MR.

MONDE MBALU S220891311

KES311/V301 - ENVIRONMENT AND

SERVICES ASSIGNMENT 1:

FUNDAMENTALS OF SOUND AND ROOM ACOUSTIC IN A

PRACTICAL ENVIRONMENT

MODULE: KES311/V301
LECTURER : Mr. Mark Brand
DATE : 2 May 2023
Contents
INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................1
CHURCH ON THE WAY............................................................................................ 2
FLOOR AREA....................................................................................................2
FLOOR PLAN....................................................................................................3
ROOM VOLUME................................................................................................3
CEILING PROFILE............................................................................................3
SIDE WALL PROFILE.......................................................................................3
FLOOR PROFILE...............................................................................................3
ROOM SURFACE TREATMENT.................................................................................4
REVERBERATION TIME............................................................................................6
Summary of acoustic design properties..........................................................6
DESIGN CHART FOR OPTIMUM REVERBERATION TIME OF COTWAY......................6
DESIGN CHART FOR MINIMUM VOLUME OF ROOM PER PERSON..........................7
RT CALCULATIONS FOR COTWAY............................................................................8
CONCLUSION...........................................................................................................8
RECOMMENDATIONS............................................................................................10
ANNEXURES: SITE PLANS, SECTIONS, AND ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHURCH ON THE
WAY (COTWAY).....................................................................................................10
Bibliography..........................................................................................................12
Mr. Monde Mbalu s220891311 May 23

INTRODUCTION

For this task, it is essential for me to examine and scrutinize an auditorium located within my local area in
order to find out whether that particular building is suitable to serve its intended purpose. It is necessary to
apply the lecture content and course readings to evaluate significant acoustic factors related to the
fundamentals of sound, as well as analyzing particular acoustic challenges that arise within the given building.
In addition, it is necessary to provide actionable suggestions that can effectively eradicate these problems if
there are such problems.

The client’s briefing has indicated that I should provide a detailed report about the existing venue of choice in
order to gather crucial information concerning its architectural design and acoustic attributes. Therefore, I
need to utilize either hand-drawn sketches or digital drawing tools to fully specify the site's whereabouts, the
reason for its existence, the seating capacity/arrangement and its current function. The discussion should
include certain acoustic-related elements, such as the impact of use on sound sources. The examination of the
various surface treatments in the venue, along with identification of the sound absorption and sound
reflection utilized to achieve a pleasant atmosphere, must also be analyzed.

Therefore, one should assess the reverberation time in the given area and deduce whether if it satisfies the
standards of optimal hearing atmosphere within the vicinity. One should also propose a feasible design
alternative if required for the area and furnish data to demonstrate how implementing these modifications
will affect the acoustics of the location. This assignment will allow me to obtain the necessary salient thinking
and also grants the opportunity to test theoretical knowledge in a realistic and/or practical environment.

1
Mr. Monde Mbalu s220891311 May 23

CHURCH ON THE WAY

This venue is situated in Port Elizabeth and is located at 7 Admiralty Cres,
Summerstrand, Gqeberha, 6001. “CHURCH ON THE WAY” or COTWAY serves
its primary function as a church hall that houses church events/gatherings. It
also serves as a daycare/ aftercare during the week on non-sermon days. Its
intriguing design resembles that of typical vernacular thatch infrastructure in
South Africa. Although, this church takes the shape of an octagon with an altered
octagonal turret roof with gables since its centre has accommodated adequate
space for a protruding skylight fitting. COTWAY also extended blocks that form
part of its main infrastructure but for this study, my acoustics analogy was only
restricted to the main area of gathering.

INTERNAL CONSTITUENTS

 Masonary: internal Summer Gold Rustic – FBS brickwork in stretcher bond.

 4mm thick clearfloat glass.
 4mm StormyVue (Amber) obscure glass.
 Plaster and paint on stage wall panel.
 Cedar softwood.
 Medium thick black curtains.
 4mm multi-coloured obscure glass.
 Heavy red carpet on concrete.
 Plastic skylight.
 Black plastic chairs/red upholstered chairs (mobile).
 Electronic speakers and microphone.

