Table Of ContentARCHITECTURAL
ACOUSTICS
A GUIDE TO INTEGRATED THINKING
© Raj Patel, 2020
Published by RIBA Publishing, 66 Portland Place, London, W1B 1AD
ISBN 9781 85946 636 0
The right of Raj Patel to be identified as the Author of this Work has been
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ARCHITECTURAL
ACOUSTICS
A GUIDE TO INTEGRATED THINKING
RAJ PATEL
Preface VI Angela Burgess Recital Hall, Royal Academy
Acknowledgements VII of Music 115
Introduction 1 National Sawdust 116
Milton Court, London 118
1.0 Acoustics and Architecture 3 Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts 120
Elisabeth Murdoch Hall 122
2.0 Soundscapes 11
6.4 THEATRES 123
Epidaurus 128
3.0 Sound and Architecture – The Future? 17 Hackney Empire 129
Bord Gaís Energy Theatre (Grand Canal Theatre) 130
4.0 I and We In Acoustics 23 Kilden Performing Arts Centre 131
Richard Burton Theatre 131
Craig Dykers, Founding Partner, Snøhetta, 2020
6.5 OPERA 133
5.0 Acoustic Terminology 29
Semperoper 138
Glyndebourne Opera House 139
6.0 Case Studies 67 Oslo Opera House 140
Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center 142
6.1 ARENAS 69
Velodrom, Berlin (velodrome and swimming pool) 74 6.6 DANCE 145
Pala Alpitour 76 Sadler's Wells Theatre 148
First Direct Arena 78 Jerome Robbins Theater, Baryshnikov Arts
Center 150
Barclays Center 80
6.7 MULTI-USE HALLS 151
6.2 STADIA 83
Prudential Hall, New Jersey Performing Arts Centre 155
City of Manchester Stadium (Etihad Stadium) 88
Harpa 156
Allianz Arena 89
Storesal Stormen Culture Centre 157
National Stadium 90
Tempe Center for the Arts 158
6.3 CONCERT HALLS 93
6.8 AMPLIFIED SOUND 159
Große Musikvereinssaal (Great Hall) 102
Ministry of Sound 162
Boston Symphony Hall 104
Brooklyn Steel 163
Bridgewater Hall 106
Public Records 164
Snape Maltings 108
Sage Gateshead 110 6.9 IMMERSIVE SPACES 167
National Forum of Music 112 Arup Facilities 170
Appel Room, Jazz at Lincoln Center 114 The Cube, Moss Arts Center 172
6.10 HEALTH AND WELLNESS 175 Met Breuer 234 s
Immersive Spaces 179 St Louis Art Museum Expansion 236 t
Kaiser Permanente San Diego Medical Center, SFMOMA 238 n
San Diego 180
e
6.19 RECORDING AND BROADCAST 243
6.11 WORKPLACE 181 Danish Broadcasting Corporation t
E-ON HQ 184 Headquarters 249 n
LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired 185 Air Studios, Lyndhurst 250
o
R/GA HQ 186 BBC Pacifc Quay 252
C
Sky Studios, Osterley 254
6.12 EDUCATION 187
BBC Hoddinott Hall 256
Evelyn Grace Academy 191
Kroon Hall 192 6.20 RESTAURANTS 257
Marina Bay Sands 260
6.13 CIVIC AND COURTHOUSES 195
Stack at the Mirage 261
GLA Building, London City Hall 198
Colonie Restaurant 262
Senedd, National Assembly 199
United States Courthouse for the District of Utah 200 6.21 RETAIL 263
Sony Flagship Store 266
6.14 HOTEL AND RESIDENTIAL 201
Comme des Garçons 267
Television Centre 204
MOKO 268
Bosco Verticale 205
6.22 AVIATION 269
Pacifc Place 206
Changi Airport, Terminal 4 273
6.15 LABS AND RESEARCH 207 JFK Terminal 4 274
Frick Chemistry Laboratory 210
6.23 RAIL 275
World Conservation and Exhibitions Centre 212
Jubilee Line Extension 278
6.16 LIBRARIES 213 St Pancras International 280
The British Library, St Pancras 216 2nd Ave Subway Stations 282
dlr Lexlcon 218 Washington Metro 284
Seattle Central Library 220
6.24 WORSHIP 285
6.17 CINEMA 221 St Mary's Cathedral 289
Sky Cinema 225 Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels 290
Kericho Cathedral 292
6.18 MUSEUMS AND GALLERIES 227
Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) 231 Bibliography 294
New Museum of Contemporary Art 232 References 295
High Museum of Art 233 Image Credits 296
e One of my earliest and most enduring memories is of I’ve had the opportunity to understand and apply
c the interaction between sound and architecture. In creative acoustics thinking very broadly across the
