Auditorium Acoustics And Architectural Design

By (author) Barron Michael
Short description/annotation
Modern concert halls and opera houses are now very specialized buildings with special acoustical characteristics. This is an important resource for architects, engineers and auditorium technicians.
Description

Modern concert halls and opera houses are now very specialized buildings with special acoustical characteristics. With new contemporary case-studies, this updated book explores these characteristics as an important resource for architects, engineers and auditorium technicians.

Supported by over 40 detailed case studies and architectural drawings of 75 auditoria at a scale of 1:500, the survey of each auditorium type is completed with a discussion of current best practice to achieve optimum acoustics.

Table of contents

1. Introduction 2. Sound and Rooms 3. Acoustics for the Symphony Concert Hall 4. The Development of the Concert Hall 5. British Concert Halls and Conclusions for Concert Hall Acoustics 6. Chamber Music and Recital Halls 7. Acoustics for Speech 8. Theatre Acoustics 9. Acoustics for Opera 10. Acoustics for Multi-Purpose Use 11. Multi-Purpose Halls in Britain 12. The Art and Science of Acoustics Appendix A: Sound Reflection and Reverberation Calculation Appendix B: Objective Measures for Music Auditoria Appendix C: Further Objective Results in Concert Halls Appendix D: Objective Measures for Speech Auditoria

Review quote

Reviews of 1st edition:

''Barron''s present book is a must for all architects faced with a major auditorium.'' - Architect''s Journal

''wonderfully clear exposition and a fascinating study...an excellent textbook and an introduction to the subject of acoustics which all theatre technicians would find useful.'' - The Stage

''This book is undoubtedly destined to become a classic. It is the first book since Beranek’s classic, Music, Acoustics and Architecture (1962) to deal with auditorium acoustics in the wider context of architecture…it can be read, understood and enjoyed by acousticians and architects alike.'' - Journal of Sound and Vibration

''The book serves as an invaluable tutorial to the acoustician and architect on what architectural forms work best for auditoria and for different program types. For this, the book comes unreservedly recommended.'' - Journal of Audio Engineering Society

Biographical note

Michael Barron is a senior lecturer at the University of Bath Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering and partner of Fleming & Barron acoustic consultants. He has been involved over many years in acoustic consultancy and research, of which a key project was an Acoustic Survey of British Auditoria. In 2006 he received the Rayleigh medal, the premier award of the (British) Institute of Acoustics.