BUILDING ACOUSTICS · Volume 21 · Number 4 · 2014 Pages 287–304 287

Acoustic Quality of a Tensile Membrane Structure

used as a Lecture Hall, and Proposals for its
Improvement
Francesco Nocera, Antonio Gagliano, Gianpiero Evola
and Mirko Cascio Gioia
Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Catania, Viale A. Doria 6, 95125
Catania, Italy, fnocera@unict.it

(Received 6 May 2014 and accepted 8 September 2014)

ABSTRACT
Tensile membrane structures can offer considerable weight saving, becoming attractive for
designers in several technological areas. They also have the advantage of realizing an enormous
space without columns and beams. Furthermore, they can produce a unique atmosphere as well
as savings on electricity for interior lighting, due to their light transmission properties.
Unfortunately, membrane structures have serious defects in sound-insulation performance, rain-
noise problems and low thermal insulation. Consequently, it is not easy to ensure acoustic
comfort inside tensile membrane structures, because the techniques that normally apply to
traditional buildings are not suitable in lightweight structures. For these reasons, this paper
investigates the acoustic behaviour of a tensile membrane structure used as a lecture room,
through instrumental techniques and simulation with software for room acoustics, in order to
propose possible solutions applicable to similar structures.

Keywords: tensile membrane structure, acoustic quality, simulations, measurements

1. INTRODUCTION
Nowadays, the tensile membrane structures are used for the outer skin of many facilities
because of their lightweight properties; in addition, their transparency is fascinating for
designing light-filled spaces [1]. However, as concerns their acoustic performance,
these kinds of structures may have serious problems in terms of sound comfort and
insulation. Indeed, they often have irregular shapes, and present values of absorption
and diffusivity coefficients that induce acoustic problems such as standing waves,
flutter echo, sound focusing and intensive late reflections. These may seriously
diminish the speech intelligibility and the effectiveness of the early arriving sound
energy [2]. Since the use of membrane structures has become very familiar, it is very
important to overcome such defects.
Up to now, research has mainly focused on the reduction of rain noise rather than on
288 Acoustic Quality of a Tensile Membrane Structure used as a Lecture Hall,
and Proposals for its Improvement

acoustic comfort [3]. In order to get good acoustic quality, it is important for the
membrane structures to satisfy a series of acoustic parameters, experimentally
measurable, which define the quality of the sound field and of listener sensations [4].
These parameters, according to ISO 3382, include Sabine’s Reverberation Time (T30),
the Definition Index (D), the Clarity (C80), the Early Decay Time (EDT), the RASTI
Index and the STI Index [5].
This paper presents the results of an experimental investigation on the acoustic
performance of a membrane structure used as a lecture hall at the University of Catania.
In order to determine the distribution of the sound energy and the room acoustic
parameters, the authors have proceeded through the following steps:
• definition of the geometrical and architectural features of the hall;
• definition of the acoustic properties of the internal surfaces;
• calculation of the acoustic indexes (T30, C80, EDT, D, RASTI, STI) based on
experimental measurements;
• modelling of the hall by means of a ray tracing computer model (Catt-
Acoustic);
• verification, validation and calibration of the computer model;
• determination of suitable interventions for the acoustic correction, in order to
improve the acoustic quality.

2. METHODOLOGY
In this section, the parameters used to evaluate the acoustic quality of the lecture hall
are introduced and defined.
First, the most common index for the acoustic characterization of a room is the
Reverberation Time (RT). It can be defined as the time it takes for a signal to drop by
60 dB from its initial stationary level. However, it is important to highlight that the
measurement of the reverberation time is rarely made in the interval between 0 and -60
dB, as by definition. This is in order to prevent strong early reflections from affecting
the measurements, and also because background noise is inevitably present. Hence,
according to ISO 3382, the measurements can be made between -5 and -35 dB or
between -5 and -25 dB. The reverberation time is then obtained by mathematical
extrapolation, assuming a purely linear decay. In this case, RT is respectively called T30
and T20, if deduced from the first or the second approach [6].
On the other hand, the EDT parameter (Early Decay Time) is the reverberation time
measured over the first 10 dB of the decay. Unlike late reverberation, early
reverberation just comprises a few primary reflections that are integrated with the direct
sound, thus reinforcing it. This early reverberation can affect the clarity of sound, as
well as the perception of liveliness: indeed, the greater the energy in the early
reverberation, the better the clarity. On the contrary, high late reverberant energy can
increase liveliness or fullness, but decreases the clarity.
Furthermore, clarity can be defined by the difference between the sound energy in
the first 80 msec, and the late reverberation energy arriving after the first 80 msec. This
is measured in decibels and usually referred to as C80:
BUILDING ACOUSTICS · Volume 21 · Number 4 · 2014 289

80 ms ∞

C80 = 10log ∫ p 2 (t ) dt / ∫ p 2 (t ) dt (1)

0 80 ms

In some cases, a single C80 value is used, which averages clarity at 500, 1000 and 2000
Hz [6].
Finally, the definition D or early-to-late energy ratio characterizes the speech
intelligibility [6]:
50 ms ∞

D= ∫ p (t ) dt /
2
∫ p (t ) dt
2
(2)
0 0

Another interesting parameter is the speech transmission index (STI), widely used for
assessing room acoustics [7]. The scientific principle, on which the STI is based, is that
information in speech is represented acoustically in the form of modulations: a loss of
these modulations translates into a loss of intelligibility. The STI measures the ability
of a transmission channel – the room in this case – to carry the characteristics of a
speech signal without loss of modulation.
In practice, the field measurement of this parameter is based on a well-established
procedure. The result is an index ranging from 0 to 1: the closer the STI value
approaches zero, the more information is lost. There are standardized ratings linking
certain ranges of the STI to subjectively experienced intelligibility, see Table 1 [9].