a my early years I lived on a wide street with a parade built environment. While there are myriad rules and
of shops topped by houses on both sides. Our front criteria that can, and must, be applied, the challenge
f
e door was behind the shops, reached via a long narrow has been learning how to communicate good
alleyway that connected the street to the rear shop acoustics design to professionals with very diferent
r
P delivery area. The alley was fve storeys tall, plastered backgrounds who pay less attention to it. I've worked
brick on both sides. Just by stepping into it, the with many wonderful architects, designers and artists
sound of the world changed. If I clapped my hands or willing to explore and work beyond a rules-based
stamped my feet a loud ringing would fll the space. approach to achieve successful outcomes. It has been
Years later I would learn that this phenomenon is rich and rewarding, with the great beneft of being
called a ‘futter echo’ – common in spaces with parallel, able to see people enjoy the spaces, and take on
sound-refecting walls, and especially pronounced unique characters once left to the users and visitors.
when spaces are tall and narrow.
I’ve never been much of an academic. I tend to learn
You could feel it traveling up and along the walls. It by a process of experimenting, making, learning
could be activated by whistling (I would run down it and repeating. It was a surprise to be asked by the
trying to ‘catch’ the sounds I made), banging sticks or RIBA to write a book, and that several architects had
bouncing balls. I found this ability to manipulate my suggested I would be a good candidate to do so, and
sonic landscape fascinating and engaging; it was my it was even more surprising to me that I said yes. I
frst experience of playing with architecture. I can still remained daunted by the prospect down to the fnal
hear that sound clearly in my mind. words. This is primarily because I have spent most of
my career developing tools and techniques to explain
I was always fascinated by the sounds and noises
acoustics using sound instead of words. It seemed
things made, and the tactility of it – from the
like the obvious way to easily convey meaning and
satisfying ‘click’ of turning on an old radio dial (not
achieve better outcomes. It was a challenge to put
to mention the music coming from it), to setting a
this into writing, but I hope that summarising some
turntable needle down on a vinyl record. I learned to
of these thoughts and experiences will be useful to
play musical instruments, both classical and modern,
others in the future.
listening to myself and others play in concert halls
and rock clubs, subconsciously thinking about
the relationship between sound and space. At a
crucial moment around the age of 16, I stumbled
on a prospectus for the University of Southampton.
Acoustics was listed frst in the index. I read it, visited,
and took the course. I have been practising some
form of acoustic consulting, sound or multimedia
design ever since.
[ VI ] ARCHITECTURAL ACOUSTICS
I would like to acknowledge and thank the following Ofcer, Chris Field, Chris Manning, Colin English, s
people: Dave Anderson, Ian Thompson, Iain Clarke, Joe t
n
Solway, John Miller, Kurt Grafy, Kym Burgemeister,
Elizabeth Webster, Senior Commissioning Editor at the
Malcolm Wright, Nathan Blum, Ned Crowe, Nick e
RIBA, for her abundance of patience in getting this
Boulter, Nigel Cogger, Paul Malpas, Peter Grifths,
m
done. Clare Holloway, Associate Editor at the RIBA for
Richard Greer, Rob Harris, Roger Kelly and Sam Tsoi.
her diligence and for keeping things moving in the
e
fnal 12 months. Deanna Wallach, my assistant, for her Thanks to Ian Knowles, my friend and colleague for
g
patience, editing, photo sourcing, biscuits and cakes. almost 28 years, who contributed much to this book.
