Cambridge, MA – Acentech Inc. provided consulting and design services for the Art of the Americas Wing and Ruth and Carl J. Shapiro Family Courtyard at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA).
Working with internationally renowned London-based architects Foster + Partners and architect of record, Boston-based CBT/Childs Bertman Tseckares Inc., Acentech consulted on architectural acoustics, audiovisual systems design, and mechanical system noise and vibration control for the additions to the museum.
The new 121,307sf Art of the Americas Wing features a central glass building flanked by two pavilions of glass and granite. The Ruth and Carl J. Shapiro Family Courtyard, a soaring glass structure enclosing one of the museum’s two courtyards, is adjacent to the Art of the Americas Wing. Measuring 12,184sf and 63 feet high, the spectacular light-filled gathering place, where visitors can meet, relax, and dine in the café, affords year-round enjoyment of the outdoors and also serves as a venue for special events.
To ensure that the acoustics of such a large and reverberant space would be suitable for events and presentations, Acentech used a powerful tool, called auralization, to demonstrate the acoustical characteristics of the courtyard.
Using computer modeling and signal processing techniques, Acentech’s acoustical consultants transformed architectural drawings into an aural rendering of the space (an “auralization”) that allowed the design team and the MFA to hear the acoustics of the courtyard before it was even built. In the acoustical model, Acentech placed sounds that typified the kind of events that MFA would host, such as musical performances of various sizes and volumes, and party noises ranging from a small cocktail gathering to a large formal dinner.
This rich library of sounds was used to auralize or model the courtyard for the ears, thereby allowing the MFA and the design team to make confident and informed design decisions regarding the acoustics of its space.
To accomplish the MFA’s functional and aesthetic goals for the courtyard, Acentech recommended that acoustical treatments be incorporated into the design to accommodate these future events.
In addition to acoustical modeling, another critical element of Acentech’s work was ensuring intelligibility of speech during events in the courtyard.
A standard loudspeaker setup would create a cacophonic sound, so a sophisticated loudspeaker system was designed and concealed inside the columns that hold up the glass structure. An array of specifically designed loudspeakers steer the sound in a controlled dispersion pattern, directing the sound to people’s ears on the floor rather than blasting sound throughout the space.
John Moriarty & Associates of Boston served as general contractor and construction manager for the project.
MFA Acoustic Services Provided by Acentech
Cambridge, MA – Acentech Inc. provided consulting and design services for the Art of the Americas Wing and Ruth and Carl J. Shapiro Family Courtyard at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA).