Hall Design Research Articles

Design of a circular hall improving the subjective preference at each seat

The circular type of the medium-sized (400 seats) multipurpose event hall in Kobe Fashion Plaza, which was named Orvis Hall, was designed based on Ando’s theory of subjective preference. Acoustic problems caused by such a circular plan were minimized by means of ceiling diffusion panels, side-wall-reflective panels, and a small room at the back wall preventing echo-disturbance created by the long-path echo or ‘‘Whispering Gallery’’ effects. One of the most remarkable systems of this hall is controlling the subsequent reverberation time through blending architectural acoustics and electrical acoustics by use of a hybrid system with both a reverberation control room and a digital reverberator. Therefore the total scale value of subjective preference at each seat is maximized by the four acoustic factors, namely, the delay time of first reflection, the listening level, the subsequent reverberation time, and the IACC. After construction of this hall, four factors at each seat were measured, and results are presented.

Effects of the spatial information of a sound field on listener envelopment

The spatial information of sound fields in various kinds of concert halls as virtual sound-source distributions and short-term directional diffusion factors were measured. It is clear that the spatial information in a concert hall is characterized by how the reflections surround a listener. Accordingly, the relationship between the spatial information and listener envelopment was studied. First, subjective experiments were performed using a simulated sound field in an anechoic room in order to study the effects of lateral energy ratios on listener envelopment. As a result, the lateral energy ratios were not sufficient to evaluate listener envelopment. The research demonstrates that listener envelopment is not only related to late arriving reflections but also to early reflections. In addition, listener envelopment is related to the spatial distributions of the reflections that surround a listener. Furthermore, the implications for concert hall design were discussed.

An experiment to identify preference groups among concert hall listeners

The task of specifying the acoustical behavior of a concert hall depends upon knowing the preferred subjective acoustical characteristics for the intended program material. Several studies have suggested that the listening population might be divided into groups with respect to their preferred acoustic, with different weightings applied to different subjective factors in each. Our project endeavors to identify and describe these groups, and to make their composition an integral part of hall design. This paper describes a subjective experiment designed to identify and measure individual listening preferences in a simulated concert hall setting, and presents the experiments first results. Following from these results, an attempt is made to place tested individuals into preference groups. The applicability of the experiment is considered in terms of the quality of hall simulation and of the impact of the simulator and experimental design on the listeners discrimination.

ESTIMATION OF REQUIRED SEPARATIONS BETWEEN ADJACENT STRUCTURES UNDER SPATIAL GROUND MOTIONS

Most current seismic codes recommend a minimum separation between adjacent structures to avoid pounding during severe earthquakes. Those recommendations are based on displacements of adjacent structures estimated using the equivalent static analysis. They usually overestimate the necessary separation between high-rise structures because the equivalent static analysis neglects the response phase difference of the adjacent structures. On the other hand, they might underestimate the necessary separation of low-rise structures because they neglect the inevitable ground motion spatial variations. This paper calculates the minimum required separation between adjacent structures subjected to spatially varying ground excitations. Adjacent structures are modelled as two single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) oscillators with multiple supports. A linear and a trilinear stiffness degrading hysteretic model for reinforced concrete frame structures are used to represent the material behaviours of structures. Spatial ground motion input is stochastically simulated. The simulated spatial ground motion time histories are compatible with the Newmark and Hall design spectrum individually and with an empirical coherency function between each other. Numerical results are calculated and presented in terms of the various parameters that affect the structural response. Comparisons are made between the numerical results and the current seismic code recommendations. The primary objective of this paper is to study the effect of ground motion spatial variations on the relative displacements of adjacent structures rather than to present the advancement of analytical procedures.

