Nine Tips for Specifying Acoustics in Lecture Halls & Auditoriums
High-performing acoustics in lecture halls is critical. Here, we provide some tips for specifying acoustics in lecture halls and auditoriums
1. Distribute reflective and absorbent surfaces evenly across both ceilings and walls of large auditoriums to improve acoustic performance. For spaces with ceilings higher than 3600mm, consult an acoustic professional to provide sufficient reverberation control.
2. Use hard, sound-reflecting materials (e.g., plasterboard) over the front and centre of the ceilings of large halls to project speakers’ voices towards the rear of the room.
3. Provide sound absorption along the edges of the ceiling to control sound reverberation if necessary.
4. Use sound-reflecting material above the lecturer to create sound reflections toward the audience in smaller auditoriums.
5. Use sound-absorbing materials and/or tilt the back wall of small auditoriums to minimise echoes and avoid unwanted reflections.
6. Specify upholstered chairs in small auditoriums to ensure less reverberation variability, no matter how many seats are occupied.
7. Pitch seating steeply to support audience lines of sight and hearing.
8. Reduce background noise levels to below NC-35 and reverberation times to below 1.5 seconds to improve lecture hall speech intelligibility.
9. Consider using the variable acoustics technique i.e., using movable panels, drapery, and other items that can be rearranged to create different acoustical environments when designing school auditoriums that have the potential to be used for a variety of purposes.
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