Prompted by urgent structural repairs needed, a $128 Million project to restore Australia’s largest town hall was initiated in 2009 by Brisbane City Council. AECOM was commissioned through the heritage architects Tanner GHD, to provide acoustic advice for the overall building including Council Chambers, staff offices, and gallery spaces for the Museum of Brisbane. AECOM was also engaged to provide specialist architectural acoustic design for restoration of the main Auditorium.
The renovation brief for the Auditorium requested a truly flexible venue to cater for contemporary uses of the Auditorium, including organ recitals, chamber music concerts, amplified music, speaking events, banquets, and trade-shows.
Working from detailed acoustic surveys, combined with 3D modelling, AECOM implemented a design to restore the natural reverberance of the Auditorium. Detailed room acoustic analysis informed the quantity and placement of acoustic materials for noise control within the auditorium. The acoustical design for restoration applied innovative variable acoustic treatments (including sound absorbing panels and diffusive acoustic panels) to create acoustic flexibility, without having to alter heritage structure or impact on the grand geometry of the historic hall.
New acoustic elements have been customised to alleviate persistent acoustical problems, whilst integrating sympathetically into the grandeur of the existing architecture.