The auditorium measurement chain: A study of the use of auditorium synthesis in the design of concert halls

In the early 1960s, Paul Veneklasen began to develop an idea to synthesize an indoor acoustical space coming to fruition with the development and construction of an electroacoustic system called Auditorium Synthesis. This system allows the listener to preview various types of spaces prior to construction [Paul S. Veneklasen, Int. Symposium on Arch. Acoustics, 21–43 (1974)]. Listener preferential settings including source strength (G), early decay time (EDT), early/late energy (C), and lateral energy fraction from the Otis A. Singletary Center for the Arts (Lexington, Kentucky). A comparison of preferred orchestral settings and modeled seat locations will be performed. With impulse response data from the completed concert hall at the Singletary Center for the Arts, a comparison will be shown of newer parameters between the modeled seat locations from Auditorium Synthesis and concert hall data.

Concert hall design: A consultant’s perspective and retrospective

Architectural environments for symphonic performances can perhaps be described as one of the most complex problems in physical acoustics due to the multiplicity of sound source–path–receiver systems present in listening spaces. On the other hand, people performed and enjoyed listening to music in architectural and outdoor spaces long before the development of architectural acoustics as a scientific discipline and well before there were acoustical consultants. This paper describes one practitioner’s historical perspective and analysis of the problem as it relates to public concert hall design and musical performance over the last several centuries and how the interrelationship between the two has actually fashioned the traditional symphonic environment. Based on this analysis, a methodology will be discussed to successfully replicate traditional symphonic environments utilizing psychoacoustic rather than geometric guidelines. The results of applying this methodology in a variety of building types over a period of 40 years, e.g., concert halls, recital halls, music pavillions, multiuse halls, etc., will be discussed. Both physical and electroacoustical solutions will be presented to support the author’s original analytic premise.

REDESIGNING THE EXPERIENCE of Academic Community

GREAT DESIGN EMERGES when programmatic requirements are not only satisfied but become aspects of a compelling and enduring human experience. Grant‐WTW architects have devised a process—Focus Week—that helps it understand and respond to the critical experiential dimensions involved in designing a building. In this case study, Linda Hartman, with Jon Grant's input, shares a snapshot of the Focus Week methodology as it was used in the design of a dining hall for Salisbury State University, in Maryland.

Comparison between the 1/10-scale model experiment and the full-scale measurement in a concert hall

In order to examine the accuracy of acoustic scale modeling, the experimental results of a 1/10-scale model study performed for acoustical design of a concert hall and those measured in the full-scale hall after the construction are compared. In the scale model study, the impulse responses were measured by the direct method using a spark discharge source and monaural and binaural microphone systems. For the measurement of the binaural impulse response, a 1/10-scale dummy head system was made on a trial basis. In the real hall, impulse responses were measured by the sweep-pulse method using a dodecahedral omnidirectional loudspeaker and monaural and binaural microphone systems. The monaural impulse responses were measured at the corresponding points in the scale model and the real hall, and such quantities as D50, C80, and Ts were obtained and compared. The binaural impulse responses measured in the model and real hall were convolved with the same sources of a variety of music and presented to the subjects through a transaural reproduction system using two loudspeakers. Through these quantitative and subjected investigations, a fairly good correspondence has been found between the scale model and the real hall.

Room acoustic properties of concert halls: Quantifying the influence of size, shape, and absorption area

A large database of values of various room acoustic parameters has provided the basis for statistical analyses of how and how much the acoustic properties of concert halls are influenced by their size, shape, and absorption area (as deduced from measured reverberation time). The data have been collected over a 15-year period from about 50 concert halls in Europe and the U.S. In all halls the same measurement technique was used (1/1 oct sweep tones all pass filtered to form impulse responses per octave band). Due to the large range of geometric differences contained in the material, it has been possible to derive empirical regression formulas from which the influence of certain geometrical design variables can be quantified. The author has found these fairly simple relationships useful in teaching and as guidelines both in the early stages of physical hall design and in setting up electronic reverberation enhancement systems.

