Ancient shapes for modern architectural and acoustic design: Large interiors formed by curved surfaces

摘要

Ancient architectural shapes as domes and other curved surfaces are widely admired by architects even if they may present serious acoustical hazards. In large interiors formed by curved surfaces, acoustical singularities such as the "sliding" of sound along a concave wall or a concentration of sound in a distant location of the room may happen. These phenomena can be mostly found in historical spaces where these effects were usually detected accidentally creating an atmosphere of mystery. Nowadays, in contemporary auditoriums they are mostly considered an acoustic flaw and they must be corrected or eliminated. A practice in avoiding these miraculous acoustical properties, the focusing and whispering, is not usually applied and other shapes are preferred for new projects.In the paper architectural acoustic design approaches and solutions to maintain ancient shapes for modern architectural and acoustic design are investigated. A geometrical acoustic analysis is presented, followed by the description of different methods for avoiding focusing and whispering applied to a case study.Room Acoustics procedures and implementations of computer simulation techniques are included. A procedure for acoustic design for spaces with circular and elliptical plane or/and sections is suggested where the acoustic response is suitable for multipurpose uses. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.