This study aims to clarify the influence of the geometry and structure of the ceiling acoustic reflectors in the chamber music hall of Finlandia Hall on the room acoustics. This hall was designed by Alvar Aalto, an architect in Finland, in the 1960s and early 1970s. Aalto had a great interest in room acoustics, and using ceiling acoustic reflectors was one of the room acoustics design devices that he used repeatedly. In contrast to the simple, dish-shaped ceiling acoustic reflectors in Detmerode Church, those in the chamber music hall of Finlandia Hall form more complex geometries and structures. However, the influence of those on room acoustics has been rarely studied. In this study, an analysis using geometric acoustics simulation with 3-D models and the visualization of sound rays were conducted to compare the room acoustical indexes for the sound field in case of the original ceiling reflector with various geometries of ones. Finally, Aalto’s design intentions for this hall were considered from the perspective of room acoustics, and the acoustically desirable geometry of the ceiling acoustic reflector was discussed.
Hayashi et al. (Wed,) studied this question.