04U of I Borah Theater A Performance Space Michael Joseph ... of... · Overview Located in the...
Transcript of 04U of I Borah Theater A Performance Space Michael Joseph ... of... · Overview Located in the...
Scott Shores
A Performance SpaceU of I Borah Theater
Michael Joseph
04+
Site Location
03 Student Union Building
Located towards the eastern edge of campus between the bookstore and Greek Road
01LocationMoscow, Idaho
02University of IdahoLocated on the University of Idaho Campus in the southwest quarter of Moscow, Idaho.
01 02 03
Room Description
01OverviewLocated in the University of Idaho Student Union Building on the sec-ond floor.
The Borah Theater is a shoebox style design with its rectangular floor plan. Designed for a sound monarchy where sound comes from a single area, the stage.
The theater consists of 195 seats and is used for lectures and film.
Acoustic Analysis: Absorptive Materials
02Acoustic Wall Tiles
A quarter of the wall space is taken up by the same acoustic tiles that are located on the theater’s ceiling.
03Upholstered Seating
The theater houses 195 uphol-stered chairs for the audience.
01 Acoustic Ceiling Tiles
Acoustic tiles fill the center sof-fits above the audience seating to prevent sound from bouncing in the space.
04Carpeting
Carpet on concrete is the floor finish used in the space.
Acoustic Analysis: Reflective Materials
02HVAC System
The HVAC vents are located along the side walls of the the-ater and protrude slightly into the space from the structure.
03Walls
Three quarters of the wall surface is reflective concrete. It is primarily the side walls that are concrete while the back wall is a sheetrock partition.
01Columns and Beams
Exposed structure lines the walls and ceiling of the space. The structure is made up of concrete.
Acoustic Analysis: Physical Model
01OverviewA physical model of the space was constructed out of chipboard and foil to represent absorbent and reflective surfaces. A laser pointer was then used to determine how sound would travel through the space.
02 03
02WallsBecause of the reflective material on the walls, sound is able to reflect diffusely and evenly disperse itself into the middle of the space.
Only issues is the columns bouncing noise back towards the stage.
03CeilingThe concrete structure, most notably the beam nearest to the stage, reflects sound back to the stage and the sound’s source as seen below.
Acoustic Analysis: Absorption
Surface Material Area (ft2) Absorption Coefficient
Absorption (Sabins)
Floor Carpet
Walls Concrete
Sheetrock
Acoustic Tile
Ceiling Acoustic Tile
Seating Occupied Seating
1500
1180
350
532
1080
840
.14
.31
.05
.83
.83
.88
210
366
17
442
896
739
2670
Acoustic Analysis: Absorption
01OverviewThe acoustics in the Borah Theater are leaning more towards an exces-sively “dead” room with 2670 sabins in a volume of 30050 cubic feet.
Due to the activities that take place in the space the acoustics should lean more towards being more “live”.
Acoustic Analysis: Revergeration
01OverviewOverall, the room is too absorptive for the appropriate amount of sound to reach the audience. As a result some of the absorptive materials should be taken out and be replaced with more reflective materials in order for the acoustics to perform better for the space’s intended activities.
Tr= .049(volume)/absorbency
Tr= .049(30050)/2670
Tr= .55
Ideal Reverberation Times
Reverberation Time
Acoustic Redesign: Materials + Methods
01Acoustic Reflector PanelsAcoustic reflector panels placed in the two soffits closest to the stage will help bounce sound down to-wards the audience and stop sound from bouncing back to the stage from the exposed beams.
02Remove Ceiling Absorptive Panels
Removal of the remaining ceiling panels on the ceiling will allow for a greater reverberation in the space, along with sending sound down-wards towards the audience.
03Remove Wall Absorptive Panels
Removal of the absorptive panels on the side walls will allow for greater reverberation time.
Acoustic Redesign: Physical Model
01WallsThe removal of absorptive panels on the wall and the addition of reflective material helps liven up the acoustical qualities of the space.
01 02
02CeilingThe ceiling acoustic reflector panels block sound to hitting the exposed concrete beams and instead bounc-es sound towards the audience and the back wall.
Acoustic Redesign: Physical Model Comparison
After After
Before Before
Acoustic Redesign: Absorption
Surface Material Area (ft2) Absorption Coefficient
Absorption (Sabins)
Floor Carpet
Walls Concrete
Sheetrock
SheetrockCeiling
Ceiling Panels
Seating Occupied Seating
1500
1180
882
360
720
840
.14
.31
.05
.05
.1
.88
210
366
44.1
18
72
739
1449.1
Acoustic Analysis: Revergeration
01OverviewWith the removal of some absorptive materials and addition of reflective materials generated a new rever-beration time of 1.01, ideal for the activities that occur in the space.
Tr= .049(volume)/absorbency
Tr= .049(30050)/1449.1
Tr= 1.01
Ideal Reverberation Times
Reverberation Time
Overall, the Borah Theater needed some work to acoustically appropriate for lectures and film. By integrating acoustic reflector ceiling panels, along with replacing the acoustic panels from the ceiling and walls with sheetrock, we were able to lower the amount of absorption in order to create a longer reverberation time. The Borah Theater absorbency was reduced from 2670 sabins to 1449.1 sabins, making the reverberation time go from .55 to 1.01 to make the reverberation ideal for the space’s functions. That’s pretty neat.
Conclusion