THURSDAY MORNING, 19 MAY 2005 REGENCY E, 8:30 to 11:35 A.M. Session 4Aaa Architectural Acoustics and Noise: Preserving Acoustica
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THURSDAY MORNING, 19 MAY 2005 REGENCY E, 8:30 TO 11:35 A.M. Session 4aAA Architectural Acoustics and Noise: Preserving Acoustical Integrity in the Course of Renovation Daniel R. Raichel, Chair 2727 Moore Ln., Fort Collins, CO 80526 Chair’s Introduction—8:30 Invited Papers 8:35 4aAA1. Renovating Teatro alla Scala Milano for the 21st century, Part I. Higini Arau ͑Travesera de Dalt, 118, 08024 Barcelona, Spain, [email protected]͒ Teatro alla Scala of Milan, known simply as La Scala throughout the world, is an old but venerable opera house that achieved legendary status in the world of music. A great number of singers of Olympian status have sung there; and major operas, among them Verdi’s Falstaff and Otello and Puccini’s Turandot, premiered there. The 227-year-old theater is beloved with a passion by the Milanese and the Italians, but it has suffered the ravages of time. It needed to be renovated in order to reverse material decay, meet current fire codes and security requirements, incorporate a new HVAC system, and to accommodate badly needed modern stage machinery. This renovation project took 3 years during which the theater was closed, and it included the construction of an elliptical 17-floor fly tower, designed by architect Mario Botta, for housing rehearsal rooms and serving as a scenery changing facility. The renovation proposal originally aroused a strong sense of melodrama among the extremely excitable Italian opera buffs who feared the desecration of their beloved edifice, but the acoustics and the beauty ͑carried out by Elisabetta Fabbri Architect͒ of the auditorium were preserved ͑and even enhanced͒. In this paper we explain how this project was achieved. 8:55 4aAA2. Renovating Teatro alla Scala Milano for the 21st century, Part II. Higini Arau ͑Travesera de Dalt, 118, 08024 Barcelona, Spain, [email protected]͒ The acoustic phase of La Scala renovation began in September 2002, after the main stalls and other sections of the theater were demolished. This assignment was twofold: ͑a͒ design of the auxiliary building with architect Mario Botta, and more importantly, ͑b͒ collaboration with architect Elisabetta Fabbri in restoration of the auditorium through acoustic analyses of proposed solutions. Only one set of acoustical measurements was known to be taken before demolition; and reliance had to be placed on hearsay from audience members. The author used his own computer program that included some of the salient features of other programs such as Odeon, Epidaure, Raynoise, etc. but avoided their pitfalls. This program was the only one that correctly predicted the known RT of the auditorium through the use of H. Arau Purchades formula ͓Arau, H., 1988. Acustica. Hirzel Verlag 65͑4͒, 163–180͔ and the authors dimension theory ͓Arau, H. 1997. Variation of the reverberation time of places of public assembly. Building Acoustics 4͑2͒.͔. A new floor was designed to provide sufficient vibration transmission to the audience, actuating as a radiation box installed to direct sound vertically. Music Director Ricardo Muti pronounced the acoustical results as being excellent. 9:15 4aAA3. Maintaining the acoustics of Boston Symphony Hall. Robert Berens, Benjamin Markham, and Carl Rosenberg ͑Acentech Inc., 33 Moulton St., Cambridge, MA 02138, [email protected]͒ Boston Symphony Hall celebrated its centennial in 2000; one of its biggest birthday presents was a new organ. More correctly, the partially new and partially refurbished organ made its debut in October 2004, for James Levine’s inaugural concert as Music Director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Symphony Hall’s original organ was replaced in 1949, but its replacement was never regarded as a great concert instrument. While some wanted the new organ work to include turning the Hall into an organ showcase, the BSO management was adamant that the acoustics of the Hall not be affected. Acentech was asked to provide technical oversight to help minimize any such changes. Tests were conducted to assess the potential impacts that removal and renovation of the organ pipes could have on Symphony Hall’s acoustics. Reverberation times were measured in the organ chamber, on-stage, and in the Hall. Remedial measures were devised for use, if necessary, to counteract the expected changes in the organ chamber acoustics as the pipes were removed. However, such changes showed little effect on the acoustics of the stage or the hall. This paper describes the work done during the organ renovation process to protect the hallowed acoustics of Symphony Hall. 2522 J. Acoust. Soc. Am., Vol. 117, No. 4, Pt. 2, April 2005 149th Meeting: Acoustical Society of America 2522 Downloaded 11 Jul 2013 to 71.178.91.135. Redistribution subject to ASA license or copyright; see http://asadl.org/terms 9:35 4aAA4. Historical preservation of acoustics at Spelman College, Atlanta. Carl Rosenberg, Benjamin Markham ͑Acentech Inc., 33 Moulton St., Cambridge, MA 02138, [email protected]͒, and Barbara Kovacs Black ͑Surber Barber Choate & Hertlein Architects, Inc., Atlanta, GA 30309͒ In 1926, Spelman College in Atlanta dedicated its new Sisters Chapel, named after Laura Spelman Rockefeller and Lucy Maria Spelman, mother and aunt of John D. Rockefeller, Jr., the major donor. The Chapel has around 1000 seats and serves as a major venue for a myriad of programs, ceremonies, concerts, and student activities. In 2003, architects Surber Barber Choate and Hertlein were commissioned to renovate and rehabilitate the chapel with air-conditioning, new toilet facilities, new roof, enlarged balcony, and new sound system. The neo-classic pseudo Georgian basilica has a barrel vault running the length of the room. Sometime in the past, probably around 1950, the chapel ceiling was covered with a sound absorbing acoustic tile, presumably to rectify a focusing problem from the curved ceiling. With computer modeling, Acentech reconstructed the apparent acoustical problems and used this information to guide a renovation. The goal was to recapture the visual aspects of the original design, enhance the reverberation for the renovated Holtkamp organ and singing, and at the same time avoid any focusing problems for which the acoustic tile was presumably added. The project included mechanical system noise and vibration control and a new highly directional sound system. 9:55 4aAA5. Barnum Hall—The continuing renovation of a Streamline Moderne theater. Neil A. Shaw ͑Menlo Sci. Acoust., Inc. P.O. Box 1610, Topanga, CA 90290-1610, [email protected]͒, Kenneth Koslow ͑Santa Monica Malibu Unified School District, Santa Monica, CA 90404͒, Jean Sedillos ͑Restore Barnum Hall, Santa Monica, CA 90403͒, and Jim Mobley ͑Renkus-Heinz, Foothill Ranch, CA 92610͒ Barnum Hall, built by the WPA in 1937 and located on the campus of Santa Monica High School, was the first Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. After 60 years it was closed for renovations. The building has historic significance, which placed some limitation on the renovation design as to what could be done. Balancing the interests of the various stakeholders—the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District, the City of Santa Monica Landmarks Commission, fund raisers, high school faculty, and community members, among others—impacted the design and construction process. The first phase included expanding and modernizing the stage house and surrounding support areas. Phase II of the work was concerned with mitigating the orchestra level rear wall reflections, modifying the balcony nose profile, adding an orchestra pit lift, the purchase of a custom acoustical orchestra shell, and improving creature comfort ͑air conditioning͒ and amenities ͑improving restrooms, creating a backstage area, and refurbishing 75% of the theater seats͒. A study of several sidewall shaping schemes were then analyzed to determine if the improvement in the level of envelopmental sound warranted the cost. Phase III will see the installation of a modern sound reinforcement system and refurbishing the last section seats. 10:15–10:30 Break 10:30 4aAA6. Renovating cultural icons. Gregory Miller ͑Talaske, 105 N Oak Park Ave., Oak Park, IL 60301, [email protected]͒ Three case studies of historic renovations are presented where acoustics were a key component of the renovation process. Each hall is an icon of the cultural life in the surrounding community. The first case study is Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, a late nineteenth century musical gem where recent renovations ͑adding variable acoustic features͒ required that the unamplified acoustics be unaltered. The second example, the Coronado Theatre in Rockford, Illinois, illustrates the sensitive modification of the acoustics in a historic vaudeville house adapted to modern multi-use requirements. Finally, The Great Hall at The Cooper Union in New York City, where Abraham Lincoln delivered his great ‘‘Right Makes Might’’ speech in 1860, is presented as an example of a renovation that utterly destroyed a historic acoustic environment, and discusses how this can be avoided. Contributed Papers 4a THU. AM 10:50 the original architects, Albert Kahn Associates, utilizing the expertise of Quinn Evans Architects, as well as through the help of Gary Steffy Light- 4aAA7. Returning an acoustic legend to its original glory and then „ ing, Fisher Dachs Associates, and many others in design and construction, some . ͑ … Scott Pfeiffer Kirkegaard Assoc., 801 W. Adams St., 8th Fl., ͑most notably a great client in the University of Michigan͒, the project ͒ Chicago, IL 60607 secured the 2004 AIA National Honor Award. Hill Auditorium at the University of Michigan broke all of the rules of modern day acoustic design, while still providing a tremendously reward- ing experience for large audiences. The combination of diverse and in- triguing programming by the University Music Society and the University 11:05 Music Department, including the use of the Frieze Memorial Organ, pro- 4aAA8. Preserving the acoustics of the Mahaiwe Theater. Ronald vides tremendous opportunities for the community of Ann Arbor, MI to Eligator ͑Acoust. Dimensions, 145 Huguenot St., New Rochelle, NY access great performances.