M - 03 - Acoustical Design of Other Spaces

BUILDING SERVICES – IV : ACOUSTICS AND NOISE CONTROL
Module : 03 (Acoustical Design)
ACOUSTICAL DESIGN AND DETAILING OF OTHER SPACES
BUILDING SERVICES – IV Prakruthi bl 06th December 2021 Bangalore

05. Acoustical Design and Detailing of other Spaces OPEN AIR THEATERS
An amphitheater is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports.
A) OPEN AIR THEATER
The term derives from the ancient Greek (amphitheatron), from ἀμφί (amphi), meaning "on both sides" or
"around" and (théātron), meaning "place for viewing".
The typical OAT consists of steeply banked benches arranged in a semicircle (in front of a platform) With the
passage of time the platform evolved into a stage with massive rear and sidewalls of masonry (and
sometimes a ceiling) that served the acoustical purpose of reflecting, directing and thereby reinforcing the
sound intended for the audience.the passage of time the platform evolved into a stage with massive rear
and sidewalls of masonry (and sometimes a ceiling) that served the acoustical purpose of reflecting,
directing and thereby reinforcing the sound intended for the audience
A) OPEN AIR THEATER Natural amphitheatre
A natural amphitheater is a performance space located in a spot where a steep mountain or a
particular rock formation naturally amplifies or echoes sound, making it ideal for musical and
theatrical performances. An amphitheater can be naturally occurring formations which would
be ideal for this purpose, even if no theatre has been constructed there.
Ex - Drakensberg amphitheatre in South Africa, Slane Castle in Ireland, the Supernatural

Amphitheatre in Australia, and the Red Rocks and Gorge amphitheatres in the western United
States.
Bryce canyon national park Slane Castle , Ireland

A) OPEN AIR THEATER History of Greek & Roman OAT
The open air theatres of ancient greece around 1500 Bc were simple rectangular or
trapezoidal arenas surrounded by wood or stone seating on the same level. By 500 Bc, the
semicircular theatre began to take shape, with concentric rows of marble seats often raised on
a low slope. Later, the romans raised the stage, walled it at the back and made the seats very
highly tiered.
They found that the acoustics improved as the theatres got

more enclosed, had steeper seats and higher stages, and
were built from harder materials. These measures allowed
for multiple sound reflections between the seats and the
stage. This higher reverberation made it much more like an
indoor space.
The principal defect of the Greek and Roman theatres
is that the semi circular tiers of seats act as reflectors
that tend to focus sounds from the stage back to a
point on or near the stage.
More over, the echoes from concentric tiers are
reinforced at certain frequencies and diminished at
others.
• The reason is that the vertical risers, which form the

backs of the benches, create a level of uniformly
spaced reflecting surfaces.
• When the distance between risers is equal to one,
two, three or any other whole number of half-wave-
lengths. The reflected waves are in phase and
reinforce each other
• When the distance between risers is one, three, five
or any other odd number of quarter-wavelengths, the
reflected waves meet in contrary phase and thus tend
to cancel each other.
A) OPEN AIR THEATER Design Considerations
•SITE · The site should be away from industrial or community noise.

· The noise level on the site should not exceed 40 dB and occasional
•NOISE LEVEL disturbance exceeding this value should not occur more than once in an hour.
· The theatre should preferably be constructed in sound shadow cast by hill, an
•SOUND SHADOW
embankment across any noisy zones.
•WIND DIRECTION - The prevailing wind direction should not be from the noisy zone towards the theatre but
away from it.
•VEGETATION
•FLOOR
•SLOPE
•WIND
•SHAPE
•CEILING - Tall trees must form the rear boundary of the theatre as they are very useful in absorbing
external noise and preventing delayed sound reflections inside the theatre which otherwise
•BACKWALL cause echoes. Plus they also lend a nice landscape to the theatre.
•CAPACITY - The floor should be properly graded, to give good visibility and audibility to all the rows of
the listeners.
•SOUND ABSORPTION
•MATERIAL
•SITE - The slope of the floor should be towards the stage and it should be about 12 to 15
degrees to the horizontal.
•NOISE LEVEL - The direction of the prevailing winds must be from the stage towards the audience
•SOUND SHADOW
•WIND DIRECTION
•VEGETATION
•FLOOR
•SLOPE
•WIND
- The shape of the theatre should be such that most of the audience is drawn close to the
stage.
•SHAPE
•CEILING - A semi-circular shape admirably satisfies this condition but it does not suite to the
directional properties of the sound.
•BACKWALL
- To have satisfactory sound levels at all the places a fan shape theatre is considered good,
•CAPACITY particularly when the stage walls and proscenium reinforcement cause the sound levels at
the remote places by reflection.
•SOUND ABSORPTION
•MATERIAL
•SITE - The Stage Walls And Ceilings Must Be Designed To Obtain Maximum Throw And Diffusion Of
Sound Towards Remote Places.
•NOISE LEVEL
•SOUND SHADOW
•WIND DIRECTION
•VEGETATION
•FLOOR
•SLOPE
•WIND
•SHAPE
•CEILING
•BACKWALL
•CAPACITY
•SOUND ABSORPTION
•MATERIAL
•SITE • The back wall of the stage must be vertical, with plane or convex corrugation for the
reflection
•NOISE LEVEL • The sound level distribution may be estimated by the method of images.
• The sound intensity drops off as the inverse square of the distance. The side walls are also
•SOUND SHADOW
provide with corrugations. The stage ceiling should slope upwards so as to stand throw
•WIND DIRECTION the outgoing sound onto the audience.
• The capacity of the open-air theatre should not exceed about 600 persons if they are to
•VEGETATION hear clearly and the performers are to speak without strain.
• However with adequate sound amplification the theatre may accommodate about 2000
•FLOOR persons
•SLOPE • The area of the theatre excluding the stage may be calculated at the rate of 0.8to 1sqm per
person, including gangways.
•WIND
•SHAPE
•CEILING
•BACKWALL
•CAPACITY
• SOUND ABSORPTION
• MATERIAL
•SITE • If the seats are so staggered that every seat is displaced sideways from one in front by
half the width of the seat, the area provided should be about 1 to 1.20 sqm per person.
•NOISE LEVEL • Sound absorption by the audience, unoccupied seats and the air must be taken into
account into the design.
•SOUND SHADOW
• Factors such as humidity, temperature, fog and the wind velocity, which affect the
•WIND DIRECTION sound transmission, must be considered
•VEGETATION • Materials should be properly selected, keeping in mind their absorption and diffusion
properties.
•FLOOR
• Some of the preferred materials are :
•SLOPE
•WIND
•SHAPE
•CEILING
•BACKWALL
•CAPACITY
• SOUND ABSORPTION
• MATERIAL
05. Acoustical Design and Detailing of other Spaces INDOOR AUDITORIUMS
B) AUDITORIUMS An enclosure, covered or open, where people can assemble for watching a performance given
on the stage is called as an AUDITORIUM.
IS – 2526 (1963) : Indian standard code of practice for acoustical design of auditoriums and
conference halls , is used in design of auditoriums.
SITE SELECTION AND PLANNING:

