in search of the perfect room
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8/6/2019 In Search of the Perfect Room
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In Search of the Perfect RoomPhysics,itsnotjustagoodidea,itstheLaw!
l
WhatisthePerfectRoom?Inthisarticle,wewillexplorethissubjectwiththegoalofhelpingyou--ourcustomer--avoidmanyproblemswhichcommonlyoccurintheconstructionofworshipspaces.ForaroomtobePerfectonemustfirstunderstand:
Italldependsonyourusageoftheroom.Whatisperfectforoneusemaynotbeperfect
foranotheruse.
Whatisconsideredperfectmaychangeoverthelifeofthespace. Whatisconsideredperfectmayevenchangeduringatypicalservice. BothPerfectroomsandthoselessthanperfectweredesignedthatway.Ifwearegoing
todesignaroom,whynotdoitrightthefirsttime?
Prioritiesmustbeestablishedfromthebeginning. Remember--theroomwilldeterminewhatcanorcannotbedoneinthespace. Contrarytosomeopinions,therearetimesthattheoriginalconstructionofaroom
createsproblemswhichcannotbecompletelycorrected.Thereforebuildingaroomandthenattemptingtofixitmaynotbepossible.
KeyFactorstoA lPerfectRooms:
Theyenhanceyourabilitytocommunicateyourmessage,bethatworshiporspeech. Theyusethepropertiesofsoundtoworkforyou--notagainstyou. Goodsightlinesareveryimportant.Sightlinesover140degreesshouldbeavoided. Remembertheeyesarethewindowtothesoul.IfIcantmaintaineyecontact,thenIm
notcommunicatingeffectively.Thiscanbegreatlyenhancedwithvideoimaging.
Lowambientnoiselevelsshouldbeapriority. HVACsystemsshouldgenerateNCorRCratingsinthe20-25range.Thegoalistomove
alotofairslowly,notfast.
Beawareofoutsidesourcesofnoise,suchasroadandairtrafficnoise--aswellasopenfoyers,hallways,andineffectivedoorseals.
Avoidparallelreflectivesurfacesspaced50ormoreapart.Thesesurfacesgenerateslapandflutterechoes.
Diffusion,whichisaredirectingoftheenergyinrandomdirections,ispreferred.Thisisachievedbyornamentaldetail,architecturalwalldesignsuchassawtooth,splay,orcylindricaldesigns,andappliedmaterialssuchasdiffusiveorabsorptivepanels.
Avoidconcavesurfaces.Thesefocusenergy,whichinmostcasesisnotdesired. Fanshapedroomstypicallyhavetroublewithradiuswallsfocusingenergybacktothe
platform.Thiscancomefromeitherthefrontorthebackwalls.
Barrelvaultedceilingscancreateseriousintelligibilityproblemsiftheceilingisnotproperlyplaced.
Avoidexcessiveamountsofthinlayerdrywall(alsocalledgypsumboardorsheetrock).Thismaterialhasatendencytobediaphragmatic,meaningthatitvibrates.
Wallstypicallyneedmassintheirconstruction,sousedoublelayersheetrockwheneverpossible.
Avoidmetalstuds.Thesearerarelyattachedproperlyandhaveatendencytorattle. Platformandchancelareasshouldbesolidlybuiltofconcreteorwood.Ifwoodisused,
makesurebracingissubstantialandthedeckingisdoubleduptominimizeresonanceproblems.
Avoiddeepunderbalconyareas.Thedepthoftheunderbalconyshouldnotexceed1.5to2timestheceilingheight.Areaslargerthatthiscanleadtoafeelingofdetachmentfromtherestofthecongregation.
Roomvolume:Ifspeechemphasisistheprimarygoalthenuse180-300cubicfeetperlistener.Ifthegoalisprimarilymusic,use200-400cubicfeetperlistener.
Page1of3 CreatedbyMichaelHeddenJr.
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In Search of the Perfect RoomPhysics,itsnotjustagoodidea,itstheLaw!
AcousticalpropertiesofPerfectRooms:
UseappropriateRT60fortheapplication. Speechonlyapplicationsshouldbearound.9-1secondmeasuredinthemidoctave
bands.
