Since opening in 2009, The Royal Conservatory’s Koerner Hall has become a welcome home for internationally acclaimed artists across many musical genres. Performers and audience members alike have applauded its acoustics; below are five architectural details that contribute
Since opening in 2009, The Royal Conservatory’s Koerner Hall has become a welcome home for internationally acclaimed artists across many musical genres. Performers and audience members alike have applauded its acoustics; below are five architectural details that contribute to its outstanding sound.
The Baillie Veil floating above Koerner Hall serves multiple acoustic purposes: It contains a reflector, which allows musicians playing onstage to hear each other, and disperses high-frequency sound waves throughout the hall, producing its signature warm sound.
Koerner Hall floats atop hundreds of rubber pads that absorb vibrations from adjacent teaching studios and mechanical rooms, along with the hundreds of subway trains passing under The Royal Conservatory every day.
An acoustic joint, a two-centimetre gap separating Koerner Hall from The Royal Conservatory, shields it from noise-causing vibrations from other parts of the building.
The curving, burlap-textured plaster wall tiles also deflect sound waves. Their large size reflect bass sounds, their hardness spreads mid-range wavelengths, while their unique surface disperses the highest of high notes.
Thick wool curtains can be pulled out from the four corners of Koerner to absorb reverberations from amplified pop, jazz, and world music concerts.