• The choice of site for an auditorium is governed by several factors which may be mutually
conflicting, but a compromise has to be struck between the various considerations involved.
• The quietest possible condition should be provided so that intelligibility of speech does not
suffer and even soft passages of music are heard.
• It is particularly necessary to keep the level of extraneous noise low by proper orientation
and site selection in case, where no air-conditioning is provided and doors and windows are
normally kept open during the performance.
• When air-conditioning is provided special care should be taken to attenuate the plant noise
and the grill noise.
B) AUDITORIUMS Design Considerations
•SITE • The choice of site for an auditorium is governed by several factors which may be mutually
conflicting, but a compromise has to be struck between the various considerations involved.
•NOISE LEVEL
• The quietest possible condition should be provided so that intelligibility of speech does not
•SIZE suffer and even soft passages of music are heard.
•FLOOR • It is particularly necessary to keep the level of extraneous noise low by proper orientation
and site selection in case, where no air-conditioning is provided and doors and windows are
•HEIGHT
normally kept open during the performance.
•CEILING
• When air-conditioning is provided special care should be taken to attenuate the plant noise
•SHAPE and the grill noise.
• The size should be fixed in relation to the
•STAGE & SEATING number of audience required to be seated.
•FLOOR PROPERTIES • The floor area of the hall including, gangways

(excluding the stage) should be calculated on
•WALL TREATMENT the basis of 0.6 to 0.9 m sq per person.
• The height of the hall is determined by such
•STAGE INSULATION considerations as ventilation, presence ( or
absence) of balcony and the type of
•STAGE VENTILATION performance.
• MATERIAL • The average height may vary from 6 m for

