The acoustical modeling of Paul Veneklasen

Abstract

The pioneering acoustical modeling work of Paul Veneklasen has served as an inspiration to much current work in the area, including that conducted at the University of Florida. Paul constructed small models of spaces he was designing and conducted a variety of acoustical tests in them to assist in making design decisions on many innovative rooms. He determined criteria by which to evaluate the acoustic response of the rooms obtained from the models from listening to simulated sounds in his laboratory. These criteria included: providing a strong direct sound throughout the room; providing reflections from overhead within 40 ms or less of the direct sound for clarity and loudness; providing lateral reflections within 80 ms of the direct sound for envelopment; and providing a rich reverberant sound across a full range of frequencies. These criteria are still used today as the basis for interpreting the impulse responses obtained in the design process of rooms. The experiments he engaged in as a part of the process of many rooms involved research and design components including listening, modeling, designing, and building can be traced in concept to the work of Wallace Sabine. This process has become an established approach to acoustical design today.