THE field school AUDITORIUM
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2018 // Judson University, Prof. Christopher Lauriat
The Field School of Chicago recently purchased a vacant Chicago public school building which was originally built in 1907. The building will need millions of dollars in repair to become usable as the new home of The Field School. When discussing their needs with Jeremy Mann, Director of The Field School, several attitudes about space emerged:
NOT A “CATCH-ALL”: The attitude of The Field School on its services is not to become a “catch-all.” They prefer to focus on doing what they do well and partnering with other organizations for services beyond that. With that in mind, the hall serves for drama, music, and lecture needs only. Instead of “flexibility” in its infinite sense, the hall serves these uses well and does not look beyond the realm of probable events. HUMBLE: The space must reflect The Field School’s cozy, inviting, and tactile aesthetic. INTENTIONAL: Everything the school does is deeply intentional; therefor, rectification of the auditorium’s flaws will be handled with precision and financial consciousness. Making the right moves often means making fewer moves overall. Check out The Field School here! |
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SAFETY//ACCESSIBILITY//CAPACITY
To make the auditorium functional for the schools needs egress, accessibility, and seating capacity need to be considered. This will be accomplished with new seating, a lift to the stage, and the replacement of an existing fire escape. |
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STAGE ACCESSIBILITY + EGRESS
The existing egress routes are acceptable after added seating, however, the stage is currently inaccessible to the physically disabled. To fix this problem a lift would be installed that completely blends with the existing wood steps and stage. The lifts of this nature are often supplied with backup power, however as a precautionary measure the existing fire escape would be replaced with a new fire rated stair accessed off the back of the stage. This supplies the stage level with an area of rescue assistance as well as a "backstage" access point that connects the gym(above) or basement(below). SEATING CAPACITY
By reseating the entire auditorium, adding three new rows of seating at the front, and subtracting space for a new tech booth to control sound and lighting from the balcony, the seating capacity can reach 406 total seats with 6 wheelchair spaces located on level 1. SEATS: 406 ADA: 6 TOTAL: 412 |
LEVEL 1 PLAN // EXISTING
LEVEL 2 PLAN // EXISTING
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LEVEL 1 PLAN // PROPOSED
LEVEL 2 PLAN // PROPOSED
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ACOUSTIC PROBLEMS
The auditorium is a small "shoebox" shaped hall. It has good visibility between the stage and seats. This means that sound should be good and it is likely that electronic sound amplification will not be required for most use. The space struggles due to its hard plaster walls, which increase the reverberation time and its four bay ceiling and balcony front which reflect sound back toward the stage muddling the sound by creating echoes and standing waves. ACOUSTIC DESIGN CONCEPT
The reverberation time and reflections of the hall must be controlled by absorbing and diffusing the sound waves. The best example of sound absorption is the anechoic chamber at Orfield Laboratories in St. Paul MN. Its foam fins reflect almost no noise at all. What little sound reflects off the fins is angled so that it simply hits another fin and eventually the sound dies. The concept for the new acoustic absorbers would be fins made of fabric covered foam. They mimic the designs of plaster tracery ornamentation in the hall and look as if the designs were extruded off the wall to create deep boxes. These boxes trap sound, and by making each fin trapezoidal in section, they can reflect and diffuse the sound more efficiently within themselves until the sound dies. ACOUSTIC OPTIMIZATION
There are different suggested reverberation times for different activities. For instance, a long reverberation time is good for music and a short reverberation time is good for speech. The auditorium currently has a reverberation time of 2.6 seconds which is far too long for the needs of The Field School. With the new acoustic treatments and a new flyspace installation that holds a set of four layered curtains it is possible to “tune” the space depending on its function. By leaving the rear curtain of the stage open, exposing the hard plaster wall, the reverberation time is longer (1.49 sec). This would be good for musical performance. By closing that curtain the reverberation time shortens (1.22 sec), by closing the second curtain the effective size of the room is smaller and will result in an even shorter reverberation time (1.06) This would be good for speech. Though electronic sound amplification is mostly unnecessary, speakers and ambient lighting could be integrated into existing decorative columns for times when a soundtrack is needed. |
VECTOR STUDIES // EXISTING
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IN SUMMARY
By adding super absorptive acoustic treatment installations in the specific areas that create “backtalk” the hall retains it’s good reflections which are actually beneficial to the audience. These acoustic installations are all placed so they do not distract from the historic character of the hall and only cover the spaces they are required for acoustic needs. The installations also benefit the experience of the auditorium by shielding new stage lighting arrays from view by the audience and lifting away to reveal ornamentation that was previously hidden by equipment.
By adding super absorptive acoustic treatment installations in the specific areas that create “backtalk” the hall retains it’s good reflections which are actually beneficial to the audience. These acoustic installations are all placed so they do not distract from the historic character of the hall and only cover the spaces they are required for acoustic needs. The installations also benefit the experience of the auditorium by shielding new stage lighting arrays from view by the audience and lifting away to reveal ornamentation that was previously hidden by equipment.