small halls to 7·5 m for large halls.
•SITE
• Ceiling may be flat but it is preferable to provide a slight increase in the height near the
center of hall.
•NOISE LEVEL • The volume per person required to be provided should normally range between. 3·5 to 5·5
cubic m.
•SIZE • Suitable volumes for different types of auditoriums are given below but it is recommended
that higher values be adopted only in special cases(Cubic m per Person)
•FLOOR • Public lecture halls 3·5 to 4.5
• Cinemas or theatre. 4.0 to 5·0
•HEIGHT • Musical hall or concert hall 4-0 to 5.5
•CEILING
•SHAPE
•STAGE & SEATING
•FLOOR PROPERTIES
•WALL TREATMENT
•STAGE INSULATION
•STAGE VENTILATION
• MATERIAL
• Floor plans of various shapes are used, but the one which is considered to give satisfactory
•SITE results without introducing complications in the acoustical treatment of the hall is the fan-
shaped plan.
•NOISE LEVEL
•SIZE
•FLOOR
•HEIGHT
•CEILING
•SHAPE
•STAGE & SEATING
•FLOOR PROPERTIES
•WALL TREATMENT
•STAGE INSULATION
• MATERIAL
• The size of the stage depends upon the type of performance the hall is to cater for. It
•SITE
would be large for theatres, while it would be comparatively small for cinema halls which
again depends on the size of the screen.
•NOISE LEVEL
SIGHT LINES
•SIZE A sight line or visual axis is a normally unobstructed line of sight between an intended observer
(or Spectator) and a stage, arena, or monuments.
•FLOOR
•HEIGHT
•CEILING
•SHAPE
•STAGE & SEATING
•FLOOR PROPERTIES
•WALL TREATMENT
•STAGE INSULATION
• MATERIAL
SEATING
•SITE The seats should be arranged in concentric arcs of circles drawn with the center located as
much behind the center of the curtain line as its distance from the auditorium rear wall.
•NOISE LEVEL
•SIZE
•FLOOR
•HEIGHT
•CEILING
•SHAPE
•STAGE & SEATING
•FLOOR PROPERTIES
•WALL TREATMENT
•STAGE INSULATION
• MATERIAL
FLOOR PROPERTIES
•SITE
• For good visibility as also for good listening conditions, the successive rows of seats have to
be raised over the preceding ones with the results that the floor level rises towards the rear.
•NOISE LEVEL
• The elevation is based on the principles that each listener shall be elevated with respect to
•SIZE the person immediately
• In front of him so that the listener’s head is about 12cm above the path of sound which
•FLOOR would pass over the head of the person in front of him.
• It is possible to reduce this to 8 cm, if the seats are staggered.
•HEIGHT • As an empirical rule the angle of elevation of the inclined floor in an auditorium should not
be less than 8 degrees.
•CEILING
REAR WALL
•SHAPE The auditorium rear walls should be either flat or convex in shape. This should not be
concave in shape, but where it cannot be avoided, the acoustical design shall indicate either
•STAGE & SEATING
the surface to be splayed or convex corrugations given in order to avoid any tendency for the
•FLOOR PROPERTIES
sound to focus into the hall.
•WALL TREATEMENT
SIDE WALL
• In the case of a fan-shaped hall, the walls may remain reflective and may be architecturally
•STAGE INSULATION
finished in any manner required, if sound absorbing materials is not required from other
•STAGE VENTILATION considerations.
• Where the side walls are parallel they may be left untreated to a length of about 7.5 m from
• MATERIAL the proscenium end.
BACKSTAGE
•SITE
The area of the theatre not open to the public, where the performance is prepared. It mainly
•NOISE LEVEL includes green room with attached toilets, Rehearsal, rooms, workshops and a store room.
Its size is based on the scale of stage and how many performances have to be accommodated.
•SIZE
SOUND INSULATION
•FLOOR
High quality acoustical treatment offers clarity to the original sound thus the quality of sound
•HEIGHT
remains uniform throughout the auditorium and every audience sitting there get to hear the
•CEILING best quality sound regardless of his or her seating location.
•SHAPE Soundproofing in an auditorium can be obtained by wall and ceiling sound panels. Acoustical
panel offer great results by absorbing the reflections and echoes within the auditorium, thus
•STAGE & SEATING producing the better quality of sound.
•FLOOR PROPERTIES Another soundproofing product that is diffusion panel can also provide a great deal of help in
dispersing the reflected sound waves to bring out a balance among the live and dead spots in
•WALL TREATEMENT the room.
•STAGE INSULATION
• MATERIAL
STAGE VENTILATION
•SITE
The requirements with regard to stage ventilation for stages greater than 50 ft. in height or
•NOISE LEVEL larger in area than 1000 sq. ft. are as follows:
•SIZE • Natural means of exhaust - two or more roof vents are required to be provided.
• Aggregate clear area of the opening is to be no less than 5% of the stage area.
•FLOOR • Vents are required to be located near the center and above the highest part of the stage
area. the vents are to be activated by heat-activated devices and by the manual means.
•HEIGHT • A mechanical exhaust system is to be activated by the operation of sprinkler system.
• Protecting the stage and manual means that are readily accessible to the fire department.
•CEILING • A smoke layer must be maintained at greater than 6 ft. above the highest level of the seating
or maintained above the top of the proscenium opening
•SHAPE
MATERIALS IN SOUND INSULATION
•STAGE & SEATING
the materials generally used in sound insulation are broadly classified into the following
categories:
•FLOOR PROPERTIES
• acoustic plaster (a plaster which includes granulated insulation material with cement)
•WALL TREATEMENT • compressed cane or wood fiber board, unperforated and perforated.
• wood particle board
•STAGE INSULATION • compressed wood wool
• mineral/glass wool quits and mats
•STAGE VENTILATION • compressed glass wool tiles
• composite units of perforated board(hardboard, asbestos board or mental sheet) backed
• MATERIAL by mineral or glass wool quilt or slab.
• special absorbers constructed of hardboard, teak ply, etc. backed by air.
•SITE
•NOISE LEVEL
•SIZE
•FLOOR
1. 2.
•HEIGHT
3.
•CEILING 5.
•SHAPE
•STAGE & SEATING
•FLOOR PROPERTIES
4.
•WALL TREATEMENT
6.
•STAGE INSULATION
• MATERIAL
7.
5.
CASE STUDIES
EXPERIMENTAL THEATRE, UNIVERSITY MALAY
KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA
ARCHITECTURAL DRAWINGS
LEGEND
1. Backstage
2. Balcony
3. House
4. Basement
5. aisle
PLAN.
LEGEND
1. Entrance
2. Washrooms
3. Performance stage
4. Backstage SECTIONS LEGEND
5. Ramp 1. Performance stage
6. VIP entrance hallway 2. Stage apron
3. House
4. Basement
5. Orchestra pit
6. Backstage control room
7. VIP entrance hallway
ARCHITECTURAL ACOUSTICS : WALLS
• Rectangular shoe box with fan shaped seat, arrangement with a concave end
wall.
• The side walls are mounted with highly reflective acoustic wall panels of
different angled façade surfaces, allowing reflection in various direction to
enhance sound diffusion more evenly.
Angular surfaces
Sound reflection according to the theatre form. Sound reflection path at different angular surfaces.
ARCHITECTURAL ACOUSTICS: CEILINGS
• The ceiling of the theatre ,the geometry itself is designed to direct sound to the rear hall and diffuse it all over the hall.
• Convex surface of the ceiling disperse the sound .
Sound reflection from different

