Russell Cooper

Sound and vibration control for the Tokyo International Forum

The acousticians for the Tokyo International Forum were faced with a number of very severe noise and vibration problems related to the siting of the complex in the center of downtown Tokyo, the placement of the performance halls next to one another, and the location of a portion of the mechanical equipment on the roof. In addition, subway lines ran parallel to three of the boundaries of the structure, another line ran under the building, and the main tracks of Japan Rail ran above ground alongside the major atrium. This paper will discuss the noise criteria set for the performance rooms and other noise sensitive spaces, the noise and vibration measurements taken to determine the severity of the train‐related conditions, predictions of other noise and vibration sources, and the solutions developed by the design team to meet the criteria required by the program. Among the solutions are a secant wall surrounding the foundation, box in box construction for the four performance halls, blocking mass installatio...

Rain and hail simulation and sound isolation tests on a wood and metal roof assembly

A series of acoustic tests were performed on a proposed roof construction for a new concert hall at The University of North Texas to evaluate its sound transmission loss properties. The test was conducted to determine if the wood and metal deck construction would be sufficient to isolate nearby highway traffic noise (airborne) and heavy rain and hail noise (structure‐borne) from being heard in the concert hall. Four variations of the roof system were constructed and tested to determine the range of possible solutions. Simulation of rain and hail noise test methods and results are presented along with standard ASTM E‐90 results and the recommended solution.

The acoustic design of the new University of Iowa Voxman School of Music

The University of Iowa Voxman School of Music opened for students in September 2016. Necessitated by a flood of the Iowa river in 2008 that condemned the original building, this ground up new building in the center of Iowa City features a 700 seat concert hall, a 200 seat recital hall, a 75 seat organ recital hall; band, orchestra, chamber music, and choral rehearsal rooms; an opera studio; recording, percussion, and electronic music suites; teaching studios; practice rooms; library; classrooms and social spaces. Designed on a single city block and stacked 6-1/2 floors high, the design presented many sound isolation challenges. The varied musical pedagogy also required that each performance and rehearsal space have adjustable acoustics. The concert hall, the most public space in the facility houses a brand new 3,883 pipe Klais organ. The TheatroAcoustic ceiling in the hall is a beautiful example of coordination of all design disciplines: acoustics, rigging, lighting, sound, HVAC, fire suppression, recordi...

Troubleshooting the Vivian Beaumont Theatre

Troubleshooting room acoustics can vary from the sublime to the ridiculous. This paper discusses some simple solutions to problems related to a lack of knowledge of basic acoustic characteristics. However, the main example in the paper relates to modifications made to the Vivian Beaumont Theatre at Lincoln Center over a period of many years. The Beaumont is a 1500‐seat thrust theatre designed in the 1960s to house the Lincoln Center Repertory Company. Since opening night the theatre was plagued with poor speech intelligibility based on the facts that the seating capacity is too large for the thrust format and that the designers placed an immense proscenium stage house behind the thrust. The acoustic solutions implemented were based on discussions with two different managing directors, Joseph Pape and Bernard Gersten, and their different visions on how to mount productions in the space.

Acoustics of university rehearsal spaces: Not too live, not too dead

The design of music rehearsal spaces for university schools of music must balance many factors. Most important of these is loudness and decay time. Rooms must have sufficient floor area and volume so that the rooms are not overly loud for the teachers and students. The size and volume of the room depend on the type of ensemble rehearsing in the room (marching band, concert band, wind ensemble, choral, orchestra, percussion, jazz/rock, etc.). Decay times are often desired to match that of the performance stage. We have found this not to be ideal, that in fact rooms should be less reverberant than the stage platform, to provide students and teachers the ability to hear their instrument’s articulation and syncopation. A certain amount of adjustable acoustics are necessary to account for multi‐use of the room for different ensembles, and finishes should be selected for the proper diffusion of sound and to achieve the desired decay time. This paper will discuss many of our firm’s designs and some of the succes...

