SHAPE AND VOLUME

A PRESENTATION ON ACOUSTICS

SUBMITTED BY
:AANSHIKA
GUPTA
111110128
AKANKSHA

Ideally, the main objective of

auditorium design is to get as
many members of the
audience as close as possible
to the source of the sound,
because sound levels
decrease with increasing
distances from the sound
source. A good visual line of
sight usually results in good
acoustics, so stepped seating
becomes desirable for larger
rooms seating more than

100 people. Reverberation should be controlled in order to provide

optimum reinforcement and equalization of sound. For speech the
room design should provide more in the way of direct sound
augmented by reflections, while the clarity of articulation of
successive syllables must be sustained. Rooms for music typically
have longer reverberation times because the requirements for
articulation are not as stringent, and more enhancement of the
sound is desirable. The aim of the design of a listening type of
facility is to avoid the following acoustic defects.

SHAPE

Shape is an important factor in acoustic

design of a space, as it governs the

factors in correcting the defects like
echo, sound foci and dead spots which
are due to reflection of sound waves.

Better distribution of intensity of sound

is possible not only by volume but shape

plays an important role. Volume that is
height govern by total no of audience but
shape is to be arranged for better
audibility

In practice ceiling height for speech

&music varies from 1/3 to 2/3 of the width

of wall.

Lower ratios for very large halls and

higher ratios for small halls.

Enclosed spaces are easier to be treated

for acoustic rather than OAT.

Concave shape
Try to avoid concave focusing shapes. If

unavoidable they can be treated with

absorber but this will often lead to loss of
loudness. Concave shapes concentrate
sound and therefore increase the
likelihood of an echo.

An important consideration is the

relationship between the radius of

curvature of the concave surface and the
room dimensions.

Elliptical shapes
Elliptical shapes need very special

consideration. It is vitally important that

no source of sound is located near either
of the foci as these will be focused at the
other focus. They are best avoided but are
a common architectural form.

Narrow halls
Narrow halls also yield low delay

times for early reflected sound.

Rectangular shape

The best concert halls have a rectangular

or shoebox floor plan. A rectangular room

provides the strong lateral reflection. For
unamplified music, where strong side
reflections are important, a narrow
rectangular room with a high ceiling has
traditionally yielded the best result.

Small general-purpose auditoria are

typically rectangular, with the walls near

the front of the room angled out from the
stage.

Fan shape
A fan-shaped room, particularly one with

balconies, allows a larger number of

people to be close to the stage, than a
rectangular room.

For lecture halls more of a fan shape is

preferred, with the maximum angle

between opposing walls no more than
140. In the case of mixed use spaces the
included angle falls between 40 and 80,
with smaller values being best for music.

A FAN SHAPED HALL

VOLUME
Volume of the room should be in

proportion to the intensity of sound

generated in it.

Volume of musical concert hall should be

quite large for proper distribution of music

in spaces.

For theatres , halls of smaller volume are

used for comparatively weak sound.

Reverberation time T in occupied concert halls

versus the ratio between the volume V and area
occupied by the auduience and orchestra St

Whereas auditorium used for both music &

speech be provided with intermediate

volume.

For volume of hall height is of greater

importance than length and breadth.

This is on the account of fact that the

small increase in height result in a

considerable increase in volume.

RELATION BETWEEN RADIUS OF THE

ROOF AND HEIGHT OF THE ROOF

VOLUME REQUIRED PER

PERSON
Public lecture hall-

2.8-3.7m3/person
Musical concert-

4.2-5.6m3/person
Cinema theatre-

3.7-4.2m3/person

Physical Design Principles for halls

Physical Design Principles

for halls

Physical Design Principles for

halls

BALCONY OVERHANGS AND CONCAVE SURFACES

NEGETIVES

Some examples
Since ages theaters, amphitheaters, concert
halls, opera houses, and multipurpose halls
are been made which require proper sound
amplification and treatment..
History has given us many such examples
some of them are

Broadly theaters, amphitheaters, concert

halls, opera houses, and multipurpose
halls etc are classified under few major
shapes

STEEP RAKING
The steep raking creates a shorter path

for the direct sound, with few

interferences in that direct path from
source to receiver. There are relatively
few reflected sounds and a very short
reverberation time in theatres of this
The steep raked
seating at Aspendos
design. The short time interval from
source to receiver improves the clarity
of the sound. This was absolutely
necessary for the audience to
understand the lines in the
performances.

STEEP RAKING

The Classical PeriodEpidaurus, Greece and

Aspendos, Turkey
The ancient Greeks and
Romans were
among the first known to
create
Speech is still intelligible from
the a structure
for the sole
purpose
furthest seats in Epidaurus,
around
70ofmeters
creating a better
from the stage; the listening
furthestenvironment.
seats in modern

theatres are usually around 50 meters away

from the source

SOUND PROPOGATION

The Gothic Period- The Byzantine Church of

Saint Marks in Venice
It is the placement and the
properties of the domes
themselves, which create
acoustic properties in Saint
Marks unlike any other. A
dome focuses sound because
of its
interior parabolic surface. The
sound
waves are reflected off of the
curved
surface and the energy

Domes can be designed to control

the echo affect, to either hinder it
by

using an absorbent
material or to
lengthen the reverberation
time by using
a more reflective material.
He would have the
audience sit under the
main dome and have
sounds projected from two
of the
domes on either side to
experience the different

Seating in classical Roman arenas

exist in an elliptical or circular
arrangement. Elliptical shapes in
architecture produce some
interesting acoustical
properties. Sound waves emitted at
one focus of the ellipse will be
reflected off
of the interior walls and converge at
the other focus point.

Physical Design Principles

for halls

THANKYOU