surfaces on the ceilings.
ARCHITECTURAL ACOUSTICS : SOUND SHADOW
Sound shadow
• The sound shadow region is mainly concentrated

mainly in the seating's beneath the gallery.
• This is tackled by injecting amplified sound picked

up in the main volume by sound reinforcement
systems.
ARCHITECTURAL ACOUSTICS: CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS
ARCHITECTURAL ACOUSTICS: CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS
FLOORING
WALLS
Needle punch
Timber acoustic fabric Aluminum grill Gypsum board Short pile non woven
Plastered
acoustic panels panels framing on with air gap carpet carpet
concrete
Timber
panels
SEATING CEILING MEZZANINE
Polyester foam Plastic armrest Plastered ceiling Glass railings with Glass panel with timber frame
seating aluminum handrails for control room
YIP KIT CHUEN CONCERT HALL
The Diocesan Boys' School is one of most prestigious boys schools in Hong Kong, located at 131 Argyle Street of Mong
Kok, it was founded in 1869 and is one of the oldest secondary schools in the city. The academy has become renowned
for its music programs. The auditorium was to be built to accommodate the emerging needs of music performance by
Thomas Chow Architects (TCA).
DESIGN OBJECTIVES
The acoustical environment for an auditorium project can be enhanced in following respects:
● The floor area and volume of the auditorium is kept at a reasonable minimum for adequate loudness in every part of the
auditorium.
● Optimum reverberation characteristics is provided in the auditorium to facilitate whatever function is required.
● The sound energy -- uniformly distributed within the room.
● The auditorium is free from acoustical defects (distinct echoes, flutter echoes, picket fence echo, sound shadowing, room
resonance, sound concentrations and excessive reverberation).
REVERBERATION TIME
For the calculation of reverberation time of the auditorium a software
called Odeon 5.0 was used. Two mean coefficients were inserted in the
sabine and eyring formula to calculate reverberation time. The DBS
model, based on the architects design scheme and the principle of Estimated RT’s for DBS auditorium
material selection is to minimize the sound absorption.
Absorption sources
SOUND DISTRIBUTION
• Averagely distributing sound energy is of importance to achieve a good acoustic design. In an enclosed space, the direct
sound decreases in level in the same way as outside. Most of the sound in a enclosed spaces has been reflected by walls
and ceiling surfaces. For sound, much larger surfaces are required due to longer wavelengths involved. Image shows the
result ,One of outstanding issues is that the upper part of the stage obstructs the sound propagation to the audience.
• The direct sound (deep red balls) has not yet reached the rear wall, but some balls have been reflected eight times
(green balls) in the stage. It means that the outlet of the stage needs acoustic treatment. Reflectors should be
considered.
SOUND DEFECTS
• The surfaces of a room focus the sound which is reflected from them and they create spots of high intensity and other
spots with low intensity. The “3D Billiard” again, is used to display sound effects such as scattering, flutter echoes or
sound focusing. A number of billiard balls are emitted from the source and reflected by the surfaces in the room.
• To visualize any sound effect, a large number of billiard balls (10,000 balls) were used. The results are shown in above
image. As expected, the real walls of the stage contributed to a sound focusing in the front of the auditorium. The
focused sound energy will cause sound distortion, which should be avoided.
DESIGN INTERVENTIONS
• Increase the volume by enlarging and elevating the ceiling and roof and improve reverberation time
• Over-stage reflector used to reflect sound onto the audience. It is due to the concern about inadequate clarity at the
rear of the hall
• Sound absorptions from ceilings and walls must be minimized during material selections.
• Reflectors should be placed to distribute the sound energy to the audience.
• The rear wall of the stage should be designed to avoid sound focusing with the help of a scattering wall
SOUND REFLECTING PANELS CEILING PANELS SPEAKERS TO HELP SPEECH

CLARITY
HORN SHAPED SEATING SPACE SOUND CONTROL SYSTEM

PLANET 3 STUDIOS
▪ Location - Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
▪ Project completion - 2014
▪ Area - 6000 sq.ft
▪ Occupancy – 300 ppl
They studied sound as an element

that the space has to engage with.
They even simulated wave patterns
within the given structural volume to
understand its effect as it travelled
through.
With the use of parametric and computational design tools, ran multiple form finding experiments and studied the effect of
every iteration on the sound carrying ability of the space.
The goal was to ensure that the spatial form and materiality
working together should help achieve even sound quality in
the space while keeping reverberation factor low. From
suspended tiles to open cells and eventually a closed
volume, the design evolved out of multiple simulations.
A contoured volume rendered in wood faced acoustical

board acts to engage sound in a way that it carries from the
stage, right to the back of the auditorium without
perceptible drop in intensity. Contouring creates a sculpted
feel on the ceiling and the walls and an interesting sense of
space inside.
The neutral palette of wood is complemented by grey and
orange auditorium chairs laid out in an outsized ‘V’ echoing the
client’s logo. Stretched fabric forms within contours are backlit
with dimmable LED lights controllable over zones and these
engage with the patrons in an interesting way for the moments
leading up to the actual show.
FRONT VIEW SIDE VIEW
SOURCE
▪ https://law.resource.org/pub/in/bis/S03/is.2526.1963.pdf REAR VIEW
▪ https://www.slideshare.net/alokranjan179/auditorium-design-ppt?qid=38efbddd-ee82-47d2-b88b-002bb9c530b1&v=&b=&from_search=3
▪ https://www.slideshare.net/VartikaSharma10/auditorium-literature-study-design-considerations
▪ https://issuu.com/locktianjiun/docs/etum-bscience_2
▪ https://anzasca.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/ASA_2017_Gou_Lau.pdf
▪ https://www.scmp.com/native/news/hong-kong/education/topics/own-legacy-kadoorie-hill/article/3086949/secrets-diocesan
05. Acoustical Design and Detailing of other Spaces HOME THEATER
C) HOME THEATER Home cinema, also called home theaters or theater rooms, are home entertainment audio-
visual systems that seek to reproduce a movie theater experience and mood using consumer
electronics-grade video and audio equipment that is set up in a room or backyard of a private
home.
Some home cinema enthusiasts build a dedicated room in their home for the theater. These
more advanced installations often include sophisticated acoustic design elements, including
"room-in-a-room" construction that isolates sound and provides an improved listening
environment and a large screen, often using a high definition projector.
The Goal
The goal in a Cinema Room or a Home Theatre acoustic design should be to provide the
audience a neutral acoustic environment, in order to assure them a clear and complete film
audio experience without introducing any acoustic distortions that could compromise its
perception. In other words, the home cinema listener should be able to clearly hear what has
been recorded with minimum influence from external sources such as:
i) room’s acoustics;
ii) noise from mechanical sources (e.g. cinema’s HVAC systems); and
iii) noise from sources located in theatre’s adjacent spaces. Furthermore, the noise generated
within the cinema room should not be a source of nuisance to potential noise sensitive receptors
located nearby.
C) HOME THEATER To achieve this, there are mainly three areas where the acoustic design of a Home Cinema should act
on:
• Improving sound insulation between home cinema and adjacent spaces;

• Limiting internal background noise levels by controlling noise from mechanical sources such as
HVAC;
• Designing internal acoustic treatment in order to control Cinema’s reverberation time and avoid
acoustic defects such as echo, flutter echoes, room resonances, etc.
Design Considerations
Generally, home cinema walls, ceiling and floor sound insulation performance should be
designed taking into account:
• The background noise criteria selected for the home cinema;
• The anticipated noise generated in theatre’s adjacent spaces;
• The degree of noise sensitivity of the theatre’s adjacent spaces.
C) HOME THEATER Design Considerations
•ROOM SHAPE ROOM SHAPE

Square rooms tend to produce odd
•WINDOWS harmonic distortions.
If you have the choice, opt for a
•WALL rectangular room, and plan to place your
display screen and main speakers along a
•FLOORING short wall for best sound projection.
•SOUND
•SPEAKER
•SEATING
WINDOWS
•CEILING The fewer, the better. Windows are a
double problematic. They're hard surfaces
•DOOR that reflect sound-causing audio
distortion, and they admit light that can
•WINDOW produce reflections on your viewing
surface.
•SOUND ABSORPTION
Heavy curtains and shades help, but that
•HOME FURNISHING means closing blinds or drapes every time
you turn on your home theater system. If
• AMPLIFICATION you must, opt for blackout-style window
SYSTEM treatments that track tight against window
jambs to seal out light. Blackout style windows
WALLS
•ROOM SHAPE
Regular drywall is a decent surface appropriate for home theater walls. However, break up large
•WINDOWS flat surfaces with furniture or drapes. Don't add framed art with glass — it's too reflective of
sound and light. Concrete or concrete block is to be avoided completely. If you're setting up in
•WALL a basement with concrete walls, consider installing studs and drywall.
Other options include acoustic wall panels designed specifically for home theaters. These panels
•FLOORING are called "sound absorption" panels, and they help modulate low and high frequencies,
preventing echoes.
•SOUND
•SPEAKER Panels come as 1' x 1' or 2' x 2' squares costing $4 to $20 per square foot. Remember sound
abatement cuts both ways. Controlling the sound in your home theater room means peace and
•SEATING quiet for the rest of your house.
•CEILING
•DOOR
•WINDOW
•SOUND ABSORPTION
•HOME FURNISHING
• AMPLIFICATION
SYSTEM
•ROOM SHAPE WALLS

