ACOUSTICAL DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS IN PLANNING AND

DESIGNING A THEATER ROOM

Theater Acoustics Design Tips

In architecture, Good theater acoustics often require more than a few wall
panels. That’s because these multipurpose auditoriums are used for plays,
lectures, assemblies, musical performances, and more. As a planner it’s our
job to help the achieve the perfect acoustical balance for the space.

Location Affects Acoustics
To achieve a good acoustic comfort, choose a quiet location for your
theater, away from major roads and noisy spaces. Try not to place
the auditorium/theater next to music practice rooms, mechanical equipment
rooms, etc. Also, hallways and storage rooms can serve as great “buffer”
spaces to acoustically isolate the theater. 
 
Acoustical Treatments for Theaters
Achieving the right balance and placement of sound-reflecting and sound-
absorbing materials on theater walls often requires acoustical consultants.
They will measure the reverberation time at different frequencies throughout
existing auditoriums, or create acoustical models to calculate the results for
new construction. Too much reverberation at high frequencies will result in
bright or harsh theater acoustics. At low frequencies, too much reverberation
will make the space sound boomy, and may be prone to feedback in the
sound system. Too little will cause sounds to lack warmth.

In my perspective as an architecture student, sound-reflecting and/or

sound-absorbing materials on the ceilings, side walls, and rear wall is a must
depending on the acoustics of a theater.

Interior Design Tips for Theaters

According to what ive read online, hard surfaces reflect sound, so choose
fabric-upholstered seats to help control reverb in the theater. Metal or plastic
seating may be cheaper, but they can mean disaster for your acoustics.
Absorptive seating, on the other hand, helps provide stable reverberation
conditions in the auditorium, no matter how many people are in attendance.

Carpet can also significantly affect theater acoustics. Carpeting the aisles

will help control footfall noise and high-frequency reverberation.

Sound Isolation
The theater area has to be acoustically isolated from its surroundings.
Theater spaces sharing common walls can manage to penetrate sound,
disturbing the act. Effective soundproofing is to be ensured for all the
materials covering the flooring, walling,  and ceiling area. Any incoming
vibration or metallic noise from the machinery installed for the theater is to be
eliminated. Improper placement of absorbing or reflecting materials can either
create an echo or may swallow the sound. Entering an auditorium through a
decently-lit vestibule room will prevent alienation of outside sound.
Lighting and Emergency
Surrounding lighting management is important for making the
performance lively and enhancing the viewer’s experience. The lights are
differentiated as per their use before and after the performance, during the
performance with the musical performance for special effects, and while the
theatre staff carries maintenance of the auditorium.

Indirect lighting for stairs and aisle help to guide the audience safely to
their seats without accidents causing minimum disturbance to the existing
audience. Emergency lighting for fire exit is always left visible to all inhabitants
for escaping the theater in case of any emergency or crisis.

Speakers
For better sound reproduction speakers are mounted on the ceiling,
sidewalls, and back walls for surround sound quality. The speakers should be
concealed with proper acoustic packing. A baffle wall behind the screen is
needed to improve sound clarity. The sound coming from the speakers needs
absorption and reflection from the baffle wall placed behind the screen.

Auditorium Shape
Efficiently stacking the viewers in a theater in correspondence to the
sightline, projection, and acoustics is a challenging task. The shape of the
design is equally proportionate to the sound of the theater. The various
auditorium shapes may lead to some advantages and disadvantages. During
designing the theater interiors incorporation of the sub-elements is affected by
their shape.

Seating Arrangement
The seating limit of spectators should be in good shape and within
acceptable figures. The seats should be arranged considering the site line
clearance of each viewer. The aisle division between the seats should not be
compromised as they become the escape route during an emergency to
evacuate a large crowd. The comfort and anthropometric quality of the seat
should not cause any discomfort to its stationary audience.

Accessibility
A public building demands inclusive design planning. The entrances for
any differently-abled may not be separate from the majority audience. The
planning should be a locomotive to all patrons without any discomfort. A step-
less entrance with a dedicated space for wheelchairs at a premium seating
area makes them feel included in the act. 

Fire proofing 
Corrective fire safety measures for a high-density structure are a primitive
measure to design a public building safely. A theater building is layered with
materials prone to fire and combustion. In such cases, the installation of the
correct equipment and abiding by the fire safety rules is essential. A public
building with sour events can lead to heavy casualties. Safety of the
spectators, performers ,and the help staff is an important attribute of
designing musical theaters.

In conclusion, Since good acoustics are such a vital part of any auditorium
experience, it’s good to know what you’re looking for. Most importantly, you
want your audio to sound natural. That means you don’t want it to sound too
“live” or too “dead.” Let’s go over some basic principles of auditorium
acoustics.

When the room contains too many hard, reflective surfaces, sound waves
are able to reverberate around the room and lead to a sound that is too live.
You want some amount of reverberation, but not too much. The sound can
vary, sometimes wildly, at different points in the room if you have too many
reflective surfaces. To combat this, you need to incorporate acoustic materials
to absorb some of the sound waves in your design.

On the other hand, the absorption of too many sound waves will cause
issues too. If too many sound waves are absorbed, you end up with what is
known as a dead room. This makes the performance hard to hear and can
create an unpleasantly quiet natural ambiance in the room.

The key to finding a good balance between live and dead sound is
through a combination of reflective surfaces, sound-absorbing materials, and
diffusers.

HOME THEATER SCREEN SET-UPS (VIEWING DISTANCE)

A home theater system offers the ultimate movie experience. There is

nothing like kicking back in your most comfortable recliner and enjoying a
movie marathon of your favorite movies. However, buying a top-of-the-line
surround sound system and a huge projector screen isn’t enough to take your
home theater experience to the next level. You also need to pay attention to
your viewing distance if you want to ensure that all viewers enjoy a stunning
movie experience.

Many homeowners use their dens or other similarly-sized spare rooms,

although home theatre set-ups aren't just limited to these types of rooms.
Many people opt to set up their systems right in the living room or family
room. The size of these rooms usually dictates the size of the TV as well as
where people tend to sit. The last thing you want to do is sit too far away or
too close to your TV screen. For instance, if you're sitting too far away from a
TV that happens to have a small screen, you won't be able to enjoy the type
of viewing quality that you would get out of a larger screen. However, sitting
too close makes immersing yourself in the viewing experience difficult and
may also result in distorted audio.  

PROJECTOR SCREEN SET-UPS:
100-inch Projector Screens have an optimal viewing distance of 3m
110-inch Projector Screens have an optimal viewing distance of 3.3m
120-inch Projector Screens have an optimal viewing distance of 3.6m
130-inch Projector Screens have an optimal viewing distance of 3.9m
150-inch Projector Screens have an optimal viewing distance of 4.5m

HDTV SET-UPS:
42-inch HDTV's require a recommended 1.2m to 1.8m viewing distance.
50-inch HDTV's require a recommended 1.5m to 2.3m viewing distance.
60-inch HDTV's require a recommended 1.8m to 2.7m viewing distance.