The Next Acoustic Architecture

Innovations in acoustic design are sometimes hidden, misunderstood, or lost entirely once construction ends and design teams move on. Zackery Belanger worked for acoustician Kirkegaard Associates from 2002 to 2010, witnessing the EMPAC project through small design roles and large analysis processes. During this time he identified a few key innovations in the design of the Concert Hall and became convinced of their potential to advance the field.

For this research residency, Belanger will utilize the Concert Hall, numerical simulations, and established architectural design software to explore one possible future for architectural acoustics. In this future, our understanding of the relationships between enclosure geometry and sound will be an integral component of the design process. Surfaces of absorption, diffusion, transmission, and reflection will no longer occupy discrete categories, but instead lie on a continuous spectrum of geometric possibility, and the traditional use of the term “acoustic treatment” will become archaic.