• The insulation sits between the studs and fills the cavity. If there are any gaps it results in an air leak which
•WINDOWS results in airborne noise transmission. The use of insulation clips will keep the material in place and
provide better results.
•WALL • Green glue damping caulk is used to seal the gap.
• Putty pads cover electrical outlets to help prevent air leaks.
•FLOORING • The dense yet flexible material – MLV creates a reflective sound barrier that sound waves cannot
penetrate.
•SOUND
•SPEAKER
•SEATING
•CEILING
•DOOR
FLOORING
•WINDOW
•SOUND ABSORPTION
• Interlocking floor mats,
noise-proofing
•HOME FURNISHING compounds, and rubber
floor mats.
• AMPLIFICATION • Carpet has natural sound
SYSTEM absorption properties.
•ROOM SHAPE FLOORING

Wall-to-wall carpet, with a new cushy pad
•WINDOWS underneath, absorbs ambient sound and
contributes to coziness. Kids like to sprawl on
•WALL the floor to watch stuff.
•FLOORING
THE SOUND
•SOUND Most home theater speaker systems (and movie
soundtracks) are designed to provide specific
•SPEAKER sounds from specific areas of your listening
environment. When a train goes thundering
•SEATING through a scene, you hear the sound move from
one side to the other. However, speakers labeled as
•CEILING bipole or dipole aren't compatible with this
essential feature of home theater, so check before
•DOOR you buy.
SPEAKER PLACEMENT
•WINDOW
A typical home theater features 5.1 surround
•SOUND ABSORPTION sound, meaning there are five full-range speakers
and one low-range specialist, the woofer. You'll
•HOME FURNISHING place three speakers and the woofer toward the
front of the room, and the two remaining speakers
• AMPLIFICATION on either side and slightly behind your viewing
SYSTEM position. Keep speakers at least 20 inches from
walls.
IDEAL DISTANCE
•ROOM SHAPE
o In a perfect world, your ears would be equidistant from each speaker. Given that your ears are on
opposite sides of your head, it's safe to say you won't ever achieve this kind of perfection. Nevertheless,
•WINDOWS come as close to the goal as you can.
o Some speakers — certainly your woofer — will have individual volume controls you can tweak. More
•WALL
sophisticated speakers provide millisecond adjustments, called delays, that time sound projection from
each speaker so that everything arrives in your ears at precisely the same instant, a handy feature for
•FLOORING large rooms with speakers at various distances.
o Online A/V Magazine even gives a formula: a 1 millisecond delay equates to 1.1 feet of distance. A
•SOUND speaker 5.5 more feet away from your head than your other speakers would require an advance setting
of 5 milliseconds.
•SPEAKER 1. Front left and right speaker channels be located exactly 30 degrees to the left and right of the center.
2. Left, Right, and Center speakers must all have equal distance to the listener position.
•SEATING
3. Speaker height should be equal to the center of the video display height.
•CEILING 4. Speaker aiming should be toward the center of listener seating position area
•DOOR
•WINDOW
•SOUND ABSORPTION
•HOME FURNISHING
• AMPLIFICATION
SYSTEM
PLAYING CENTER FIELD
•ROOM SHAPE
• Of all your speakers, your center front speaker is perhaps the most influential. It bears the
•WINDOWS responsibility of projecting sound directly from the screen. This is especially important for
dialogue — you don't want to see the actors talking in front of you while the sound of their
•WALL voices is coming from the side.
• Sometimes overshadowed by a pair of tower speakers flanking it, the center speaker shouldn't
be downgraded in your home theater budget. Spend time adjusting your center speaker so that
•FLOORING dialogue seems to come directly from your display.
• Woofer.
•SOUND • Your woofer goes up front, but there's only one, so you have to decide which side. The low bass
ranges reproduced by a woofer will permeate the room, so angle is less important than with
•SPEAKER other speakers. A corner location helps distribute your woofer's sound evenly but, as with all
components, experiment with different positions before settling on the ideal location.
•SEATING
•CEILING
•DOOR
•WINDOW
•SOUND ABSORPTION
•HOME FURNISHING
• AMPLIFICATION
SYSTEM
•ROOM SHAPE SEATING

The seating layout in an acoustically treated room is very important. The ideal locations with respect to the
speakers contribute to embellished acoustic experience. Many studies have shown certain concepts and
•WINDOWS
approaches to the seating layout with respect to the source, and the impact it has.
To name a few :-
•WALL • The concept of separating speakers to create an angle of 45º to 60º from the perspective of the prime
listener to enhance and dictate the Sweet Spot .
•FLOORING • Effect of distance between seating and central sound source.
•SOUND
•SPEAKER
•SEATING
•CEILING
•DOOR
•WINDOW
•SOUND ABSORPTION
•HOME FURNISHING Seating Closer to Central Speakers- Seating Far from Central Speakers-
The center channel creates a sweet triangle Full coverage of the forward seating area with
• AMPLIFICATION instead of an aisle. balanced focused sound.
SYSTEM
•ROOM SHAPE CEILING

