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Mechanical Hall
Art Gallery |
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Location: |
University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware. |
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Program: |
Renovation of existing mechanical laboratory
building into an art museum. |
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Budget: |
$3,000,000.00. |
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Schedule: |
Design completed 2002. Construction
completed 2004. |
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Photograph by Alain Jaramillo |
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Acoustical Design Collaborative, Ltd
provided room acoustics, HVAC noise control,
and sound isolation design for the
conversion of a 1930s era mechanical
laboratory building into an art museum.
Control of room reverberation in the gallery
and art conservation spaces was achieved
using fine-fissured acoustical plaster.
Airborne noise and vibration transmission
from HVAC equipment below the galleries was
reduced using a wood floating floor. An
unexpected benefit of the floating floor was
it provided a means to level and transition
the existing uneven and damaged floors. The
same floating floor system was installed in
the conservation and office spaces above the
galleries to reduce footfall noise
transmission. Air quality concerns for the
HVAC systems prohibited fibrous duct linings
so specially designed “packless” sound
attenuators were used to reduce air handler
noise. Over-sizing ducts, VAV boxes, air
diffusers, and grilles reduced noise from
these devices. The Mechanical Hall Art
Gallery renovation was recognized by the
Baltimore Chapter of the AIA for design
excellence in adaptive reuse. |
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