Concert Halls, Auditoriums, and Theaters

Unfortunately, in many cases the acoustic consultant is engaged after the auditorium shape has been set and with some projects the superstructure may have already been completed. It can be difficult to correct room ratio problems, wall angles, and ceiling profiles for these projects. Auditorium design goes so much beyond treating a space to control the Reverberation Time.

The difference in arrival time of the direct sound and the first initial reflections should ideally be between 20 and 35 milliseconds. This can only be achieved with careful modeling of the auditorium wall, floor, ceiling and seating profiles. Acoustical analysis should be computed at a cross section of typical listening positions. The shape should also be examined for a clean exponential decay envelope free from convergent reflections or 'flutter echoes'.

It requires fast computers and lots of time to calculate the thousands of possible reflection paths to each listener position and the model of the auditorium must be accurately detailed in 3D to give predictable data that will stand up to testing and verification after construction is completed.

Some of Our Auditorium Projects

We undertook acoustics, noise control, and audio-visual system design for a 1,500 seat concert hall in Jakarta which is owned by the Indonesian Electricity Board and attached as a six storey podium to their new 22 storey building. We worked with George Floth Pty. Ltd. (Sydney, Australia) as the mechanical and electrical engineers, Taylor, Thompson and Whitting (Australia) as the civil and structural engineers, and P.T. Rice Daubeny Cipta (Jakarta, Indonesia) as the architects and interior designers.

Our scope of work covered all aspects of the acoustic design including computerized 3D acoustic modeling of the concert hall for reverb time computation, spatial reflection plots, and time-energy plots for direct and reflected sound at various listener positions. We were also responsible for all aspects of noise and vibration control, and design and consulting for the audio-visual system which was required for contemporary music and A/V presentation.

The sound system bid was directly awarded to TOA Electronics of Japan who installed Z-Drive electronic processor-controlled central, left, and right clusters along with balcony fills on a TOA matrix delay system. The Vienna Symphony orchestra officially opened the hall in October 1994.

Menara PGRM Auditorium (Kuala Lumpur, MALAYSIA)

Menara PGRM is owned by the political group, Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia, and is a 22 Storey complex with a 2000 seat auditorium, 3 exhibition halls, conference rooms and executive offices.

We worked closely with Pengurusan Projek Isometrik, the owners representative, Gerak Reka as the architects, and L.C. Engineering as the mechanical and electrical engineers, to make this a quiet building to suit the demands of high level executive offices in the Kuala Lumpur city region.

The auditorium has a balcony level seating 600 and the main floor with stepped seating facilitates another 1400. Complete 3D computer modeling was performed to analyze the acoustics before the auditorium was built. In response to the design documentation, O'Conners Engineering supplied the sound system which was a cluster of COMMUNITY brand loudspeaker cabinets.

Auditorium for Alice Smith International School

This was a renovation project by the school to update their existing auditorium. The project was handled through their architects, Peter Lim Architects Sdn. Bhd. and included the installation of a new ducted air-conditioning system. The room shape and ceiling profile were not to be altered in any major way and we had to design acoustic treatment that would lower the Reverberation Time without sacrificing initial reflections from the stage area.

The old acoustic panel ceiling was removed and replaced with reflective gypsum in the first half of the auditorium nearer the stage. This would allow sound created on stage to be reflected back to the rear of the auditorium and increase the perceived sound pressure level. A delayed second cluster of speakers was also included to serve the rear area as previously there had been trouble with projection of sound to the rear of the auditorium.

Kelab Taman Perdana DiRaja (The Royal Lake Club, Kuala Lumpur, MALAYSIA)

We were appointed by tender/bidding application as the audio and acoustic consultants for the upgrading of the sound systems and acoustics for Kelab Taman Perdana Diraja. The existing auditorium had acoustic problems caused by a lack of sound absorption materials in the original design. The sound system was rather outdated and only useful for basic speech announcements. The club had been begun featuring international acts and each time they needed to rent high-level sound systems for the shows.

We undertook complete and detailed audio and acoustic testing and provided reports, recommendations, and then complete design and documentation for new systems to be installed in the Main Banquet Hall and all the other bars and lounge rooms. This included complete acoustic remodeling of the banquet hall. We provided the drawings, specifications and tender documentation for the acoustic remodeling and the new sound systems.

The tender for the main sound system was awarded to Audiovisual Land (Malaysia) Inc. who supplied and installed a cluster of APOGEE loudspeakers and sub-woofers, a Yamaha console, and Crest amplifiers. The acoustic renovation and construction was awarded to Perangsang Remuda Inc. who have won a number of our bids for acoustic construction in Malaysia.

University Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM)

We have undertaken a number of acoustic consulting projects for UKM including two recording studios and control rooms for audio post-production for video and film. Their requirements for a preview theater included being 'on-line' to the recording control rooms for monitoring of the process by students and staff. They required a high quality theater to review the productions as if they were to be played back in a full-size theater.

We designed a miniature theater that seated one hundred people. The seating was stepped and the ceiling profile designed to enhance the stage sound. A fully integrated audio and video system was provided with the speakers flush mounted into the front wall to enhance the low frequency response. Design also included mechanical and electrical services with co-ordination by Unit Pembangunan Engineers.

The facility is managed by the Education Dept. at UKM Bangi and we worked closely with their Director, Dr. Halimahtun Mohd. Khalid who had definite ideas on the requirements for the facility. Equipment, which included projectors, audio systems, audio and video recording and editing facilities, and cameras and lighting were supplied direct by JVC Japan with installation being done by O'Conners Engineering, Malaysia.

Edaran Otomobil Nasional Berhad (Shah Alam, MALAYSIA)

The Malaysian national car maker engaged us as the acoustic designers for their presentation auditorium in Shah Alam. This was to be used for audio and video presentation, live speeches for visiting dignitaries, and also had rotating turntables to show off the cars. The floor area is about 600 square meters and the ceiling area was already covered with a comprehensive lighting grid system for the cameras.

The existing RT60 of 6 seconds had to be lowered to 1.2 seconds and only three walls could be treated as the fourth wall consisted of 10 meter high roller shutters for camera cranes and car entrance. We undertook extensive testing of the existing acoustics and then modeled the auditorium in 3D to convince the client that their requirement could be met. It was agreed in our design contract that we would guarantee to meet particular octave band reverberation times within 8 percent of our calculations for frequencies from 125 Hz to 4000 Hz. It is only through rigorous calculation and experience that we could agree to such terms in our contract.