Take a look at this comprehensive article in Building Design + Construction, Performance-Based Facilities for Performing Arts Boost the Bottom Line, about budget-conscious design trends for performing arts facilities!

“According to Mark Holden, Principal of Acoustics for the acoustic and audiovisual design firm Jaffe Holden (which helped pioneer and design a number of adjustable acoustic systems), double-layer fabric banners are effective for absorbing sound and tuning a room to enhance a wide range of performances. ‘The acoustics of a room are excellent only for a specific program on the stage, which can range from orchestra and band to amplified Broadway shows. Getting these professional-level systems into high schools is rather extraordinary, and we’re seeing Texas leading the way in high school acoustic systems.

To be able to tune theaters acoustically allows the rooms to be used for a multiplicity of functionality. The motorized acoustic banners are on the side walls and within the ceiling area. On stage, you’ll have a moveable, tunable orchestra shell, or concert enclosure, which has ceiling clouds and movable walls that create a concert hall-like environment within the stage. It’s a very sophisticated set of equipment.'”

Read the full article here.

Image courtesy of Wilson Butler Architects.