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Library of
Congress Great Hall |
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Location: |
Library of Congress, Washington, DC. |
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Program: |
Portable sound system design for a large
public space. |
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Budget: |
$12,000.00. |
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Schedule: |
Design completed 1997. No
construction. |
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Working directly with the Library of
Congress Office of Special Events,
Acoustical Design Collaborative, Ltd
performed acoustical measurements and
developed design options for portable sound
systems to be used in the Thomas Jefferson
Building Great Hall at the Library of
Congress. Constructed primarily of marble
and plaster, the Great Hall is an
architecturally prominent space with a 7 s
reverberation time. The historic nature of
the space prohibits permanently installed
fixtures, such as loudspeakers. Temporary
sound systems are provided by outside
contractors for special events. Poor speech
intelligibility is a frequent problem due to
the room configuration, loudspeaker
positions, and the contractor-provided
loudspeakers. Using computer modeling,
options for loudspeaker locations and types
were developed based on the Great Hall’s
acoustical properties and room geometry. A
design document was prepared with guidelines
on loudspeaker locations and
electro-acoustic performance, microphones,
signal-processing electronics, and sound
system adjustments to enhance speech
intelligibility for a variety of events. The
Great Hall continues to be used for
prominent government, corporate, charitable,
and educational functions. |
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