absorptive respectively. The
absorptive surface is covered with absorbent
having noise reduction coefficiency larger than
0.5. When holding conference, the absorptive
side will appear.
(5)Ceiling: The ceiling is made of fibre reinforced
gypsum boards with density large than 40kg/ .
(6)Floor of auditorium: Wood planks adhered to
the floor slabs.
(7)Floor of stage: Wood planks built on stilts.

Sound Insulation and Noise Control

To achieve the requirement for the background noise level of
the hall, sound insulation and noise control have to be carefully
considered:
- The surrounding walls of the hall consist of two layers made of
light concrete blocks. In the gap between the two layers wall, airconditioning tubes are placed. To increase the sound insulation
ability of the surrounding structures, fiber reinforced gypsum
boards backed rook wool sheets are added on the inner layer. The
partitions on stage are made of reinforced concrete. The doors of
the hall consist of sound locks with two door panels. Their sound
insulation index each must be not lower 30dB.
- Noise control methods include choosing lower noise level
ventilator, using flexible pipes to connect the vibrating
equipment, setting absorptive materials inside the ducts and
isolators to support the packaged air-conditioning system and so
on.

Acoustical
Materials

Reverberation Conditions:

The most important and well-known element of natural

acoustics is reverberation. There are three General
reverberation conditions that most commonly occur:
a

relatively short reverberation that allows clearly

intelligible speech but which tends to frustrate and repress
music and congregational response .
a medium or compromise reverberation that serves all
types of speech and music acceptably but usually serves
none exceptionally .

a long reverberation that imparts a glorious and

resounding character for spoken and sung responses of the
assembly, pipe organ and traditional choir yet, if excessive,
can render speech virtually incomprehensible and reduce
contemporary and folk music groups to muddled noise.

Natural Acoustic

The following factors are recommended in providing appropriate

natural acoustics in the architectural and acoustical design:
- Provide a reverberation period of at least 2 to 3 seconds.
- Minimize the amount of sound absorbing materials. In all cases,
sound absorbing materials must not be located near the important
sources of sound: the assembly, the music. Since all of these sound
sources are at floor level, floors cannot be carpeted and pews cannot
be covered with upholstery or cushions.
- Provide properly oriented, hard-surfaced materials around sound
sources. All surfaces (including floors, walls, and ceilings) near and
around, musicians, and the assembly must have hard surfaces.
- Avoid or minimize the use of lightweight surface materials such as
gypsum board or thin wood panels. If wood paneling is desired, and if it
occupies a large area, it should be attached directly over solid,
massive structural materials. Do not use suspended acoustical ceilings.

Music:

Benches or chairs for the seating of those

engaged in the ministry of music, instrumental or
choral, should be so constructed and arranged
that they have the advantages described for
congregational seating and also that they are
clearly part of the assembly. Yet, the music
should be able to sing and play facing the rest of
the audience.

Sound Isolation

Sound isolation involves the acoustical

insulating properties of building
elements (walls, doors, etc.) to
minimize sound transmission between
rooms and other areas.
Sound isolation must be provided for
all spaces within the building where
silence, privacy, solemnity, and
confidentiality are required for the
special needs

Sound Reinforcement:

The most important function of a sound

reinforcement system is to provide
excellent speech intelligibility. It must do
this within the reverberant environment
needed to support the audience and music
in a concert hall. Care must be taken in the
design and use of sound systems so that
the audience voice is not overpowered or
made less significant by amplified sounds.

The preferred loudspeaker design is a central

cluster. This may be composed of several
loudspeaker horns assembled into a single
array or of several cabinets that house the
necessary components. One major advantage
of the central cluster design is directional
realism: the audible impression that sound is
coming from the talker rather than from the
loudspeaker. There are other loudspeaker
configurations that may be appropriate under
certain conditions, but these must be
evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

Traditional
music
(vocal
and
instrumental)
should
require
no
amplification. The natural
acoustics of the concert hall should be
adequate to support voices and traditional
instruments. It may be necessary in some
cases to provide supplemental electronic
support or enhancement for small bands,
but this should be done with great care to
preserve the purity of natural vocal sounds
and
to
prevent
overpowering
the
audiences.

Now you learned something?

Thanks :D

The End