Auditorium buildings are special structures needing much attention for it to function properly. Generally, consideration should be given to seating, sightlines, and acoustic requirements. In addition, the design should ensure performer-audience intimacy as much as possible. The focus of the study is to review design strategies for auditoria on the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi campus towards compliance and to develop solutions for improvements that will enhance the performance of 4 selected auditorium facilities. Case study, observation and measurements were the main strategies used. The results revealed that the approaches involved in auditorium designs are shape, volume, surface boundary dimensions and materials, stage, seating, foyers and sightlines. These parameters are grouped under acoustical, functional and programmatic parameters. Reverberation time calculated was high which indicated speech intelligibility problems, hence, improvement efforts were made to change the floor materials from polished tiles to carpeted floors, and high absorption wall claddings. In the process, the reverberation time was reduced from 1.47 - 2.23 to 0.84 - 1.73 for the studied buildings. The study recommends strict adherence to standards and guidelines, and for designers to have a keen focus on designing these special buildings. A renovation effort when undertaken, will lead to improvements in the performance of the selected buildings.
References
[1]
Topa, M.D., Toma, N., Kirei, B.S., Saracut, I. and Farina, A. (2012) Experimental Acoustic Evaluation of an Auditorium. Advances in Acoustics and Vibration, 2012, Article ID: 868247. https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/868247
[2]
Noxon, A. (2002) Acoustics Science Corporation (ASC): Auditorium Acoustics. http://www.acousticsciences.com/media/articles/auditorium-acoustics-104
[3]
Whole Building Design Guide Staff, WBDG (2009) Auditoria. http://www.wbdg.org/design/auditorium.php
[4]
Elliot, W. (2007) Achieving Excellent Auditorium Acoustics. http://www.christianschoolproducts.com/articles
[5]
Grebnicka, B. (2013) Acoustical Design. Bachelor of Architectural Technology and Construction Management. VIA University College, Denmark.
Zaki, M. (2014) Acoustical Design Consideration for Auditorium, Lecture Hall, Recording Studio. https://www.slideshare.net/mominzaki/auditorium-acoustics-33230112
[8]
Escobar, V.G. and Morillas, J.M.B. (2011) Analysis of Acoustical Characteristics and Some Recommendations for Different Educational Rooms. Archives of Acoustics Archives of Acoustics, 36, 741-759. https://doi.org/10.2478/v10168-011-0050-8
[9]
Hodgson, M. (2004) Case-Study Evaluations of the Acoustical Designs of Renovated University Classrooms. Applied Acoustics, 65, 69-89. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0003-682X(03)00108-7
[10]
Ellison, S. and Schwenke, R. (2010) The Case for Widely Variable Acoustics. Proceedings International Symposium on Room Acoustics, Melbourne, 29-31 August 2010, 1-4.
[11]
Wróblewska, D. (2010) Acoustical Standards Used in Design of School Spaces. Acta Physica Polonica A, 118, 186-189. https://doi.org/10.12693/APhysPolA.118.186
[12]
Barron, M. (2010) Auditorium Acoustics and Architectural Design. Spon Press, New York.
[13]
Hetherington, R. and Oldham, D. (2006) The Generation and Three-Dimensional Display of Auditorium Forms by Means of the www. 13th International Congress on Sound and Vibration, Vienna, 2-6 July 2006, 2354-2361.
[14]
Mahalingham, G. (1998) The Algorithmic Auditorium: A Computational Model for Auditorium Design. http://papers.cumincad.org/data/works/att/cd26.content.pdf
[15]
Kamlet, R. (2005) Acoustics and Sound Systems in Architectural Design. AIA Continuing Education Series. https://docplayer.net/11237671-Acoustics-and-sound-systems-in-architectural-design.html
[16]
Kowaltowski, D., Mikami, S.A., Bertoli, S.R. and Soler, C. (2006) Design Evaluation and Strategies, the Case of University Auditoriums. Proceedings Conference on Passive and Low Energy Architecture, Geneva, 6-8 September 2006, 631-637. http://www.unige.ch/cuepe/html/plea2006/Vol2/PLEA2006_PAPER139.pdf
[17]
Saint-Gobain Ecophan (2002) Don’t Limit Your Senses: Sound and the Learning Environment. Saint-Gobain Ecophan AB, Hyllinge.
[18]
Farizzah, I. (2014) General Design Consideration of Room Acoustic [Online]. https://www.academia.edu/4857140
[19]
Ilangovan, K. (2009) Acoustics of Auditorium. http://fascinatingphysics.blogspot.com/2009/08/acoustics-of-auditorium.html
[20]
Neufert Ernst & Peter (2001) Architect’s Data. 3rd Edition, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford.
[21]
Appleton, I. and Fischer, S. (2008) Metric Handbook Planning and Residential Data. 3rd Edition, Architectural Press, Oxford.
[22]
Pickark, K. (2003) Architects’ Handbook. Blackwell Science Ltd., Oxford.
[23]
Barron, M. and Kissner, S. (2017) A Possible Acoustic Design Approach for Multi-Purpose Auditoria Suitable for Both Speech and Music. Applied Acoustics, 115, 42-49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apacoust.2016.08.018
[24]
Kimeu, M. (2014) Acoustics Design in Auditoria: The Case of the LRC at CUEA. http://erepository.uonbi.ac.ke/bitstream/handle/11295/80960/Musau_Acoustics%20 design%20in%20auditoria%3a%20the%20case%20of%20the%20LRC%20at%20CUEApdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
[25]
Prodi, N. and Pompoli, R. (2016) Acoustics in the Restoration of Italian Historical Opera Houses: A Review. Journal of Cultural Heritage, 21, 915-921. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.culher.2016.03.004
[26]
Loh, M.J. (2014) Base Theatre Design. https://www.wbdg.org/FFC/AF/AFDG/ARCHIVES/basetheater.pdf
[27]
Elkhateeb, A.A. (2012) The Acoustical Design of the New Lecture Auditorium, Faculty of Law, Ain Shams University. Ain Shams Engineering Journal, 3, 219-235. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asej.2012.04.005