• Isolated studs - prevent the sound waves from taking the
•WINDOWS path of least resistance.
• Sheets of soundproofing drywalls - more density which
•WALL improves its ability to absorb sounds
• Double-layer of standard drywall - seal every joint and gap
• Acoustic tiles
•FLOORING
• Acoustic foam
• Decoupling - method of soundproofing by creating space
•SOUND between secondary ceilings and the studs.
•SPEAKER
DOOR
•SEATING
• Weather-stripping is another simple and effective
method to keep sound in and unwanted noise out. It is
•CEILING simply a thin roll of foam, often self-adhesive, that sits
around the door jamb and absorbs sound waves. Using
•DOOR Green glue increases sound damping properties.
•WINDOW
WINDOWS
•SOUND ABSORPTION
• Double/triple pane or laminated glass windows
•HOME FURNISHING
• Soundproofing curtains - help to absorb/dampen
troublesome noise from outside, block out light, and
• AMPLIFICATION
insulate the room.
SYSTEM
•ROOM SHAPE SOUND ABSORBING MATERIALS

1. Perforated Panel Absorbers
•WINDOWS 2. Slat Absorbers
3. Bass Traps 01
•WALL
4. Sound absorbing panels
•FLOORING Sound absorbers are available in many styles
and types, most of which come in appealing
•SOUND colours.
02
• When installed, they can also make a room
•SPEAKER
or space look more visually appealing.
•SEATING • Can be mounted to ceilings and to walls as
it helps to cut down on acoustic
•CEILING reflections and sound reverberations.
• Ideal for recording studios, cinemas,
•DOOR theatres, classrooms, games rooms,
gymnasiums and entertainment areas.
•WINDOW • Quite effective and affordable method if
your main intention is sound absorption
•SOUND ABSORPTION and improving acoustics in one room and 03
aesthetically pleasing.
•HOME FURNISHING • Can be expensive, needs calculating and
installing correctly for maximum
• AMPLIFICATION calibration and limited performance for
SYSTEM sound isolation.
SOUND ABSORBING panels
• Used for improving the sound in small to medium rooms, like recording studios, control boardrooms, and even small home
theaters.
• Acoustic foam is one of the most commonly used materials due to its easy installation and its affordability as well as its
effective absorption of a sound.
• Usually, the foam consists of an attractive fabric and design with different patterns, which contributes to the aesthetics of
your home.
• Fabric-covered foam panels - It enables acoustical performance everywhere, even in theaters and auditoriums, because it is
ACOUSTIC FOAM panels easy to install and maintain its fabric.
PATTERNED FOAMS Colours available adding to aesthetics.

•ROOM SHAPE HOME FURNISHING

• Domestic materials can be very useful to absorb as
•WINDOWS well as scatter sound. Sound absorption can even
be caused by redirecting sound through scattering
•WALL
elements to absorbent materials in rooms that are
already part of home furnishing.
•FLOORING
• Chairs in the listening area of home cinemas have
•SOUND scattering as well as absorbing character thus are
useful in improving room acoustics.
•SPEAKER  Curtains
Curtains are commonly in rooms used as they are part of
•SEATING
home furnishing. However, home consumer curtains
•CEILING have a little effect on sound absorption since they are
usually to light in weight. The amount of absorption is
•DOOR dependent on the weight of the curtain and folds
which increase the surface area that sound is facing.
•WINDOW  Acoustic Curtains
• A typical acoustic curtain uses quality,
•SOUND ABSORPTION
heavyweight, plush fabrics combined
•HOME FURNISHING soundproofing
materials like mass loaded vinyl to dampen sound
• AMPLIFICATION and reduce echo.
SYSTEM
CARPETS
•ROOM SHAPE
• Carpets can be effectively absorbent at mid and high mid frequencies.
•WINDOWS • Although, this will lead into a drop of the overall reverberation time, this also applies an
imbalanced absorption to the frequency response of a room. Hence, this imbalance can be
•WALL compensated by means of low-frequency absorbers.
• One should keep in mind that also the material of a commonly used carpet underlay can
•FLOORING
have a significant effect on sound absorption.
•SOUND
•SPEAKER
•SEATING
•CEILING
•DOOR
•WINDOW
•SOUND ABSORPTION
•HOME FURNISHING
Figure shows that reasonable reverberation
• AMPLIFICATION times in domestic rooms can be achieved
SYSTEM through usual room furnishing.
•ROOM SHAPE SOUND AMPLIFICATION SYSTEM

• Sound amplification system means any
•WINDOWS apparatus used for the amplification of
sounds from any radio, tape player, cassette
•WALL
player, compact disc player, loudspeaker,
•FLOORING sound amplifier, alarm or other sound-
generating device, including any apparatus
•SOUND for the amplification of the human voice.
• In home theaters, a surround-sound
•SPEAKER system has the ability and the need to
create impressions of Space and Distance as
•SEATING well as the perception of direction.
• The impressions of distance is a result of
•CEILING
delayed sounds as well as reflections from
•DOOR both the recording and the influence of the
room
•WINDOW USING THE RIGHT LOUD SPEAKER
•SOUND ABSORPTION • The quality of the loudspeaker determines the sound quality in case of an acoustically well
designed room
•HOME FURNISHING • Different frequency ranges (low, mid, high) should be delivered by different speakers due
to avoid degraded sound quality especially in the low frequencies.
• AMPLIFICATION
• Therefore, a full-range loudspeaker (one diaphragm) is always a compromise and not
SYSTEM
recommended.
USING THE RIGHT LOUD SPEAKER
•ROOM SHAPE
• In home theaters, front loudspeakers (L, C, R) are mainly used to deliver the speech
•WINDOWS content of a movie.
• A center loudspeaker covering the intermediate image between a stereo configuration can
•WALL improve the perceived sound notably if a broader listening sweet spot is desired.
• Surround sound channels are mostly used to generate a sound environment. They can
•FLOORING
provide the impression of a broader sound image as well as the feeling of being
•SOUND surrounded by the sound field.
•SPEAKER
•SEATING
•CEILING
•DOOR
•WINDOW
•SOUND ABSORPTION
•HOME FURNISHING
• AMPLIFICATION A full set of

