Our mission includes the study of the internal acoustics concerning the auditorium and the museum spaces. The acoustic treatments are deployed in such a way as to fully integrate the architectural project.
By doing so, we have developed an approach in which the room acoustics design for each museum gallery is conceived so that there is a total coherence between each architectural space and the acoustical environment within it. Hence the visitors of the museum not only feel comfortable visiting the galleries or spending some relaxing time in the vestibules, but also, perceptually, there is a coherence between the size of the space they are visiting, its visual aspect and its perceived sound environment.
This is mainly achieved by adapting the sound absorption treatment of each gallery to its form, surface and volume to control reverberation levels and duration to the values that are best adapted to the space being treated.
In terms of Reverberation Time (RT), this is translated into different values as a function of the space size (its cubic volume) and its function. For instance, the RT’s in the smaller galleries will be shorter than those in the bigger galleries, in order to keep a perceptive coherence inside those spaces.
As regards the vestibules, the RT values are kept shorter than those in the galleries, in order to favor concentration and rest.
But one must not forget that another very important aspect of the acoustics experience is the authorized background noise level in each space. Low background noise levels are necessary to allow visitors to calmly visit the exposed objects without being disturbed by air-conditioning and other noises coming from such sources as lighting and other electrical installations.