Robert B. Newman

Orchestra Enclosure and Canopy for the Tanglewood Music Shed

The Tanglewood Music Shed, a large fan‐shaped hall seating 6000 people indoors (approximately 6000 more can be accommodated outdoors on the lawn) was modified in 1959 to improve the acoustics. The acoustical qualities that were to be improved included sectional balance for large orchestra, balance between orchestra and soloist, clarity of music inside the hall, and loudness of music on the lawn. The architectural solution was the design of an orchestra enclosure and a canopy over the orchestra and the front part of the audience. Also, a 14‐ft high chamber music orchestra enclosure was installed in 1960. This paper discusses the details of the construction and presents comments by musicians and listeners following its completion.

Architectural acoustics for the organ

Organs are used in many settings: churches, concert halls, recital halls, and even practice rooms. An organ may be used as a solo instrument, as accompaniment to a chorus, or as part of an orchestral ensemble. There is a wide range of appropriate acoustics for the auditorium as well as placement of the instrument and performer with relation to the audience and to the other performers. These matters will be discussed.

Orchestra Enclosure for the Tanglewood Music Shed

The 25‐year old “temporary” stage shell in the Tanglewood Music Shed at Lenox, Massachusetts, needed replacement for practical reasons. This opportunity was taken to re‐examine the acoustics of the shed in the light of acoustical advances during the intervening years. A new shell, designed to increase the definition and enhance the tonal balance, was completed in July, 1959 and is described in this papr. The shed seats about 6000 inside; more than 6000 on the lawn outside. The stage, which can hold a large orchestra and chorus, is enclosed at sides and rear by angled panels of the new shell. Serrated side walls are sloped inward at the top and fanned outward in plan to aid in directing sound to the audience seated in a pie‐shaped sector of 110°. Above the entire stage, and extending forward approximately 14 the length of the seating area, is a canopy suspended about half‐way between floor and ceiling. The canopy is made of faceted plywood triangles, in graded sizes and thicknesses, joined at corners to fo...

Gothic sound for the neo‐gothic chapel of Duke University

The Duke University Chapel, a 250‐ft‐long, one million cu ft neo‐gothic structure, was built in 1930–32. It was finished on half of its interior surface with Akoustolith, a precast artificial sound absorbing stone. The remaining surfaces were Indiana limestone. This resulted in a mid‐frequency reverberation time of about 3 s in the unoccupied space. A donor offered to give a new organ for the chapel provided the space could be made to sound the way it looks. After considerable experimentation, four coats of sealer were applied to the Akoustolith. The reverberation time was increased to over 7 s, creating an ideal environment for the new organ. The old speech reinforcement system was then hopeless as had been predicted. A new system was designed and installed. It uses column loudspeakers at each structural pier in the nave with additional column speakers serving crossing and transepts, all with appropriate time delays. Now the chapel has superb conditions for liturgical music and excellent speech intelligi...

Acoustics of the Lecture Room, Hunt Hall (Formerly the Fogg Art Museum), Harvard University—An Historical Review

In June of this year Hunt Hall at Harvard University, the building in which W. C. Sabine began his studies of architectural acoustics, was demolished to make way for a new dormitory building. During its life of 78 years the main lecture room in Hunt Hall underwent several changes, due at first to Professor Sabines recommendations and later to other influences. It was not until 1972, however, that a significant improvement was achieved in the speech transmission properties of the room. This paper reviews the changes made in the lecture room and presents measured acoustical data from its last two configurations. These data are compared with available information from Sabines papers.

Acoustics for Opera: Our Experience at Indiana University's New Musical Arts Center

The new 1460‐seat Opera Hall at Indiana University has been widely acclaimed for its architecture, its advanced theater technology, and its acoustics for opera and concert. This paper describes the physical characteristics of the hall in general and its acoustical characteristics in particular. Both objective data and subjective evaluations of its opera and concert uses are presented and compared with design criteria and functional objectives.

Household Noise, Can Anything Be Done About It?

Noise control is often considered in the design and construction of first‐class buildings. Why not in houses? The techniques for the control of the quality of the acoustical environment are available. But, until users, designers, and builders realize that equipment noise, lack of privacy, and nerves‐jangling reverberance are unnecessary, it is not likely that matters will improve. Conventional building materials can be used more effectively, and existing techniques can often be adapted to the solution of household noise problems.

Design, Construction, and Testing of the M. I. T. Kresge Auditorium

The several acoustical problems presented by the unique structural form of this building are discussed, and the measures taken to assure good hearing conditions in the auditorium itself and to provide adequate transmission loss within the building for simultaneous use of the various spaces will be considered. Solutions to unexpected problems that were encountered during actual construction are discussed. Following completion of the building, physical measurements and listening tests have been made to evaluate the final result. Music critics have expressed differing opinions on the acoustics vigorously—the majority being favorably impressed.

Design of the New Aula Magna, Ciudad Universitaria, Caracas

Although the basic shape of this new hall was set by the architect, many opportunities were presented for unusual design collaboration between architect, engineer, and sculptor in this project. The provision of random sound reflecting and diffusing panels on walls and ceiling and the canopy over the stage give excellent sound distribution in the basically difficult fan‐shaped plan, and at the same time give reason for an unusual architectural treatment of the interior. A number of echo problems were encountered in the finished building, and the study and control of these, together with the final adjustments of the reverberation characteristic are discussed.

The Acoustics Design of the Large Council Chambers, Permanent Headquarters of the United Nations, New York

The design of large parliamentary chambers for conferences conducted in many languages presents a number of new acoustics design problems. Not only must the acoustic environment be “comfortable,” but it must be possible to hear clearly a person speaking in any part of the delegates area, either directly or as simultaneously translated into any of four or five languages. The design and isolation of the many booths for translators, radio, and press surrounding these rooms was the subject of much study. The general isolation of noise from surrounding service areas and outdoor sources, such as traffic on the East River and in the air, were also considered. Special attention was given to the coordination of the sound reinforcing system with the acoustic design of the chambers. Preliminary articulation tests have been conducted in these rooms and the results are presented.