Auditorium Acoustics

504 Pages·2003·36.4 MB·English

by  Michael Barron

Auditorium Acoustics and Architectural Design

Auditorium Acoustics
and Architectural Design
Second Edition
Michael Barron
First edition published 1993
by E & FN Spon
This edition first published 2010
by Spon Press
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Spon Press
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© 1993, 2009 Michael Barron
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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Barron, Michael.
Auditorium acoustics and architectural design / Michael Barron. – 2nd ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Architectural acoustics. 2. Music-halls – Great Britain. 3. Music-halls. I. Title.
NA2800.B36 2010
725’.81-dc22 2009002327
ISBN 0-203-87422-6 Master e-book ISBN
ISBN10: 0-419-24510-3 (hbk)
ISBN10: 0-203-87422-6 (ebk)
ISBN13: 978-0-415-24510-0 (hbk)
ISBN13: 978-0-203-87422-6 (ebk)
Contents
Preface ix
Preface to the first edition xi
Foreword xiii
1 Introduction 1
2 Sound and rooms 10
2.1 The essence of sound waves 10
2.2 The nature of music and speech sounds 12
2.3 Sound propagation 15
2.4 Sound in rooms 17
2.5 Reflections and the ear 19
2.6 Sound propagation in detail 20
2.7 Acoustic defects 25
2.8 Reverberation time design 28
2.9 Sound level distribution 35
3 Acoustics for the symphony concert hall 38
3.1 Introduction 38
3.2 The subjective dimension 39
3.3 Objective descriptions 45
3.4 Size, volume and form 47
3.5 Early reflection design 49
3.6 The diffusion question 53
3.7 Balcony design 54
3.8 Design for the performers (written by A.-C. Gade) 56
3.9 Acoustic modelling 61
3.10 Objective characteristics 66
4 The development of the concert hall 75
4.1 Introduction 75
4.2 Early developments 76
4.3 The classical rectangular concert hall 79
vi Contents
4.4 The directed sound hall 91
4.5 The fan-shaped hall 95
4.6 The synthesis in British post-war halls 98
4.7 The diffuse solution 98
4.8 A subdivided acoustic space? 101
4.9 The terraced concert hall 106
4.10 The lateral directed reflection sequence hall 110
4.11 Concert hall design in the 980s 114
4.12 Return to precedents 121
5 British concert halls and conclusions for concert hall acoustics 128
5.1 Royal Albert Hall, London 130
5.2 Usher Hall, Edinburgh 138
5.3 Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool 144
5.4 Watford Colosseum 149
5.5 Royal Festival Hall, London 153
5.6 Colston Hall, Bristol 160
5.7 Free Trade Hall, Manchester 165
5.8 Fairfield Hall, Croydon 170
5.9 The Lighthouse Concert Hall, Poole 175
5.10 Barbican Concert Hall, Barbican Centre, London 180
5.11 St David’s Hall, Cardiff 186
5.12 Royal Concert Hall, Nottingham 192
5.13 Glasgow Royal Concert Hall 198
5.14 Birmingham Symphony Hall 203
5.15 Bridgewater Hall, Manchester 210
5.16 Waterfront Hall, Belfast 215
5.17 Acoustical design of concert halls in subjective and objective terms 222
5.18 Solutions to the large concert hall problem 225
6 Chamber music and recital halls 230
6.1 Introduction 230
6.2 Reverberation time and loudness 231
6.3 Room form for chamber music 233
6.4 Wigmore Hall, London 239
6.5 Queen Elizabeth Hall, London 242
6.6 The Maltings Concert Hall, Snape, Suffolk 247
6.7 Faculty of Music Auditorium, Cambridge 251
6.8 Conclusions 256
7 Acoustics for speech 258
7.1 The nature of speech 258
7.2 Speech in the open air 261
7.3 Speech in rooms 262
7.4 Is there an optimum profile for theatre design? 264
Contents vii
7.5 Design for speech in theatres 267
7.6 The early reflection ratio 270
7.7 Acoustic measurement of theatres 273
7.8 Prediction of reverberation time in theatres 274
8 Theatre acoustics 276
8.1 Classical Greek and Roman theatre 276
8.2 Elizabethan theatre in London 282
8.3 The development of the proscenium theatre 283
8.4 The acoustics of six proscenium theatres 288
8.5 The thrust-stage theatre 306
8.6 The open stage 316
8.7 Theatre in the round 323
8.8 Conclusions 329
9 Acoustics for opera 333
9.1 Introduction 333
9.2 The elements of opera house design 336
9.3 Stage and pit design 345
9.4 Opera house form and acoustics 349
9.5 Objective assessment of opera houses 359
9.6 British opera houses 361
9.7 Conclusion 380
10 Acoustics for multi-purpose use 385
10.1 Introduction 385
10.2 Variable acoustic elements 386
10.3 The totally variable acoustic space 392
10.4 Meeting the requirements of both speech and music 393
10.5 Variable acoustics through electronics 394
10.6 The multi-purpose auditorium with flytower 399
10.7 Conclusions 407
