The Acoustical Performance Analysis of Bilkent Amphitheater: Proposal for Acoustical Renovation

Abstract

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.Keywords: Room acoustics, Acoustical parameters, Acoustical simulation, Acoustical design, Multi-purpose hall, Room acoustics. © 2006 University of Sydney. All rights reserved. Architectural Science ReviewVolume 49.2, pp 167-178 www.arch.usyd.edu.au/asr *Department of Interior Architecture and Environmental Design, Bilkent University, 06800 Bilkent, Ankara, Turkey †Corresponding author. Tel.:+90-0312-290 2592; Fax: +90-0312-266 4136 E-mail:semiha@bilkent.edu.tr IntroductionOne of the main goals of architectural acoustics in the case of multipurpose auditorium, which is the gathering place for speech and music performances, is to provide both the optimum speech intelligibility and the sound quality [1,2]. The greatest challenge that the designer confronts at this point is to accommodate both unamplifi ed music and unassisted speech within the same place, which is especially much diffi cult for the halls with seating capacities exceeding 2000 or circular in form as in the case of Bilkent Amphitheater [3,4,5]. The Acoustical Performance Analysis of Bilkent Amphitheater: Proposal for Acoustical RenovationThe Amphitheater with 4000 seating capacity was designed to serve the university's and the city's educational and artistic activities, which are comprising both the music and speech performances including concerts, operas, dance and stand-up shows, theaters, conferences and graduate ceremonies. The Amphitheatre's architecture, while reminiscent of a classical Roman amphitheater, highlights the features of high technology with its steel structure roof covered by a textile membrane, besides glass and a cable network system. Consequently, the architectural form is a synthesis of two architectural styles separated by 2000 years. "Both in terms of its original form and dimensions, and the combined use of three different modern load bearing structures, Bilkent Amphitheater is the fi rst of its kind" [6]. Although, the form and the synthesis of architectural styles results in an innovative building typology, the same reasons lead to a problematic acoustical space. The purpose of this paper is to determine The 4000 seat multi-purpose Bilkent Amphitheater is a semi-closed amphitheater with a volume of 90,000 m³, designed to serve the University's and the city's educational and artistic activities. At the beginning, the amphitheater was designed only for open-air performances. Afterwards it was decided it would be roofed with a tensile membrane in order to protect the spectators from atmospheric effects. However, the covered amphitheater was turned into a resounding and a problematic place with a reverberation time of more than 6 s. when the hall is unoccupied. Acoustical interventions were implemented, but these have not been suffi cient in decreasing the number of problematic echoes and dead spots. This paper analyzes the hall by means of assessing the fundamental acoustical parameters for both speech and music. Parameters such as reverberation time, early decay time...

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