Acoustical Design of a

Concert Hall
What is a good Concert Hall?
A good Concert hall has the audience and musicians contained
within the same space with no separating structure between them.

There is no specific room shape

which can be considered as being
ideal for a concert hall.
At present, the fan shaped and
irregular layouts seem to be
preferred, provided that proper
attention is given to the acoustical
requirements.

However, the rectangular shape is

still favored by those who prefer to
follow traditional and successful
methods rather than risk
experimentation.
 Use of balconies in large concert halls is often advantageous because it
brings the audience closer to the platform
Longer RT levels are highly desirable in large concert halls, but it is a
difficult task
Therefore, the level of sound-absorptive surface treatment (even along
the rear wall, opposite the orchestra podium) be reduced to a minimum
or avoided altogether.
In particular circumstances just audience absorption is sufficient.
 In a concert hall of volume lesser than 25,000 cu m, the use of a sound-
amplification system, should be avoided.

In designing the orchestra platform, the following points are to be

remembered:
 Floor area α spatial requirements of musicians, their instruments,
conductor and soloists.
 Each musician will need about 1.1 to 1.4 sq m
 Proper raking of the audience seating is a prerequisite of satisfactory
hearing conditions
 The orchestra platform should be neither too deep nor too wide.
• Maximum depth of 9m and maximum width of 18m is recommended for
the performing area of the orchestra alone.
 Surrounding enclosures should have reflective treatment and be laid
out so that they enhance the projection of sound and reduce undesirable
sound absorption at the source
 The platform should be raised high enough above the audience floor
level to provide ample direct sound to every listener.

In a multipurpose auditorium an orchestra shell is a vital element of the

platform. It serves the following functions:

It balances the acoustical energy of various sections of the orchestra and
creates a rich and full orchestral tone
It counteracts the directional characteristics of individual musical
instruments and blends them into a whole
It enables members of the orchestra to hear each other better
It accommodates lighting fixtures and establishes permanent microphone
locations
Acoustical Design of
Auditorium for
Speech
To provide the desirable degree of intelligibility and to enable the audience to
appreciate the subtleties of the speaker (actor, preacher or politician), in addition to
the General Requirements discusses, particular attention should be paid to the
following points:

 Paths of direct sound waves should be short as possible to reduce sound-energy

losses in the air
 This requires a compact room shape with a volume-per-seat area of about 2.3 to
4.3 cu m
 Unamplified speech sound traveling directly from source to listener is hardly
understandable beyond about 9 to 12m
 Hence it is essential that short-delayed sound reflections from reflective surfaces
arrive at the listener’s position with a path different of 9 to 10.5 m, corresponding to
a time-delay gap of about 30 msec.
The RT of the auditorium should be as close as possible to the ideal value as
discussed in the graph.
 Achievement of a short RT alone does not guarantee good hearing conditions in
rooms used for speech; The acoustical finishes applied in the room should have
uniform absorption characteristics between 250 and 8000 Hz to prevent excessive
absorption of vowel or consonant sounds within this frequency range.
 The seats should be laid out in such a
pattern that they fall within an angle of
140° from the position of the speaker.
This is necessary to preserve high-
frequency speech sounds, which would
lose power outside this angle because of
their directional characteristics
 In the interest of ample direct sound
supply, obstructing elements such as
columns or deep under-balcony spaces
should be avoided.
Control of Noise in a speech auditorium:
 At frequencies from 125 to 4000 Hz, intelligibility is seriously affected by the signal-
to-noise ratio (ratio of the level of the speech signal to background noise)
If Signal-to-noise ratio is sufficiently large, intelligibility improves
When speech level is too low, it is partially submerged in the background noise and
intelligibility suffers
 It is difficult to establish a straight forward criterion for an ideal signal-to-noise
ratio because noises of various characteristics mask speech sounds to a different
extent
Acoustical Design of
Lecture Halls and
Classrooms
The lecture halls of educational institutions, with seating for more than about 100
people, should be designed in accordance with the relevant acoustical principles
discussed above

The requirements of a lecture hall is governed based on:

 Adequate and correctly directed supply of short-delayed reflections
 Provision of short RT
 Full elimination of possible acoustical defects
 Efficient noise control
In lecture halls it is reasonable to assume one-half to two-thirds of the audience
capacity, because of widely fluctuating attendance.

In the interest of excluding exterior noise, lecture halls are seldom designed with
natural lighting and ventilation. This necessitates a complex ceiling, incorporating
mechanical and lighting components into the sound-reflective ceiling.
Seating Capacity : 130
Volume : 455 cu m
Audience Area : 130 sq m
Volume / Seat : 35 sq m
Audience Area / Seat : 1 sq m
Mid Freq RT : 0.75 sec
The exact purpose of the lecture hall should be ascertained well in advance because
rooms to be used for demonstrations or for audio-visual education require particular
care in their acoustical design and detailing.

Lecture halls with volumes up to about 150 to 200 will not require a sound
amplification system if their acoustical design is based on the recommendations
discussed so far.

For a rectangular lecture room with modest capacity of people, a diagonal seating
layout is particularly recommended. It automatically eliminates undesirable parallel
reflections at the podium and makes use of splayed reflecting surfaces
Classrooms with rectangular shapes, level floors and floor areas normally between
59 to 93 sq m seldom create any serious acoustical problems.

The rear wall opposite to the speaker, even if not treated acoustically, causes no
audible acoustical defect (such as echo or long-delayed reflection), because the
length of the class room is less and the bulletin boards, wall tables and other
furniture elements dissipate and diffuse a considerable fraction of the incident
sound.
The RT of fully occupied classrooms should be approximately 0.6
to 0.8 seconds at mid-frequency, depending on the volume.

If additional absorbent treatment seems necessary, it should be

installed along the perimeter of the ceiling or in the upper parts
of the side and rear walls.

It should be noted that the middle of the ceiling should always

be kept reflective to provide uniform sound-distribution