Unsplash.com, Sergey Zolkin
AV design consultants always used to be invited late to the party when it came to church and worship space construction.
Yet, partnering with audio experts early in the design phase of a new church building can offer many advantages. The benefits include savings in construction costs and time, of course, but also the best audio quality for worship.
Expert accounts
Keith Reardigan is vice president for technology and standards and senior systems architect for Technical Services Audio Visual in Athens, Ga., and can often be found working closely with architects and building designers well before designs have become final. “Working with the church and the construction experts early in the project,” says Reardigan, “we can help guide the team to make informed decisions--that leads to the best possible outcomes for worship.”
The right balance of speech intelligibility and musicality “is based on [the client's] specific needs and applies to both the audio system design and the worship hall’s physical acoustical criteria.” Keith Readigan, Vice President for Technology & Standards, Senior Systems Architect, Technical Services Audio Visual, Athens, GA
He continues, “Audio design for churches is not just designing the proper speaker and control systems, but often about defining the right balance of speech intelligibility and musicality desired by the client. That balance is based on their specific needs and applies to both the audio system design and the worship hall’s physical acoustical criteria.”
Reardigan reminds his church clients that a well-designed audio system, installed in a space that does not have complimentary physical acoustics, will not achieve the desired results. For every new space, he first determines the primary objective for the church, then interprets his findings into a set of design recommendations.
For every new space, [Reardigan] first determines the primary objective for the church, then interprets his findings into a set of design recommendations.
Informed design
Reardigan points to the schematic design phase, where building systems and interior finishes are evaluated and budgeted, as being a valuable time to consider audio and video needs of the church, as well as any AV recommendations that could impact the base building scope estimates.
After the schematic phase, the project program is translated into physical drawings of space in the design development phase, where "many design firms continue to use traditional CAD programs, such as Autocad, even as their first choice," reports David Evans, AIA, president of Mantel Teter in Kansas City, Mo. "That said, most firms also are using, to some level, Building Information Modeling (BIM), such as Revit, an Autodesk product."
EASE modeling integrates with many software platforms from third parties, such as Autodesk, notes Evans. In addition, EASE integrates with SketchUp, which he reports many architects are using as their 3D modeling program.
http://ease.afmg.eu/
Once physical space design parameters are set up, this is where audio designers like Reardigan can leverage the latest audio simulation software, directly importing design details into open source audio programs like Enhanced Acoustic Simulator for Engineers (EASE) or manufacturer-specific software like Bose Modeler. The process, either way, can help deliver an optimal sound design concept well before the walls go up.
Advanced audio design programs provide data import functions that work with most standard CAD and vector-based drawing programs, as well as BIM. And either way, Importing the data drastically reduces the time that would normally be required to enter it into the program in order to develop an accurate acoustic model of the space.
Once an acoustic model of the space is created, acoustic response simulation functions help match the acoustic performance of the model to that of the designed room. In addition, loudspeaker data and array construction tools provided by audio manufacturers allow the software to automate the creation and layout of complex loudspeaker arrays specifically for that space.
Once an acoustic model of the space is created, acoustic response simulation functions help match the acoustic performance of the model to that of the designed room.
Additional benefits provided by audio modelling include the heatmap drawings and graphs produced by the software. These colorful materials graphicly relate the impact of construction and installation choices on sound quality. “Heat maps are a powerful tool to help clients understand the potential impacts of loudspeaker location, construction materials, and placement of different acoustical treatments in the space,” notes Reardigan.
"Heat maps are a powerful tool to help clients understand the potential impacts of loudspeaker location, construction materials, and placement of different acoustical treatments in the space.” Keith Readigan, Vice President for Technology & Standards, Senior Systems Architect, Technical Services Audio Visual, Athens, GA
In the design phase, while the schematic drawings are being reviewed and refined for functionality, usability, required adjacencies, code compliance, security, safety and aesthetics, an audio model created from the same data can show the construction team how the audio system will integrate into the space.
“With the information we gain from looking at an audio model built from accurate room data,” Reardigan says, “we can inform the room designers and installers as to the best locations for loudspeakers and know where and how much to treat a room to improve its acoustical properties.
"Often, we can suggest architecturally integrated, acoustically rated materials and finishes that can save money (as opposed to retro-fitting) while improving both speech intelligibility and the overall sound quality,” he notes.
