ADC, Ltd : International Spy Museum

Location:	Washington, DC.
Program:	Interactive museum and education center.
Budget:	$24,000,000.00.
Schedule:	Design completed 2002. Construction completed 2002.

Acoustical Design Collaborative, Ltd provided room acoustics, sound isolation, HVAC equipment noise/vibration control, and selected audio systems design for an interactive “infotainment” museum and education center located in three renovated historic townhouses and a new 40,000 ft² building. The facility includes galleries, interactive exhibit spaces, spy “school”, 250-seat multi-purpose room, 60-seat orientation theater, restaurant, café, retail store, and offices. Of paramount concern for the designers was ensuring acoustical treatments were not visible, particularly in the gallery and exhibit spaces located in the historic townhouses. Some of the unusual and challenging tasks included sound isolation for the room housing James Bond’s Aston Martin automobile, reducing sound focusing and reverberation in the futuristic hall of mirrors, and control of simulated atomic bomb blast noise and vibration in the Cold War exhibit room. Architectural sound isolation for the orientation theater and multi-purpose room was necessary because of condominium units directly above. Exhibits with audio program content required sound control to limit interfering sound transmission. The International Spy Museum has transformed an older commercial area into a top tourist destination.