Waltherhaus Cultural Institute, Bolzano, South Tyrol

Object Type
Theatres

Client
Genossenschaft Waltherhaus, Bozen, Südtirol

Architects
Thomas Mittermair Design Studio, Bozen, Südtirol

Completion
2009

Expertises
Room Acoustics

The "Walther von der Vogelweide" House of Culture, popularly known as the "Walther House", is located in the center of Bolzano. It is available to the South Tyrolean Institute of Culture as a space for guest performances in the field of theater. After just four months of renovation work, the hall, which dates back to the 1960s, was refurbished and put back into operation for the 2009/2010 season.

Over the years, the usage profile of the room had changed from a multi-purpose hall to a pure spoken theater. The renovation work in the 5,300 m³ hall of the Waltherhaus in Bolzano was therefore intended to improve speech intelligibility. The existing metal ceiling was completely removed and replaced with a new, acoustically optimized hall ceiling. Thanks to the targeted arrangement of sound-absorbing and sound-deadening measures in conjunction with a raising of the audience rows in the rear stalls and in the gallery, it has been possible to provide the audience of over 500 seats with a very good supply of high-energy first reflections. Special triangular elements were arranged in the rear ceiling cavity to absorb low frequencies in particular.
The improved speech intelligibility subjectively perceived by the audience and critics was objectively confirmed by final measurements.

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