Designing the acoustical environment for a new middle school
Beacon High School
The new Beacon High School on West 44th Street in Manhattan features 232,000 square feet of classrooms, science laboratories, and other traditional school uses along with sophisticated performance art facilities including a chorus/instrumental music rehearsal suite, dance studio, and black box theater. As acoustical consultant, AKRF overcame a number of challenges in bringing together this diverse array of uses in a single existing building. We examined the acoustical separation between adjacent interior spaces to maintain speech privacy levels, finishes required to maintain reverberation time levels, and isolation of special spaces such as choral/instrumental music; exercise, dance, and weight training; a black box theater; the multi-purpose gymnasium; and theater rooms. AKRF also analyzed the environmental noise associated with mechanical equipment for code compliance and noise and vibration control within the building.