FLOOR AREA

Due to the Covid-19 outbreak, the seating capacity on Sundays has been dramatically reduced from

2
Mr. Monde Mbalu s220891311 May 23

an average of approximately 250-260 individuals to merely 70-80 people. The seating arrangement
follows an octagonal shape and semi-circle to conform with the venue's horseshoe floor plan.
Following the pandemic, the venue capacity has been gradually rising, resulting in an average seating
of 200 to full capacity of the audience at a distance of 1 metre.

FLOOR PLAN

The layout of COTWAY is symmetric and has the shape of an octagon. The
room is designed for speaking, and as a result, the layout resembles that of a
horseshoe based on the location of the sound source. The concave back wall
of this type of floor plan is popular among opera houses due to its ability to
concentrate sound.

ROOM VOLUME

Each audience seat has a volume of 5.1 cubic meters per 1 square meter of space at 70 - 80 people.
The size of the venue has a straightforward influence on how long sound takes to decay, known as
reverberation time. The floor area per individual varies depending on the function of the given
space. To ensure clarity and direction of speech, speech rooms require less space per person
compared to music rooms.

CEILING PROFILE

The design of COTWAY features sloping ceilings at the front and back, which
results in a larger surface area of reflective material that can be useful. A
change to the slanted ceiling with the inclusion of a skylight in the roof's
middle can expand the effective sound-reflecting space.

SIDE WALL PROFILE

The length and width of all walls are perfectly balanced and evenly
proportional. The walls have been arranged in such a way that they form a
circular structure, resulting in an octagonal layout. The angled wall serves a
useful purpose as a sound reflector.

FLOOR PROFILE

COTWAY features a raised platform with a height of 500mm allowing the

sound source to be at an elevated angle when propagated and therefore
increasing the audience's direct sound exposure while also minimizing sound
absorption loss. The church's octagonal form and roof structure made of
timber with a sloped ceiling profile will enhance the number of beneficial
sound reflections.

3
Mr. Monde Mbalu s220891311 May 23

ROOM SURFACE TREATMENT

Floor:

The floor area consists of a red Berber carpeting which includes parts of the 500mm
podium. The church floor profile is raised/staggered rather than raked in which the
distribution of sound is improved due to the raised sound source.

Wall:

The exterior of the church venue features a 4190mm tall cavity brick wall measuring 230mm in
thickness, which has been plastered and painted. However, the interior side of the wall has not
undergone any plastering or painting processes. The wall situated at the podium's rear within the
confines of the venue has been covered in plaster and paint purely for decorative purposes. Using
plaster and paint on the back wall is advantageous since it is important for the rear wall to have
sound-absorbing elements.

Doors:

Timber frames are used for all doors. At the entrance of the church, there is a robust
two-door solid core flush that is sized at 1910x2160mm high. The church features a
wooden sliding door framed in timber, sized 4450x2160mm high, situated towards
the right side of the entryway. Every door has been coated with varnish and painted.

Windows:

Timber frames are used for all windows. The 7300mm long brick wall of the church
has 4mm clear float windows that are yellow-tinted and placed below the wall
plate. Each corner of the brick wall features 3mm red and clear roughcast cathedral
windows which the church possesses. Curtains are present on the windows located
at the edges of the brick wall in the church. Panel absorbers, which involve multiple
types of windows, perform the function of transforming sound energy-induced
vibrations into heat energy. Curtains can be considered as porous absorbers that
transform sound waves into heat energy by causing friction between the particles of
vibrating air. These sound absorbing materials aid in reducing the acoustic defects
that the venue might present which is echoes.

