New music school 'hits all the right notes' North West Branch meetings

摘要

The new Chetham's School of Music building in Manchester was officially opened in October 2012 and boasts extensive high quality music teaching and performance facilities, including a 100-seat recital hall, four ensemble rehearsal rooms, two recording studios and more than 100 music practice rooms. Arup advised on the acoustic design of the building and organised this tour, which was attended by 48 people, a great turnout considering the Biblical weather! Steve Swan, of Arup, gave a presentation on the acoustic design of the building and highlighted the key design challenges, such as the small footprint of the site, its close proximity to a mainline railway station and achieving maximum value within a limited construction budget. The design has included extensive use of box-in-box room constructions (more than 50) to achieve very high standards of sound insulation and bespoke sound absorbing and diffusing finishes to achieve great acoustics and aesthetics.