Recycled facilities for a music college

Abstract

Acoustical design considerations are of paramount importance in the design of new music teaching, performance, and rehearsal facilities. When existing buildings previously used for other activities are recycled to house the diverse functions of a rapidly growing college for training contemporary musicians, the acoustical design problems are not only more complex but provide a unique challenge for the architect, the college administrators, and all the engineering disciplines involved. The architectural and engineering team of Kubitz and Pepi Inc. was faced with just such a challenge in the conversion of a former hotel and adjacent movie theater building to house the Berklee College in Boston. This paper reviews the room acoustics, sound isolation, mechanical system noise control, and “acoustical cross‐talk” design considerations, as well as measurements in some of the completed portions of the building. The acoustical results are reviewed in terms of the ever present considerations of budget, aesthetics, a...