Employing the complete acoustical palette in teleconferencing design

Abstract

The prevailing architectural acoustics approach in teleconferencing is “Deader is better” or “No acoustics is better than bad acoustics.” In some situations, this is appropriate, but there are alternative approaches to reflection control in teleconferencing facilities which make use of the entire acoustical palette, namely absorption, reflection, and diffusion. Since the application of diffusive surfaces is new to the teleconferencing environment, a review of the development and the spatial, temporal, and spectral properties will be presented. A teleconferencing design for a board room will be proposed that makes use of an integrated suspended ceiling cloud, containing the various elements of the acoustical palette, as well as lighting, and HVAC elements. This design provides diffuse sound across the conference table, which allows a comfortable conversation level, better acoustic coverage and communication among the participants, as well as a more natural transmitted sound to the other end of the converstation. The ceiling cloud also affords a convenient approach for concealing the necessary HVAC ducts, wiring, etc. and also provides accessibility for maintenance.