Functional Responses Revisited

We note 3 problems with recommendations (Fan, Y., and F. L. Petitt. 1994. Parameter estimation of the functional response. Environ. Entomol. 23: 785–794) for using a linearization of the instantaneous form of the type II functional response (“disc equatioun”) for parameter estimation. First, the disc equation itself is not appropriate for most experimental designs where there is depletion of prey over the course of the experiment. The time integral form (the “random predator” equation) takes into account declining prey density over time, and despite its implicit form, is tractable statistically using the Newton method and nonlinear regression, or a nonparametric method (Juliano, S. A., and F. M. Williams, 1987. A comparison of methods for estimating the functional response parameters of the random predator equation. J. Anim. Ecol. 56: 641–653; Juliano, S. A. 1993. Nonlinear curve fitting: predation and functional response curves. pp.159–182. In S.M. Scheiner and J. Gurevich [eds.], Design and analysis of ecological experiments, Chapman & Hall, New York), Second, the experimental design mimicked in Fan and Petitt's simulations, as well as in some of our earlier simulations, is not one where the disc equation is appropriate; thus, neither study can address the best method for that design. Third, regressions using means of replicated dependent variables, as advocated by Fan and Petitt, ignore interreplicate variation and are likely to lead to overestimation of the precision of parameter estimates, and a greater probability of type I statistical errors.

大越町娯楽場と大正後期の今和次郎の活動について : 明治末から昭和初期にかけての演劇運動と建築に関する考察・1

The amusement hall of Ogoe designed by Wajiro Kon is an important instance to suggest new rural amusement of theatergoing. The study of this amusement hall is significant to grasp the activities of Wajiro Kon during the latter years of Taisho-era. The time of the design of the amusement hall was in parallel with the beginnings of his Modernology. The theatrical eye closely related to prewar theatrical movement from Taisho-era to the early Showa-era, caused the chain reaction to architectural activities of prewar Waseda University, such as housing life research, theatrical history research, acostic research and designs of auditoriums.

背後空気層が吸音材料の吸音特性に及ぼす影響に関する研究

Sound absorbing characteristics of interior materials are important parameter of the acoustic and noise control design of concert hall, conference room and so on. This paper presents the experimental studies on influence of the sound absorbing materials accepted by back air-space. As a result, material density and back air space influence sound absorbing characteristics of porous materials. And the observed sound absorbing characteristics of perforated materials is nearly in agreement with the statistical sound absorption coefficient calculated by Bolt's theory.

Innovation in acoustical design

Research clearly has a relationship to the design of concert halls, as does innovation. How do these merge in the owner’s and user’s best interests? In some cases the research precedes the design. In others the design itself becomes a research hypothesis for exploration, sometimes over many years. The noise in the system is political power. Aspects of the design process for several innovative halls will be discussed, together with the research background, predictive techniques applicable to each, and a summary of results achieved.

Toward an overall computational scheme embodying the modern acoustical measures and correlation of the scheme with the categories of acoustical quality of concert halls as determined from the questionnaire and interview method

An overall computational scheme for estimating from modern acoustical measurements the acoustical quality of concert halls is explored in this study. The method showing promise is based on Ando [Concert Hall Acoustics (Springer‐Verlag, Berlin, 1985)]. Identified are the most important acoustical attributes to the rating scheme: RT, G, ITDG, IACC(E), and BR. Preferred values for each of these acoustical attributes is estimated from the results presented in a companion paper [Beranek, ‘‘Correlations between categories of acoustical quality and modern physical quantities’’]. Formulas are borrowed from the Ando study and constants are chosen that express the relative importance, and the degree of falloff in contribution to quality with deviations from optimum, of each of these acoustical attributes. By process of adjustment of the constants, the best fit between the measured physical quantities and the subjective determination of acoustical quality of concert halls is determined. Excellent correlation between the final result and the rank‐orderings is obtained. It must be emphasized, however, that other factors are important in concert hall design which are not included in this rating scheme, for example, the degree to which musicians can hear each other and hear themselves on stage and balance among the sections of an orchestra. There may be other unknown acoustical factors that contribute to acoustical quality.

The influence of late arriving energy on spatial impression

New subjective experiments using sound fields simulated in an anechoic room confirm that spatial impression in concert halls is composed of at least two distinct aspects: apparent source width and listener envelopment. Previously published research has shown that apparent source width is related to the relative level of early lateral reflections. This new work demonstrates that listener envelopment is related to the level, direction of arrival, and temporal distribution of late arriving reflections. It is further shown that increased amounts of listener envelopment decrease the subject’s sensitivity to changes in the apparent source width of the sound field. Listener envelopment is related to objective acoustical measures, and the implications for concert hall design are discussed.

