INFORMATION GATHERING

Auditorium Design Considerations

AUDITORIUM • An enclosure, covered or open,
where people can assemble for watching a
performance given on the stage. • An auditorium is a
room built to enable an audience to hear and watch
performances at venues such as theatres.
Types of Auditoriums:-
ARENA THEATRE ; Auditoriums with audience
surrounded on all sides.
PROSCENIUM THEATRE Auditoriums with
audience only on the front sides.

FLEXIBLE THEATRE Auditoriums with flexible stage

and seating arrangement.
THRUST THEATRE Auditoriums with audience
surrounded on three sides.

TERMS USED IN AUDITORIUM

PROSCENIUM: A proscenium is the area of a
theatre surrounding the stage opening. A proscenium
arch is the arch over this area. A proscenium plane
divides the performer and spectators.
Lobby
While the lobby is not usually an active part of a
performance, it is the first entry point into the
auditorium and should be looked at just as carefully
as any other theatrical space.
Stage
The stage is where the action happens. There are
many components that work together on the stage—
many not visible from the house—to create a great
production for the audience and a safe performance
for participants.

House
The house is the auditorium’s main seating area.
There are many components to the house that make
for an enjoyable, accessible, and safe viewing
experience for performances and events of all types.
Backstage
A variety of spaces backstage, if designed and
utilized well, make the performance on stage go
smoothly.
Control Room
The control room is a high-tech space central to
effective performances.

GANGWAYS: A passage between two rows of seats.

The minimum gangway should be 2500 mm.
AISLE: The walkway between each area, row of
seats to permit ease of passage. (>=45 mm)

TORMENTOR: A curtain or framed structure used

directly behind the proscenium at each side of the
stage to screen the wings & sidelights from the
audience.

APRON: The part of the stage floor in front of curtain

line.
ORCHESTRA PIT: The space reserved for musicians
usually in front.

Ticket room: Where tickets are sold.

CYCLORAMA: It is the exterior of the backdrop. It is
basically a distinction between backstage & main
stage.

FIRE CURTAIN: A curtain or asbestos or other fire-

proof material that can be lowered just inside the
proscenium arch in case of fire.

GREEN ROOM: The green room is the space in a

theatre, studio or similar venue which functions as a
waiting room and lounge for performers before and
after a performance, and during the show when they
are not engaged on stage.
Principles of Design
Site Selection and Planning
• When air-conditioning is provided special care
should be taken to attenuate the plant noise and the
grill noise. For this purpose plant should be suitably
isolated and ducts as well as the plenum should be
so designed that noise gets adequately reduced so
as to be within the permissible limits.
• The size should be fixed in relation to the number of
audience required to be seated. • The floor area of the
hall including, gangways (excluding the stage) should
be calculated on the basis of 0.6 to 0.9 sq. m per
person. • The height of the hall is determined by such
considerations as ventilation, presence (or absence)
of balcony and the type of performance. 2. Size and
Shape The average height may vary from 6 m for
small halls to 7·5 m for large halls.
Ceiling
Ceiling may be flat but it is preferable to provide a
slight increase in the height near the centre of hall. •
The volume per person required to be provided
should normally range between 3·5 to 5.5 cu. m. •
Suitable volumes for different types of auditoriums are
given below but it is recommended that higher values
be adopted only in special cases: Cubic Metres per
Person a) Public lecture halls 3·0 to 4.5 b) Cinemas
or theatre 4.0 to 5·0 c) Musical hall. or concert halls
4.0 to 5.5 In the case of (c), the upper limit is suitable
for musical performances while the lower limit may be
chosen in the case of small general purpose
auditoriums.

Floor plans of various shapes are used, but the

one which is considered to give satisfactory results
without introducing complications in the acoustical
treatment of the hall is the FAN-SHAPED PLAN.
15. • For good visibility as also for good listening
conditions, the successive rows of seats have to r be
raised over the preceding ones with the result that the
floor level rises towards the rear. • The elevation is
based on the principle that each listener shall be
elevated with respect to the person immediately in
front of him so that the listener's head is about 12 cm
above the path of sound which 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. • As
an empirical rule the angle of elevation of the inclined
floor in an auditorium should not be less than 8
degrees. Floor
Horizontal Cone of Vision

