Municipal Theatre, Kempten, Germany

Object Type
Theatres

Client
Stadt Kempten

Architects
Molitor Architekturbüro, Kempten

Completion
2007

Expertises
Room Acoustics
Building Acoustics
Electronic Room Acoustics

The planning process for refurbishing Kempten‘s municipal theatre started in 2002. In addition to a number of necessary technical renovation measures, an enhanced fire protection in accordance with the latest regulations, and the building of a new foyer extension, the acoustics in the listed auditorium required an upgrade. In particular, the acoustical conditions for classical music had to be improved significantly.

Before the refurbishment, the reverberation time in the auditorium was quite favorable for drama performances. However, classical music requires a longer reverberation time so that a perceptible increase in reverberation was a major goal for improving the auditorium in terms of room acoustics.
Therefore, in the course of the auditorium refurbishment, acoustically unfavorable absorption surfaces like the textile wall coverings and carpets were removed and replaced by sound-reflecting materials such as gypsum board and a wood flooring.
The installation of an electro-acoustic room enhancement system in the auditorium was one of the decisive measures for improving the acoustics without having to implement other complex structural measures or any major changes in the auditorium design. The possibility of adjusting the acoustics to speech or music is ideal for a multipurpose usage and definitely increases the theatre‘s acoustical variability.

Image Copyright
1 Noak
2 Noack
3 Noack