(http://www.sfas.org/)

The concert hall is one of man's greatest joys; enjoying a fine symphony composed by the worlds greatest, performed by a world class orchestra. For months afterwards, the borgoise attendees will speak of the energy of the conductor, the orchestra responding to him, the power of it all. The crescendoes, the diminuendos, the stark silences between movements, the clarity of the soloist above the rest of the orchestra. Little do they know that were it not for the meticulous consideration of the architect at construction time, the patrons would not feel that they were getting their money's 'worth.'

The architect is tapping into the world of acoustics; in this case, achieving the best possible sonic experience through differing techniques : different materials, certain shapes of rooms, sound traps, etcetera. Acoustics and sound, like so many physics branches, starts out relatively simple and quickly becomes a gigantic headache. Massive amounts of planning must go into a large structure such as a concert hall, a dance hall. Even small structures, such as the phonebooth, have hours of careful planning put into their design, in order to achieve the desired effect with the varied sound sources. This page is designed to inform the reader in the basics of acoustics, using the theory behind acoustics and the examples of the concert hall and the dancehall.

The varied topics are indexed here for the readers convenience, but, like any other masterpiece, it is best to start at the beginning.

1. The Basics of Sound
3. Materials Relevant to Acoustics
4. Shapes, Structures
5. Designing the Concert Hall (and Dance Club)

a. Bibliography

All content courtesy of Quinton Harris, unless stated otherwise. Supatite Productions 2002