Music-Contemporarymusicdemandsaquickerroomresponse.RT60inthe1secondrange.Traditionalmusicvariesfrom1.5uptoovertwosecondsbasedonstyle.
Thedirectacousticenergycomingfromthechancel/platformareaisalsoaccompaniedbyearlyreflections.ThetimegapbetweenthedirectsoundandthereflectedsoundiscalledITGorInitialTimeGap.Thefirst20msarecriticaltoenhancinglocalizationandintimacy.
Afterthefirst20msitiscriticaltogetreflectionstothelistenersearsouttoaround80-100ms.Thesereflectionsshapeourperceptionastotheenvelopmentofthesound.Ifanythinginthistimereferenceaswellaslaterarrivalsisheardasbeingclosetothesameamplitudelevelasthedirectsound,wehearitasanecho.
NewTechnologiestohelpdeliverthePerfectRooms:
Manychurchesarebuildingfacilitiescommonlyreferredtoasmultipurposebuildings.Thesefacilitiesmaybeusedforrecreation,fellowship/socialareas,classrooms,andworshipcentersallinthecourseofoneweek;someinthecourseofoneday!Oftenthedesigncompromisesresultinabuildingthatdoesaninferiorjobofbeinganythingotherthanamediocregym..Pleasenote:thesearenotreallymultipurposebuildingsforwehavebutonepurposeforabuildinginthebodyofChristandthatistofulfilltheGreatCommission!IfwearetowinthisgenerationtoChristwemustdedicateourselvestoexcellenceinbuildingsthatenableustomoreeffectivelycommunicate.Wewillcallthemvariableusefacilities.
So,ifwearegoingtohavevariableusefacilities,canwealsohaveacousticalenvironmentsthatvarywithneedandapplication?Yes--therearetwoprimarywaysofdoingthis.
Oneisaphysicallyadjustableroomwithvaryingabsorption,diffusion,andevenroomvolumeelementsthatallowsavarietyofacousticsettings.TheseareprimarilycommoninEuropeandverycostlytoimplement.
Theotherwayisanelectro-acousticsystem.Recentadvancesindigitalsignalprocessingandacousticresearchhavebroughtusproductsonlydreamtofafewyearsago.Electronicvariableroomacousticsystemsarearealityandrepresentanenormouspotentialforcreativeuseoffacilitiesaswellasdramaticallyenhancedworship.
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In Search of the Perfect RoomPhysics,itsnotjustagoodidea,itstheLaw!
Summary:
PerfectRoomsarearesultofproperplanning,design,andfollowthrough. Properprioritywillresultindramaticallybetterdesigns.Ifyoudontaskforit,dontexpect
togetit.
Thearchitecturalteamwantstheprojecttosucceed,howevertheyneedyourinput.Theirexpertiseisnotinaudio,acousticsorvideo.Thereforeagoodcommunicationsdesignassistsyouandthearchitectinmakingyourdreamsareality.
Bringacompetentdesignerinontheprojectasearlyaspossible.Theyshoulddesigntheprojectwiththearchitect.Thisdeliversamuchbetterproductandislesscostlyinthelongrun.
Donteverbeafraidtoaskquestions.Thedesignteamofcommunicationdesignersandarchitectsaretheretoserveyou,nottheotherwayaround.
Doyourhomework.Qualifyyourdesignteam,checkouttheirreferencesandgolookattheirwork. Readuponthesubjectofacoustics.IhighlyrecommendDavidEgansbook
ArchitecturalAcoustics.AlsoF.AltonEveresthastwofinebooksonthesubject.Ourprayeristhattheideasinthisarticlewillhelpyoucreatealistening/viewingenvironmentwheretheGospelcanbeclearlyheardandseen--withoutanydistractionscreatedbyproblemsoverlookedinthedesignoftheroom.Ifyouhaveanyquestionsaboutanypartofthisarticle,pleasefeelfreetocontactus.OneofourSystemsAdvisorsand/orengineerswillbehappytoassistyou.
dBAudio&VideoadivisionofdBAcoustics&Sound,Inc.
2196HiltonDrive,SuiteAGainesville,Georgia30501
Phone770-534-7620or800-803-2462www.dbaudioandvideo.com
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