To keep the HVAC from competing with the acoustics inside the space, Kirkegaard Associates’ Shimby McCreery, who served as “noise-control consultant” and project manager, ensured the efficient system was whisper quiet above the stage, so the musicians could be comfortable while recording even though the HVAC in other areas was turned off. The rest of the HVAC system within the performance hall operates at a level Myers describes as “comfortably quiet” while the lobby HVAC was allowed to be a “normal” level, which seems loud by comparison.
“You increase sound attenuators, which are basically like mufflers for the ductwork that drop the sound,” Kronberg explains. “Ultimately, you have appropriately sized ductwork to deliver the air until you get to the stage and then you completely oversize the ductwork, so the air is moving very slowly and basically falls out of the ductwork without a hint of air hiss.”
Air-conditioning equipment was installed on the roof, which happens to be a wood deck with a membrane roof cover. “The wood roof had the potential to broadcast the air-conditioning noise into the space,” Myers notes. “To avoid that, we designed four steel columns on separate footings, ran them up through the building to just above the roof and then placed a small concrete slab on those four columns. All the air-handling units sit on that concrete slab, so the vibration does not get transmitted into the building. That was our clean, simple way of letting the lightweight building be a lightweight building but avoiding the worst acoustic problems associated with lightweight buildings.”
Another challenge of a lightweight building involves noise from outside. Myers adds: “If we’re doing a classical recital hall, there are points where the music is quiet and you want to hear the music and not the truck driving by outside or the helicopter flying over. In a jazz club, the music is a lot louder, so the client said ‘protect us from outside noise but don’t spend a lot of money on it; spend money on finishes; give us a room that sounds great. If we hear a little bit of outside noise, whatever.’ That was a really smart decision on their part because it let us accept the building and not fight it. This was an area where the existing building could have been a problem but because the client was reasonable about how much isolation they could accept from exterior noise it wasn’t actually a problem.”
An Original
Budgets can be a challenge with any project but figuring out how to spend as little as possible while making every dollar count toward the space NOJO desired was probably the greatest challenge for the design and acoustics team. Myers relates: “This was very much a project where we questioned things we normally do. Does it matter? Will it make a difference? Will it contribute? Will this client care? If the answer was yes, then we pushed to make sure it was included. If the answer was no, then we spent that money someplace else.”
“On the AV side, we absolutely were fund-limited, but NOJO had a clear order of priorities for the things that needed to be in the room with audio quality for the orchestra being No. 1,” Darling adds. “For example, we wanted to offer the possibility of renting the space for various kinds of events and performances but we didn’t try to hold that idea to the same standard the main PA or audio system had.”
Myers is beyond happy with the final outcome. “I am absolutely thrilled with this room. It is an exciting place to hear a concert,” he says. “The sound in that room has impact; it’s big; it’s loud, but it’s never painful. The musicians can hear each other onstage just the way we wanted them to.”
It may be an even bigger compliment to the success of the space when the architect of the project also is most rewarded by how the hall sounds. “This is a project where we’d seen it, we’d punched it, we knew it looked good but we didn’t know how it sounded,” Kronberg says. “The first real test was the opening performance by the orchestra. Joseph Myers was in town for the final tuning of the hall and he confirmed that it sounded beautiful. I trust his ear more than anything. I was sitting next to him and thought ‘whew!’.”
Retrofit Team
Owner: New Orleans Jazz Orchestra, New Orleans
Architect: Kronberg Wall Architects LLC, Atlanta
Developer: Redmellon, New Orleans
Acoustic and Audio-video Systems Engineer: Kirkegaard Associates, Chicago
Lighting Consultant: Grenald Waldron Associates, Narberth, Pa.
Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing Engineer: Leppard Johnson & Associates PC, Tucker, Ga.
Structural Engineer: Stability Engineering, Decatur, Ga.
Interior Designer: Studio ARB ARCH, Atlanta
LEED Consultant: Sustainable Investment Group LLC
Materials
Carpet: Interface
Porcelain and Mosaic Tile: Ceramic Technics Ltd.
Solid Surface Material: Caesarstone
Light-transmitting Panel: 3form
Rubber Base: Roppe Corp.
Paint: MDC and Benjamin Moore
Acoustical Ceiling and Wall Panels: Hunter Douglas Contract (Echelon Frame and Panel System)
Acoustical Wall Panels: Hunter Douglas Contract, Decoustics and Novawall
Acoustical Wall Treatment: Fitzfelt
Theatrical Acoustical Curtain: Daizian
Plastic Laminate: Pionite and Formica
Stainless-steel Sinks: Just Manufacturing
Washbasins: Duravit
Electronic Faucets: American Standard
Liquid-soap Dispensers: Sloan Valve Co.
Toilets and Urinals: American Standard, Sloan Valve and Toto USA
Paper-towel Dispensers: Bradley Corp.
Hand Dryer: Dyson
Drinking Fountains: Elkay
PHOTOS: Peter Vanderwarker