CHAPTER 3

ACOUSTICAL DESIGN OF SPACES

FACTORS AFFECTING ACOUSTIC OF
BUILDING AND THEIR REMEDIES
 REVERBERATION TIME
Is the persistence or prolongation of sound in a
hall even after the source stopped emitting
sound. The reverberation time is taken by the
sound to fall below the minimum audibility level.
In order to have good acoustic effect, the
reverberation time has to be maintained at
optimum value.
The reason is, if the reverberation time is too
small, the loudness becomes inadequate.
As a result the sound may not reach to the
listener. Thus, this give the hall a dead
effect. On the other hand, if the
reverberation time is too long, it will lead to
more confusion due to mixing of different
style. Hence to maintain good effect
reverberation time should be maintained.
REMEDIES:
The reverberation time can be maintained
at an optimum value by adapting the
following ways:
 By providing windows and openings
 By having full capacity of audience in the
hall or room
 By using heavy curtains with folds
 By decorating the walls by beautiful pictures, maps,
etc.
 By covering floor with carpets
 By covering the ceiling and walls with good sound-
absorbing materials like felt, fiber board, flase roofing,
etc.
The reverberation time depends on the size of the hall
and the quantity of sound. Thus, the reverberation time
can be controlled either by inserting sound-absorbing
materials in a hall or room
 LOUDNESS
The uniform distribution of loudness in a hall or a
room is an important factor for satisfactory
hearing. Sometimes the loudness may get
reduced due to excess of sound-absorbing
materials in a hall or a room.
REMEDIES:
If the loudness of sound is not adequate,
the loudness can be increased by adapting
the following methods.
 By using suitable absorbents at place
where noise is high. As a result the
distribution of loudness may become
uniform.
 By constructing low ceiling for the
reflection of sound towards the listener.
 By using large sounding boards behind the
speaker and facing the audience
 By using public address system like
loudspeaker
 FOCUSING AND INTERFERENCE
EFFECTS
In addition to focusing there should not be interference
of direct and reflected waves. This is because, a
constructive interference may produce a sound of
minimum intensity in other places. Thus, there will be
an uneven distribution of sound intensity.
REMEDIES:
 Curved surface can be avoided. If curve surface are
present, they should be covered with suitable sound
absorbing material
 ECHO
If the time interval between the direct sound and
reflected sound is less than 0.066 seconds, the
reflected sound is helpful in increasing loudness. But ,
those sounds arriving later than this cause confusion
REMEDIES:
 An echo can be avoided by covering a long
distance walls and high ceiling with suitable sound
absorbing material. This prevents reflection of sound
 PLANNING OF GOOD ACOUSTICS
• Selection of the site in the quietest surroundings.
• Making of a noise survey to determine how much
sound insulation must be incorporated in a building.
• The arrangement of rooms.

• The selection of proper sound-insulation

• The size of each room.
 REQUIREMENTS FOR GOOD
ACOUSTICS
• The reverberation time versus frequency curve
should be approach the optimum
characteristics.
• The room shape should be designed to give
proper diffusion to sound, reinforce the sound
reaching to audience and contribute to the
attainment of a favorable ratio of direct to
reflected sound for all auditors.
 REQUIREMENTS FOR GOOD
ACOUSTICS
• All noises should be reduced to levels that will
not interfere with the hearing of speech and
music.
• Provision should be made for reinforcing the
speech and music in a room.
 DESIGN OF ROOMS
Good acoustical planning is based upon many
significant factors:
 INSULATION  DIFFUSION
 TRANSMISSION
 ABSORPTION
 REFLECTION
 DESIGN OF ROOMS
Good acoustical planning in accordance to:
 FLOOR PLAN – circular and elliptical shaped floor
plans nearly always give rise to focusing effects,
non-uniform distribution of sound and echoes.
 ELEVATION OF SEATS – a good line of sight used to
elevate the seats in order to provide free flow of
direct sound from the source and the listeners.
 DESIGN OF ROOMS
 CEILING – the ceiling height should be
around one third (1/3) to two third(2/3) of
the width of the rooms. The law of reflection
(angle of reflection equals angle of
incidence) can be used to determine the
most propitious angle of inclination.
Concave surfaces such as domes, cylindrical
arches, barrelled ceilings should be avoided.
 DESIGN OF ROOMS
 SIDE WALLS – the side walls should be
reinforce the sound that reaches the rear
part of a large room.
 SPLAY – a sloping surface or angle as of the
side of the doorway
 REAR WALLS – large concave rear walls
should be avoided
VOLUME PER SEAT
 VOLUME PER SEAT
An important room acoustic measure is the "volume
per person" or "volume per seat".
It is calculated by dividing the total room volume by
the number of seats .

max. volume for natural

room preferred volume per person
acoustics
Conference Room 3 - 5 cubic meters
Auditorium, Speech 4 - 6 cubic meters 5000 cubic meters
Concert Hall 7 - 12 cubic meters 25.000 cubic meters

Room for Organ Performances 10 - 14 cubic meters 30.000 cubic meters

 VOLUME PER SEAT
It is correlated with the design of the ceiling. The
optimum volume per seat is depends on seating
capacity of the room and the purposes the room is to
serve.
The advantages in keeping the volume per seat at a
low value:
a) The building cost is greatly reduced
b)Maintenance costs for lighting, cleaning, are
correspondingly lowered.