Vertical Cone of Vision

18. The size of the stage depends upon the type of
performance the hall is to cater for. It would be large
for theatres, while it would be comparatively small for
cinema halls which again depends on the size of the
screen. Stage
PROPORTIONS OF AN AUDITORIUM
• These are obtained from spectator’s psychological
perception and viewing angles, as well as
requirement for good view from all seats . • Head
movement should be acc. To the following:- • 30 - No
movement • 60 - Slight eye movement • 110 - Slight
eye and head movement • 150 - Head movement 90
degree. • 360 - Full head and shoulder movement
SEATING CAPACITY Venues designed for
legitimate theater can be easily adapted for concerts
and typically have seating for 1,000-6,000. Mid-Sized
Music Venues. Designed for concerts, these indoor
facilities have ready-built stages and typically have
capacity for between 1,000 and 6,500 persons.
SIGHT LINES:- • A sightline, sight line or visual axis,
is a normally unobstructed line-of-sight between an
intended observer (or spectator) and a stage, arena,
or monument. • For example. Sightlines are a
particularly important consideration in theatre and
stadium design, road junction layout and urban
planning. • In cities such as London, construction
within sightlines is restricted to protect the key views
of famous landmarks.
Proscenium line >950 >950>950 Sight lines in
Staggered seating House 1100 150 Note: All
dimensions in mm.
BACKSTAGE The area of a theatre not open to the
public, where the performance is prepared. • It mainly
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
performers have to be accommodated.
WORKSHOPS, REHEARSAL AREAS AND
CHANGING ROOMS
SERVICES IN AUDITORIUM
• Stage lighting
• Light control
• Curtain system
• Cyclorama screen
• Dimmers
• Escape and exit route
• Parking
• Circulation
FIRE PROTECTION
1.Stage Fire Protection • A fire curtain or water curtain
is to be provided to contain smoke/fire within the
stage. • The fire curtain is required to be designed
and installed to prevent a glow from a fire being
visible to the audience. • The curtain is required to be
activated by rate-of-rise heat detectors operating at a
temperature rise of 15 to 20 °F per minute (9 to 11 °C
per minute) and by manual operation. 2.Sprinklers •
Sprinklers are required to be provided under a roof. If
galleries over the stage are more than 4 feet in width,
the sprinklers must be provided over the stage. • It is
noted that these requirements are not required for the
stages in which the stage area is 1000 ft² (93 m²) or
less, the stage height is 50 ft or less, and curtains,
scenery, or other combustible hangings are not
retractable vertically.
31. 3. Fire and Life Safety Proper: Notification
systems, lighting, and signage are required to
facilitate safe and speedy evacuations during an
emergency in the Auditorium spaces. Step lights
recessed into floor risers at each seating tier and wall
mounted low light level sconce lights along side walls
are typical. Sprinklers should be provided per code
and under stage platforms to suppress fires 4. Raised
Floor : The recommended system for distribution of
HVAC in auditorium spaces is ducted supply through
floor vents with ducted ceiling return air vents in
auditorium and lobby. In other spaces, ducted ceiling
supply with return air ceiling plenum is recommended.
Note that there should be transfer ducts at all
acoustically rated partitions.
Ventilation
• The requirements with regard to stage ventilation for
stages greater than 50 feet in height or larger in area
than 1000 ft² are as follows: Natural means of exhaust
• Two or more roof vents are required to be provided;
• Aggregate clear area of the openings is to be no
less than 5% of the stage area; • 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 manual means.
Mechanical means of exhaust • 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. • 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

SOUND INSULATION
A high quality acoustical treatment offers clarity to the
original sound thus the quality of sound remains
uniform throughout the auditorium and every
audience sitting there get to hear the best quality
sound regardless of his or her seating location. Use of
Acoustical Panels For Soundproofing Of Auditorium
Soundproofing in an auditorium can be obtained by
using wall and ceiling sound panels. Acoustical
panels offer great results by absorbing the reflections
and echoes within the auditorium, thus producing the
better quality of sound. 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 the room.
Materials used:
a) Acoustic plaster (a plaster which includes
granulated insulation material with cement }; b)
Compressed cane or wood fibreboard, unperforated
and perforated;
c) Wood particle board;
d) Compressed wood woo);
e) Mineral/glass wool quilts and mats;
f) Mineral/compressed glass wool tiles;
g) Composite units of perforated hardboard backed
by perforated fibreboard;
h) Composite units of perforated board (hardboard,
asbestos board or metal sheet) backed by mineral or
glass wool quilt or _ slab; and
i) Special absorbers constructed of hardboard, teak
ply, etc, backed by air. Sound Insulation Materials
used in Auditoriums