SYSTEM
Loudspeakers
IMPROVING THE IMPRESSION OF DISTANCE AND ENVELOPMENT BY THE USE OF
•ROOM SHAPE SURROUND SOUND CHANNELS AND ROOM REFLECTIONS
•WINDOWS • A surround-sound arrangement can create
different sounds at both ears which leads
•WALL
to the perceived apparent source
,spaciousness and envelopment which are
•FLOORING
important for the listener in a home
•SOUND theater to perceive the feeling of being in a
different space.
•SPEAKER • Figure illustrates a surround sound
arrangement with surround loudspeakers
•SEATING reproducing delayed sounds of the front
loudspeakers to yield the impression of
•CEILING distance and envelopment.
•DOOR • The thick dashed lines show the direct sound from the front sound stage where most of the
sound in movies comes from, while the impression of envelopment will be caused by the
•WINDOW surround sound channels.
•SOUND ABSORPTION
• The figure also shows the additional reflections from the opposite room surface
beneficially contributing to the perceived spaciousness.
•HOME FURNISHING
• The front and rear wall contributions are ineffective in improving spaciousness and can be
• AMPLIFICATION avoided by applying absorption on front and rear wall.
SYSTEM
STEREO LOUDSPEAKER ARRANGEMENT
•ROOM SHAPE
• (a) illustrates the situation of a phantom center image and (b) with an additional center
•WINDOWS loudspeaker.
• In (a) the left and right loudspeakers radiate identical sounds. Sound quality suffers due
•WALL to acoustical crosstalk and the intermediate sound image tends to drift backward,
behind the line of the left and right loudspeaker.
•FLOORING
• The drift backward seems to be reasonable since the impression of distance is
•SOUND dependent on early reflections, which cover a longer distance until arriving at the
listener.
•SPEAKER • (b) shows only two remaining reflections with improved sound quality
•SEATING
•CEILING
•DOOR
•WINDOW
•SOUND ABSORPTION
•HOME FURNISHING
• AMPLIFICATION
SYSTEM (A) WITH TWO LOUDSPEAKERS (B) WITH THREE LOUDSPEAKERS
C) HOME THEATER References
• https://vicoustic.com/article/is-home-cinema-acoustic-design-essential-in-the-dolby-atmos-age
• https://www.diynetwork.com/how-to/rooms-and-spaces/home-theater/home-theater-design-
basics
• https://www.researchgate.net/publication/288994776_Room_Acoustics_in_Home_Theaters#pf42
• https://www.acousticalsurfaces.com/blog/soundproofing/soundproofing-vs-sound-absorbing
• https://aquietrefuge.com/best-sound-absorbing-materials/
05. Acoustical Design and Detailing of other Spaces HALL FOR INDOOR SPORTS
Thank you
for listening
PBL

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BUILDING SERVICES – IV : ACOUSTICS AND NOISE CONTROL

Module : 03 (Acoustical Design)

ACOUSTICAL DESIGN AND DETAILING OF OTHER SPACES

BUILDING SERVICES – IV Prakruthi bl 06th December 2021 Bangalore

Ex - Drakensberg amphitheatre in South Africa, Slane Castle in Ireland, the Supernatural

Bryce canyon national park Slane Castle , Ireland

They found that the acoustics improved as the theatres got

• The reason is that the vertical risers, which form the

•SITE · The site should be away from industrial or community noise.

SITE SELECTION AND PLANNING:

•FLOOR PROPERTIES • The floor area of the hall including, gangways

• MATERIAL • The average height may vary from 6 m for

•STAGE & SEATING

•STAGE & SEATING

•STAGE & SEATING

•STAGE & SEATING

•STAGE & SEATING

• Convex surface of the ceiling disperse the sound .

Sound reflection from different

• The sound shadow region is mainly concentrated

• This is tackled by injecting amplified sound picked

SEATING CEILING MEZZANINE

SOUND REFLECTING PANELS CEILING PANELS SPEAKERS TO HELP SPEECH

HORN SHAPED SEATING SPACE SOUND CONTROL SYSTEM

They studied sound as an element

A contoured volume rendered in wood faced acoustical

• Improving sound insulation between home cinema and adjacent spaces;

•ROOM SHAPE ROOM SHAPE

•ROOM SHAPE WALLS

•ROOM SHAPE FLOORING

•ROOM SHAPE SEATING

•ROOM SHAPE CEILING

•ROOM SHAPE SOUND ABSORBING MATERIALS

PATTERNED FOAMS Colours available adding to aesthetics.

•ROOM SHAPE HOME FURNISHING

•ROOM SHAPE SOUND AMPLIFICATION SYSTEM

• AMPLIFICATION A full set of

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