Developments in the Acoustic Design of Concert Halls from the Royal Festival Hall, London, to the Segerstrom Hall, California

Research over the last forty years has resulted in many new factors being considered in the acoustical design of concert halls. In this paper a brief account is given of this research and how halls designed since the nineteen fifties have been progressively influenced by this work. The Segerstrom Hall in California is an example of a hall where acoustical considerations have been given great importance at all stages of the design process and a team of consultants has ensured that recent research findings have been applied to good effect. The design approach is discussed and model experiments performed in the course of the design process are described. Finally the results of objective and subjective measurements carried out in the completed hall are described.

近世前期の臨済宗本堂の平面と意匠の発展過程 : 近世禅宗本堂の研究(4)

近世前期の臨済宗本堂の平面と意匠の発展過程 : 近世禅宗本堂の研究(4)

Hearing myself with others: Sound levels in choral performance measured with separation of one's own voice from the rest of the choir

The choir singer has two acoustic signals to attend to: the sound of his or her own voice (feedback), and the sound of the rest of the choir (reference). The balance in loudness between feedback and reference is governed mainly by the room acoustics. Although earlier experiments have shown that singers have a fairly large tolerance for imbalance, with references ranging from -23 to +5 dB, experience suggests that, when singers are given control over this parameter, their preferences are much narrower. A quantification of the optimum balance would be useful in the design of concert stages and rehearsal halls. A method is described for measuring the feedback and reference levels as experienced by singers under live performance conditions. Recordings were made using binaural microphones worn by choir singer subjects. With the given combination of choir and room, it was possible to achieve adequate separation of the feedback and reference signals with simple signal processing. The feedback-to-reference ratio averaged over the 12 singers was found to be +3.9 dB, with extremes of +1.5 and +7.3 dB.

Sitting or Receiving: George W. Payne and the Plan Book Reception Hall

Objective Drawing on design theory and historical research, this article offers a design analysis and cultural account of a special hall–as–room type, the reception hall, as represented in the designs of architect George W. Payne. Research Design A source of design for the everyday hall was located: twelve cottage designs of plan book architect George W. Payne, published between 1888 and 1898 in Carpentry and Building. Comparative design analyses along with primary source materials establish criteria for interpreting associational values and social and cultural dimensions of Payne's hall designs. Analysis George W. Payne's hall designs were compared with other plan book designs and model halls from millwork catalogs and compared with each other in terms of formal design theory (relationships among hall types, circulation patterns, and perceptual qualities). Key Findings Payne's cottages illustrate that the reception hall was not reserved for large, expensive houses. In modest houses, Payne often substituted a vestibule for a hall. When the hall became a specialized room, ambiguous meanings emerged, for example, the reception hall could not function as a homey place because of expectations about the social life of the hall. In the end, reception halls favored abundance in architectural treatment, requiring little furnishing. Conclusion Payne's concepts were at odds with social uses of the spaces, for example, sitting or receiving. In spite of the ideals about the hall as another living space, the hall served as a place of contradiction, blending and mixing ambiguity regarding design and behavior.

Ray-tracing analysis of auditorium acoustics for the Macintosh

An enhanced version of a previously presented geometrical ray-tracing program for the Macintosh [M. Rieffel and E. C. Everbach, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 91, 2373(A) (1992)] will be demonstrated. The program accepts input files of auditoria created in any of several popular CAD programs that export standard DXF formats, displaying the auditorium in 3-D projection. The user specifies the surface absorption coefficients of all internal surfaces and the placement and characteristics of sound sources. The user also specifies an arbitrary ‘‘monitor’’ plane passing through the hall, each point of which will be a receiving location in the subsequent simulation. When the simulation is run, rays are propagated between source and receiver, allowing the computation of an echogram for each point in the monitor plane. In this way users can discover focusing, dead spots, or late reflections at specific locations in a proposed hall design. The program is available for consultant or instructor use, and will be demonstrated during the session.