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In Search of the Perfect RoomPhysics,itsnotjustagoodidea,itstheLaw!

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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.

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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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