Fiona Shipwright for working closely with me in the d
Special thanks to Neill Woodger, whom I have
development, direction, transcription and editing of
e
collaborated with on countless endeavours and
the conversations that form the backbone of the text.
adventures in acoustics, and without whom many l
Solène Wolf at PLANE-SITE for direction, guidance, w
achievements would not have been realised.
and assistance in the planning process and initial
assembly of materials. o
To Derek Sugden and Richard Cowell – for having
a vision of the transformative efect of acoustics in n
Daniel Imade, King of the Arup Photo Library, for all
design, and for imparting it with their wisdom and
his work on the Case Studies. Willem Boning and k
unmatched wit to create an environment and legacy
Leah Guszkowski for assistance in developing the c
that lives on through all who have worked at, or with,
book format and approach. Kelsey Habla for the new A
the Acoustics, AV, Theatre team at Arup.
drawings and fgures used throughout. Brendan
Smith for the visual representations of audio. Peter
To the acoustic consultants everywhere who go out
Grueneisen and Annette Gref at Birkhauser for use of
every day to spread the word, and to those who fnd
images and text from his excellent book Soundspace new ways to better demonstrate and use sound
for the Acoustic Terminology section, modifed and
proactively in the design process, elevating it above
developed by the author and Avi Bortnik.
what is necessary, to what delights.
To all my fellow acoustics, audio-visual and theatre
To my son Jay and my daughter Reva. And to my wife
consultants at Arup who contributed to chapters
Jennifer – for everything.
throughout, my sincere thanks for your critique and
encouragement, for embracing challenges, and for
making Arup an enduringly vibrant place to work.
I’ve had the pleasure of working with some great
acoustic consultants over the years. Too numerous to
mention all by name, I wish to recognise a few who
have been close colleagues for 20 years or more, from
whom I learned a lot at a pivotal time as our collective
practice was developing, and from the many projects
we shared: Finola Reid, Fiona Gillan, Helen Butcher,
Sylvia Jones, Alban Bassuet, Andrew Nicol, Andy
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS [ VII ]
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How often do you think about sound and how insights for incorporating good acoustic thinking for
you want people to feel when you are designing design in the broadest sense. Acoustic Terminology
a space? Good acoustic design is inherent to captures key words that will likely be encountered
architecture. Every decision you make about shape, in a working career as a designer. The Case Studies
form, geometry, volume and materials defnes the present projects by type, to quickly understand
acoustics. So how do you design proactively for the what is important and why, with project examples
right outcomes, the frst time? for guidance. The intention is to foster an approach
to thinking about sound at the start of projects, the
Architects generally receive little, if any, education
positive potential of using sound creatively, and
in acoustics. In formulating design goals for
to help engage your clients in dialogue about it.
projects, acoustics is a low priority – except
Hopefully it helps to elevate the acoustics profession
when it is fundamental to a building’s function
and its integration with other design disciplines.
(e.g. a concert hall). This is a missed opportunity.
Great aural environments can be transcendental. This book does not replace the essential role of the
Acoustics is the invisible art. When done well, acoustic consultant who is needed on most if not
spaces feel right – elevating one’s experience. all projects. Most impactful at the very start, a good
Get it wrong and it can make buildings unft for consultant with expertise of the building type will
purpose. Poor acoustics can be expensive, difcult provide invaluable advice.
or impossible to correct once you have them. It
We should strive to create spaces that delight all
requires integrated thinking from the start.
the senses. The right blend of what you see and
Understanding acoustics – the propagation of how it feels is what creates exceptional, emotionally
vibration through air and solids, the conversion of engaging spaces. I advocate thinking about sound in
vibration into sound, the range of subjective views on the way you design from the outset. Ask the question:
what constitutes pleasant sound or unwanted noise 'How do I want people to feel in this space?' and
at diferent frequencies (low, medium, high or to use consider every sense when you do.
the musical analogy bass, mid, treble) is extremely
complex. It requires a fundamental grasp of the
Raj Patel, New York, February 2020
physics, engineering, art and psychology of sound.
Experiencing acoustics during the design process by
listening is now accessible using auralisation tools.
Used well, this encourages better design outcomes.
There are plenty of technical books on architectural
acoustics for those who want to delve deeper into
the subject. This book is intended to help those
unsure why acoustics is important in design at all,
approaching acoustics for the frst time, or as a
refresher when starting work on new projects. It aims
to capture the essential information needed to design
well. The opening essays provide background and
INTRODUCTION [ 1 ]
