Practitioner experience of coupled volume auditorium design

Abstract

This paper is written from the perspective of practitioners who approach the use of coupled volumes—in auditorium design in particular—as one element taken from a diverse acoustic design toolkit to be employed when appropriate to achieve an intended sound aesthetic conceived in response to the specific cultural setting of each space. In this approach, coupled volumes are considered part of a continuum of design options encompassing volumetric coupling effects and their inter-relationship with separation of early reflecting elements and room boundaries. The practice has experience with coupled volume design spanning a number of decades and from extensive listening and engagement with artists who have evolved through their experiences in these spaces. We describe particular insights gained as acoustics designers of the National Forum of Music concert hall in Wroclaw through our engagement from early strategic planning through initial operations relating to subjective and artistic preferences for set-up in performance across a varied repertoire. From a perspective spanning historical examples of coupled volume acoustics, through a consideration of auditorium design in recent history, we consider the place of coupled volume design in future.