11 Multi-purpose halls in Britain 410
11.1 Wembley Conference Centre 410
11.2 Central Hall, University of York 416
11.3 Butterworth Hall, University of Warwick Arts Centre 420
11.4 Assembly Rooms, Derby 424
11.5 The Hexagon, Reading 429
11.6 Eden Court Theatre, Inverness 432
11.7 Theatre Royal, Plymouth 436
11.8 Derngate Centre, Northampton 441
11.9 Conclusions 448
viii Contents
12 The art and science of acoustics 451
12.1 Precedence and scientific design 451
12.2 Speech and theatre design 452
12.3 The concert hall 453
12.4 The opera house 454
12.5 The multi-purpose hall 455
12.6 The future 455
Appendix A: Sound reflection and reverberation calculation 457
A.1 Reflection from finite plane and curved surfaces 457
A.2 The Quadratic Residue Diffuser 458
A.3 Calculation of reverberation time 459
Appendix B: Objective measures for music auditoria 461
B.1 The impulse response and the new objective measures 461
B.2 Prediction of occupied reverberation time 463
B.3 Revised theory and correction of energy measures for reverberation time change 464
Appendix C: Further objective results in concert halls 467
C.1 Objective results in two New Zealand concert halls 467
C.2 Objective results in Segerstrom Hall, California 469
Appendix D: Objective measures for speech auditoria 471
D.1 Objective measures of speech intelligibility 471
D.2 The criterion speech level for theatres 473
D.3 Revised theory of sound level for use with speech 474
Name index 476
Subject index 481
Preface
With hindsight, the timing of the first edition of was the case about 50 years ago. On the physical
this book was fortunate. The understanding of how acoustic front during this period, the measurable
sound behaves in auditoria and how people react quantities relevant to auditorium listening were
to what they hear had reached a crucial watershed. included in a standard (ISO3382). Valuable books
For the first time, a consistent picture existed of the have also been published by others, in particular
important factors for listening such as clarity and Beranek’s distinguished surveys of the acoustics of
measurable quantities had been proposed relat- world concert halls and opera houses (most recent-
ing to each of these factors. This was especially the ly in 2004). In addition a compendium of designs
case for music performance. Research, which had between 1982 and 2002 has been produced by
begun in the 1950s, had finally provided results that Hoffman et al. – these references are to be found at
made it possible to say that the art and science of the end of Chapter 1 (p.8).
auditorium acoustics had reached a certain level of In this second edition, greater reliance can
maturity. also be placed on the advice offered. The text has
A further development had taken place in the been thoroughly reviewed and new develop-
1980s that was to have a major impact on design. ments included where appropriate on such topics
Within design teams on auditorium projects, advice as listener envelopment, scattering, auralization
from acoustic consultants was being assigned and greater use of computer simulation. Five new
greater importance. What was going to matter more case studies of recent auditoria have been added:
for the client, a visually beautiful hall or a hall with four concert halls and one opera house. The overall
good acoustics? This development however placed aim has remained as before, to illuminate the rela-
greater responsibility on the shoulders of the acous- tionship between auditorium form and acoustic
tic consultant, to which the response has often been performance, all placed in a historical context and
to play safe and base designs more on successful aimed at a wide readership.
precedents. New rectangular plan concert halls For the production of this book, special thanks
and horseshoe-plan opera houses have become go to architectural firms that have supplied plans
popular again; both of these precedents come from and sections, and auditorium managements who
the nineteenth century. have allowed us to make measurements. I am par-
One can see the last 15 years as a period of ticularly grateful to Dr. Leo Beranek for permitting
consolidation, during which designers have been me to use so many of the architectural drawings
able to work with much greater confidence in their from his books. I am also grateful to the following
designs. Disappointing acoustics at the opening of individuals and organisations who have given per-
a new auditorium is much less frequent now than mission for reproduction of and in some cases also