Acoustical design and historical landmark: Places for the performing arts

Renovating historic theaters and converting historic spaces into places dedicated to the performing arts present unique challenges. On the one hand, preserving the building's identity is necessary—an imprecise concept. On the other hand, there are requirements to update the infrastructure, including comfort, safety standards, acoustics, stage, and technology. It is worth considering that a building's identity also includes its acoustical characteristics. Preserving these is particularly important in cases of exemplary acoustic signatures. However, one aspect that often drives the renovation of historic theaters is the solution to acoustic issues. In other cases, changes in the architecture driven by the need for restoration can alter the acoustic response. This article presents different cases of interventions in historic spaces: an opera house 100 years old with specific actions to meet architectural updates; a recital hall to correct the acoustic response between 63 and 250 Hz; the lounge of a railway station converted into a concert hall; and finally, the development of a recital hall on the site of a theater that burned down, of which only the Foyer remained. Acoustical parameters for the halls are presented.