Roof:

The roof structure is an octagonal shape turret roof with gables and a protruding
skylight opening. Its layout forms an 8-trapezium shaped timber wood panel ceiling.
All timber wood panels are varnished and painted. Each trapezium ceiling consists of
2 downlights with the centre of the roof ceiling consisting of 3 downlights, two
projectors and an octagonal skylight with a thickness of 11.5mm laminated glass. The
use of wood panelling is an example of a panel absorber which converts the
vibrational energy, caused by sound energy, into heat energy. This reduces the
acoustic defects presented in the venue as there is a high chance, given the

4
Mr. Monde Mbalu s220891311 May 23

properties of each material, that prevalent echoes may exist.

5
Mr. Monde Mbalu s220891311 May 23

REVERBERATION TIME
Reverberation refers to the extended reflection of sound that bounces back from the
walls, floor and ceiling of
a room or location. The explanation for it can also be described as the continuation of
a sound that can be heard even after the origin of the sound has ceased to emit it.
The amount of time it takes for
a sound to become too quiet to hear is referred to as the time of reverberation,
and it is measured from the moment the sound source stops producing noise.

The suggested reverberation time for a venue, similar to COTWAY, at 500 Hz is

1.0-1.25s in medium rooms (700-7000m3). This will allow for accurate design
recommendations for the optimum reverberation time of the venue.

Summary of acoustic design properties

CHURCH ON THE WAY (COTWAY)

Number of seats 255
Room volume (m3) 1078.12
Room volume per seat (m3/person) 4.23
Total floor area (m2) 257.31
Average ceiling height (m) 5.21
Total ceiling area (m2) 257.31
Total wall area (m2) 244.70
Reverberation Time at 500 Hz (seconds) 0.55

DESIGN CHART FOR OPTIMUM REVERBERATION TIME OF COTWAY

6
Mr. Monde Mbalu s220891311 May 23

DESIGN CHART FOR MINIMUM VOLUME OF ROOM PER PERSON

7
Mr. Monde Mbalu s220891311 May 23

RT CALCULATIONS FOR COTWAY

RT CALCULATIONS FOR COTWAY
RT CALCULATIONS: CHURCH ON THE WAY (COTWAY) (255 SEATS)
SURFACE DESCRIPTION AREA (s) (m2) FREQUENCY (Hz)
125 500 2k
a S.a a S.a a S.a
FLOOR AREA: Berber carpeting on concrete 257.31 0.1 25.73 0.25 64.33 0.3 77.19
CEILING: 13mm Wood panel, 3 ply on solid back (Cedar wood profiled and slotted cedar on battens without mineral wool in air space) 358.31 0.04 14.33 0.36 128.99 0.16 57.33
REAR WALL: 230mm brick wall plastered and painted with lime acrylic paint at 2m away from the rear wall 30.587 0.05 1.53 0.02 0.61 0.05 1.53
REAR WALL: 230mm brick wall plastered and painted with lime acrylic paint at 2m away from the rear wall 53.874 0.05 2.69 0.02 1.08 0.05 2.69
Plaster on rear walls 84.461 0.2 16.89 0.1 8.45 0.04 3.38
Air (volume in the room) 1603.6901 0 0.00 0 0.00 0.007 11.23
SIDE WALLS: Brickwork, dense, unpainted in stretcher bond 183.522 0.01 1.84 0.02 3.67 0.03 5.51
Curtains medium verlour hung in folds against solid wall 10.475 0.05 0.52 0.35 3.67 0.5 5.24
Flush solid core double door 4450mm x 2160mm high 9.612 0.14 1.35 0.06 0.58 0.1 0.96
Flush solid core double door 1910mm x 2160mm high 4.1256 0.14 0.58 0.06 0.25 0.1 0.41
3mm osbcure glass tinted panes 49.1232 0.3 14.74 0.1 4.91 0.05 2.46
3mm osbcure glass tinted small panes 10.4448 0.3 3.13 0.1 1.04 0.05 0.52
3mm clearfloat glass untinted 2.6112 0.3 0.78 0.1 0.26 0.05 0.13
3mm obscure roughcast cathedral (front end) 3.1944 0.3 0.96 0.1 0.32 0.05 0.16
Plastic chairs (seats) 255 0.3 76.50 0.4 102.00 0.43 109.65
Plastic chairs (seats) (empty) 255 0.07 17.85 0.14 35.70 0.14 35.70
Upholstered chairs (seats) 255 0.25 63.75 0.55 140.25 0.65 165.75
Upholstered chairs (seats) (empty) 255 0.15 38.25 0.4 102.00 0.45 114.75
Total Sound Absorption of all material 281.42 598.10 594.59

