Rooms where where speech and music are equally important pose one of the trickiest problems in architectural acoustics: one night a play is performed; the next night the chorus sings. If adjustable acoustics is not feasible, what do you do?

First, of course, one must completely suppress noise. But what can you do to reconcile the conflicting demands of speech and music? How do you provide clarity as well as enhancement?

If one is limited to reverberation (how many "acoustical panels" do we put on the walls? do we use "acoustical tile" on the ceiling? carpet?), then there is really no solution, one simply chooses: "dead" room or "live" room; kill music, or muddle speech. But if we consider geometry, then it becomes possible to square this circle.

The great advantage of computer modeling is that it is relatively easy to make comparisions. In this project, I created a model based on drawings and reverberation time measurements in the existing space. I was then able to compare the model of the existing space with possible alterations. I was seeking a means to provide a strong, clear sound, with support. The key turned out to be the walls.

Vertical walls inevitably produce echoes that interfere with acoustical clarity. By appending large sound-reflectors ("sails") to these walls in the model, I was able to defeat these echoes, turning them into useful sound reflections. This is not a new idea. The basic concept is part of the design of every top-level performance hall ever built.

I was able to increase clarity without adding any additional sound absorption at all! By this means, sound created (with great effort) by performers is not soaked up in absorbers. It is, rather, redirected to listeners' ears, clarifying, fortifying, and enhancing the sound of the performers.

Click on the "PLAY" button to hear auralizations.
as is	with "sails"
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violin in room with "sails"	violin with no room at all
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