Not your grandfather’s concert hall

The opening of Judy and Arthur Zankel Hall on 12 September 2003, restores Andrew Carnegie’s original 1891 concept of having three outstanding auditoriums of different sizes under one roof, and creates a 21st‐century venue for music performance and education. With concerts ranging from early music to avant‐garde multimedia productions, from jazz to world music, and from solo recitals to chamber music, Zankel Hall expands the breadth and depth of Carnegie Hall’s offerings. It allows for the integration of programming across three halls with minifestivals tailored both to the size and strengths of each hall and to the artists and music to be performed. The new flexible space also provides Carnegie Hall with an education center equipped with advanced communications technology. This paper discusses the unique program planned for this facility and how the architects, theatre consultants, and acousticians developed a design that fulfilled the client’s expectations and coordinated the construction of the facility...

The value of utilizing binaural dummy head recordings in evaluating physical acoustic changes in concert halls

In some instances, after a concert hall is built there may be a need to modify the physical environment of the space through the application of diffusion or absorptive surfaces, the addition of reflector systems or the repositioning of the orchestra in the space. Prior to moving forward with suggested changes to the physical environment, it has been customary to conduct evaluation rehearsals with physical mock‐ups installed to confirm the acousticians recommendations. Questionnaires are given to the musicians, the conductor and the administration staff to document the effect of the changes, and physical measurements are taken before and after the installation of the mock‐ups. The questionnaires can be difficult to correlate and the differences in data resulting from the physical measurements may be too small to properly evaluate. More recently, Jaffe Holden Acoustics has added dummy head recordings to the mix. These recordings are extremely representative of what a human hears and one can place these devi...

The acoustic design for theaters on cruise ships: The differences between land and sea

Theater design for cruise ships presents many challenges that are different than building designs on land. The acoustic challenges include a limited palette of material choices based on weight, space, and fire restrictions, room adjacency issues, and coordination with shipyard construction methods. We will discuss the program uses of the spaces and the acoustic criteria, architectural treatments, room shaping and volume, sound isolation utilizing sandwich and floating floor constructions, and HVAC noise control without the use of fiberglass. We will specifically focus on the design for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines Voyager, Millennium, and Radiance class ships. Information will be presented that could be transferable to land based designs to solve acoustic problems that involve similar weight, space, and fire restrictions.

Excellent acoustics and a low RT? A case study of the recent renovation of the Kennedy Center Concert Hall, Washington, DC

In October 1997, the renovated Concert Hall at the Kennedy Center reopened to critical acclaim. The hall is designed on the shoebox model, but with an audience of 2759 and a volume of 250 cubic feet per person, its occupied midfrequency reverberation time was below the 2.0 s that is now considered fundamental to acoustical excellence. The musicians were also having difficulties hearing on stage. The acoustic redesign involved rebuilding the stage with reshaped walls, an acoustical canopy, resonant floor, orchestra risers, seating at stage sides and rear, and refurbished organ. Parterrre walls were added at orchestra level to increase side reflections. Since the ceiling could not be raised, reverberation was enhanced by building small reverberation chambers beside the stage and reducing seat count. Removing parts of the upper side balconies created an area near the stage where the sound field could develop without audience absorption. Changes also included echo control, new seats, and new stage HVAC system...

Room acoustic designs for the Tokyo International Forum

The room acoustic design of the Tokyo International Forum centered around the four performance halls: the convention center, the atrium, and the large multi‐use meeting/dining halls. This paper will describe the program use of each space and the acoustic criteria developed to meet these requirements. Major emphasis will be placed on Hall A, a 5000‐seat congress hall that was to be used to unamplified symphonic concerts and operas as well as highly amplified Broadway musicals and rock concerts, and Hall B, a 1500‐seat classical music hall and piccolo opera house that also would be used for conferences and popular entertainment. A unique architectural feature of Hall B is the first design and installation of a Concert Hall Shaper, a device that enables a proscenium theatre with a stagehouse to be converted to a single acoustic volume for events such as symphony concerts requiring a longer reverberation time. Hall C, an extremely flexible space for fashion shows, summit meetings, and large receptions, and Ha...