∑Sound Absorption (plastic seats)

Unoccupied room 102.92 253.85 204.44
Half Room 132.25 287.00 241.41
Full room 161.57 320.15 278.39

∑Sound Absorption (upholstered seats)

Unoccupied room 123.32 320.15 283.49
Half Room 136.07 339.28 308.99
Full room 148.82 358.40 334.49

Reverberation Time (plastic seat occupancy)

Unoccupied room 2.51 1.02 1.26
Half Room 1.95 0.90 1.07
Full room 1.60 0.81 0.93
Reverberation Time (upholstered seat occupancy)
Unoccupied room 2.09 0.81 0.91
Half Room 1.90 0.76 0.84
Full room 1.73 0.72 0.77

CONCLUSION
As noted in the above RT60 calculations of the chosen venue, it is quite evident that there is a lot of sound
absorption within the room as the room is only capable of meeting normal hall requirements when the hall
is empty provided that plastic chairs are used within the room at 500Hz. Ideally plastic chairs are a more
suitable choice for the seat array as compared to upholstered seats due to it being a sound reflective
material according to its properties. It’s also evident that the room can reach optimal hearing at higher
frequencies, as noted when it was at half capacity with plastic chairs. This thus indicates that at full capacity
the Cotway hall is marginally acoustically dead for its intended purpose although it does meet speech
requirements. The calculations above also highlight that a crucial change in design needs to be considered at
a cost-effective rate. It is also evident that redesigning the roof to increase the overall volume of the
structure was a method that was investigated previously to manipulate the reverberation time to a more

8
Mr. Monde Mbalu s220891311 May 23

suitable value.

9
Mr. Monde Mbalu s220891311 May 23

RECOMMENDATIONS
Depending primarily on budget constraints it is quite imperative to have the acoustics design altered such
that the venue can meet its ideal reverb time. Altering the structure of the building in terms of its shape to
increase its sound reflective capabilities can be looked at but it is not suggested to investigate this option if
one must work on a constraint budget. Adding scatter devices within the building may also try to help in
terms of getting the sound propagated by the speaker/audience to reach its optimum reverberation time.

Option 2 would be look into other means of decreasing sound absorption which could be in terms of altering
the existing material. A reduction or change of absorption material, e.g. carpet, to either a more suitable
alternative material or to a more suitable material specification. I.E. (The size and thickness of either the
carpet or drapery can be altered to thus increase sound reflection without compromising on the aesthetics
of the building.

Option 3, it fundamentally lies in the usage of electronic sound amplification systems to aid hearing. This
may be in the form of adding high quality speakers, mixer/amplifier and a microphone to increase audibility
within the building thus making it the sound less damp/dull. For those with hearing aid a magnetic loop can
be provided to enable efficient hearing.

ANNEXURES: SITE PLANS, SECTIONS, AND ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHURCH

ON THE WAY (COTWAY)

10
Mr. Monde Mbalu s220891311 May 23

Centre overview of the room

Ceiling finish with closed hood(skylight)

11
Mr. Monde Mbalu s220891311 May 23

Bibliography
( Applications of Modern Acoustics) Marshall Long, Moises Levy, Richard Stern Architectural
- Acoustics-Academic Press
(2006)
( J. Ross Publishing Classics) M. David Egan - Architectural Acoustics
-J. Ross Publishing (2007)
KES 311 notes - 1. Fundamentals of Sound notes
KES 311 - 2. Room acoustics part 1
KES 311 - 2. Room acoustics part 2

12