Acoustical Challenges in the New Allen Theatre

One of the most distinctive parts of the Allen Theatre renovation was the metal “veil” over the walls. It preserved the historic walls of the theatre and also shaped acoustics for the new space. In this bonus material from our article on the Allen Theatre renovation, Richard H. Talaske, FASA, president and principal acoustics consultant Talaske Sound Thinking, explains the thinking behind the veils, and how it helps insure great sound.

As mentioned, the audience chamber has perforated metal walls that let the audience see the historical façade of the original theatre but the veil also has acoustic importance to the success of the space. “Clarity of sound,” explains Richard H. Talaske, FASA, president and principal acoustics consultant Talaske Sound Thinking. “That’s an essential component to creating intimacy in a performance space. Working on many theatres, we’ve learned that it’s extremely important to provide quickly arriving sound reflections so that clarity of sound can be provided. During our initial analysis of the existing space we concluded that the sound reflections off the existing sidewalls and the existing ceiling would be too long delayed for the scale of the room that was now being planned.”

To compensate for the long delays and provide sound clarity, Talaske and his team employed three approaches. “One is the veil—the perforated sidewalls,” he explains. “While the audience sees perforated metal there are major sections that are backed by sound-reflecting Lexan panels. It’s hard to differentiate between the areas that are backed with the sound reflecting material and those that are not. That’s part of the beauty of the design; that inner wall system serves to provide clarity of sound reflections. Also along the surface of the veil you’ll find sections tilted downward, some tilted upwards, and some are vertical. We influenced that shape strongly because we wanted to strategically reflect sound to patrons both under the balcony and to those seated in the most distance seats within the balcony.”

The second component is that portions of the veil are not backed by the sound reflecting material, which allow sound to escape and eventually be absorbed by sound absorbing materials that have been integrated into the existing historic architecture. “Mostly it’s materials we’ve placed there but we also make use of materials that already existed in the space,” says Talaske. “This lets us have control of reverberance.”

The physical design of the seating itself is the third acoustic element, by limiting the overhang of any seating area and the side-boxes offer important inner sound reflecting surface that helps direct sound to the patrons under the balcony. Westlake comments, “Rick Talaske deals with spoken word theatre so well, he really is amazing. In addition to the perforated metal, high sidewall solution, he created a diagram of the seating with different parterres, more of a vineyard seating arrangement, to help solve the acoustical challenges. The acoustics in the Allen are fantastic.”