Good acoustics need a sophisticated room. Is the sound an aesthete?

This question can be answered with "yes". Regardless of the architectural style of a music room, the sound loves a large variety of shapes and effective materials. For nearly three years the engineering office Müller-BBM from Planegg near Munich develops and designs acoustic constructions and details with which the desired, very high acoustical quality of the philharmonic concert hall in Essen can be achieved.

The basis for the work was the decision of the citizenry Essen to conserve the existing building and to transform it into a philharmonic concert hall. After a mutual agreement between Müller-BBM and the builder concerning the final acoustical draft many planning methods were used to transform the still imaginary sound of the philharmonic concert hall into exact structural information.

In order to obtain silence in the room sound-insulating measures at façades, enclosing walls, roof constructions, floor constructions and entrance doors were determined and integrated in the detailed planning. Even sound sources outside the building, like traffic noise as well as noise of passing underground rail vehicles, for example in the Stadtgartenschleife and on the Aalto-Rampe, were integrated in the acoustical considerations. Silence is an essential prerequisite for an optimum sound experience.

For the room-acoustical specification of the sound development in the philharmonic concert hall in Essen different methods were applied, from physical calculations and simulations up to complex computer simulations. In order to calculate the acoustical qualities even real models on a scale of 1:1 were built and tested in the laboratories of Müller-BBM.

The new philharmonic concert hall in Essen is a modified rectangular room developed from the historical building, but with a rising stalls area and two balconies. By this new arrangement a special, unmistakable sound will be created.

Model of the hall

For classical concerts the sound in the concert hall develops by means of natural room acoustics.

In particular because of its flexible lifting platform technique, the concert hall permits a wide-ranging use far beyond the use for classical concerts, for example for jazz concerts, congresses etc. For such performances the hall is provided with a very efficient sound reinforcement system, which is optimally adapted to room acoustics and reflects the latest developments in technology. Therefore, so-called line-array-loudspeakers are installed, which leads to a maximum of steady sound supply in the hall with a precise and brilliant sound for the whole auditorium area.

The concert hall as well as all other halls used for performances are provided with a modern glass fiber net, which together with high-quality signal converters allows a transmission of audio and video signals of highest quality within the whole building. For example this can be used for CD-recordings or radio broadcasting. For the other halls mobile equipment and an efficient supply network for audio and video engineering exists.

Finally there will be a fine-tuning of room acoustics in the philharmonic concert hall. This fine-tuning concerns both classical concerts and other kinds of performances. Thus, the foundation for the acoustic career of the Philharmonie Essen is prepared.