Table 1. Sound intelligibility in relation to STI, according to IEC 60268-16 [9]

The Rapid Speech Transmission Index (RASTI) is a simplified version of the STI,
and can be used for special cases, such as a lecturer speaking into a small room with
negligible echoes and without electro-acoustic systems. For a RASTI measurement,
only two simultaneously generated frequency bands are considered, i.e. the 500 Hz and
the 2 kHz band. The correlation between RASTI and subjective speech intelligibility
levels is reported in Table 2 [9].
290 Acoustic Quality of a Tensile Membrane Structure used as a Lecture Hall,
and Proposals for its Improvement

Table 2. Sound intelligibility in relation to RASTI, according to IEC 60268-16 [9]

3. THE CASE STUDY

The ultra-lightweight structure which is the object of this work is located in the
University Campus of Catania, and is currently used either as a lecture hall or as a
reading room.
The main structure is composed of a reticular steel structure with triangular meshes,
and has a semi-spherical shape with a diameter of around 20 m. It occupies a surface
area of 314.2 m2 and its volume is 1920 m3. The beams of the reticular steel structure
support the entire polyvinylchloride roof membrane with aluminium tie rods.
The interior of the hall is also formed by a steel structure that supports a circular
PVC false ceiling placed at a height of 3.55 m above the floor, in which the lighting
system of the room is arranged (see Fig. 1). The use of a PVC membrane as a false
ceiling has the advantage of reducing stress on the structure.

Figure 1. Pictures of the lecture hall

BUILDING ACOUSTICS · Volume 21 · Number 4 · 2014 291

However, it is important to underline that the false ceiling does not entirely cover the
plane of the room. Indeed, a space of around 20 cm is left laterally; this allows sound
waves to bypass the false ceiling and to be reflected by the dome. Hence, the upper
surface of the false ceiling is hit by sound waves, and the whole volume of the room is
involved in sound distribution.
The room is equipped with furniture.

4. MEASUREMENTS
4.1 Methodology
The goal of the present study is to evaluate the acoustic conditions inside an ultra-
lightweight structure, in order to define suitable interventions for the acoustic correction
of similar structures. The acoustic parameters to be evaluated and measured are the
background ambient sound level and a series of acoustic indexes (T30, C80, EDT, D,
RASTI, STI).
The procedures employed for the measurement of these parameters are those
established in the ISO 3382-1 and IEC 60268-16 standards. All the measurements were
carried out using a 01dB-Stell Symphonie precision audio-acquisition unit, powered
with the 01dB software dBBATI32. The “Symphonie” is a device with two PRE 12H
microphones connected to an acquisition unit (dual channel), which transfers data in
real-time to a notebook computer and allows simultaneous analysis in both time and
frequency domains. The “Symphonie” permits data acquisition and calculation of sound
equivalent levels; real time analyses are available on both input channels in octave or
third octave spectra, from 20 Hz to 20 kHz.
The “dBBATI32” is the software used to measure indoor acoustic indexes. If used
with the “Symphonie” measuring systems, dBBATI32 adds to the computer the
facilities of a digital audio recorder, a Type 1 sound level meter, a frequency analyser
and an optimized system for measurements in buildings.

4.2 Measurement of background ambient sound level

Noise levels inside the hall were evaluated under unoccupied conditions and outdoor
measurements were also conducted in order to characterize the area where the ultra-
lightweight structure is located. All the measurements were taken during normal days
(Monday to Friday), without atypical noises such as rain, thunder or strong wind.
The measurements inside the lecture hall were performed by positioning the
microphone at 1.20 m from the floor in the centre of the hall, and allowed determining
the background noise level inside the hall from spectral density functions.

4.3 Measurement of the acoustic indexes

The procedures employed are those established in the ISO 3382-1 and IEC 60268-16
standards, and all measurements were accomplished in the unoccupied room, as in a
previous study [10]. The environmental conditions were monitored during the
measurements by an electronic thermo-hygrometer. The range of variation of the
environmental conditions was between 19.6°C and 20°C for the temperature, and
between 49% and 50% for the relative humidity, respectively.
292 Acoustic Quality of a Tensile Membrane Structure used as a Lecture Hall,
and Proposals for its Improvement

The sound source used for the measurement campaign was an omnidirectional
source (dodecahedral loudspeaker), placed close to the centre of the room at the height
of 2.00 m (position A1, see Fig. 2). This position was considered appropriate since the
room does not have a specific position for speakers. The emitted signal is an MLS.
Various microphones (with appropriate signal-conditioning amplifiers) were placed
in nine different receiver positions (see Fig. 2), all located at 1.20 m from the floor. The
acquisitions allow the determination of the following parameters for each frequency
band between 125 Hz to 4000 Hz: reverberation time (T30) and early decay time
(EDT), for the evaluation of reverberation characteristics, clarity (C80), definition (D).
The various acoustic parameters are spectrally averaged as specified in ISO 3382-1
standard; at least three measurements have been performed consecutively in each
position.

Figure 2. Ground plan with the position of the source and of the receivers

5. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

5.1 Measurement of background ambient sound level
In order to evaluate the effect of noise on speech communication, the Balanced Noise
Criterion (NCB) curves can be used. In particular, in a lecture hall the indoor sound
pressure level due to background noise should not overcome the curves NCB 35-40,
which would imply remarkable annoyance for the occupants [11], [12].
In the case of the lightweight lecture hall, as shown in Table 3, the measured indoor
sound pressure level exceeds the curves NCB 40 at all frequencies, and the discrepancy
can even reach around 15 dB at 500 Hz. This is mainly due to the poor sound insulation
offered by the ultra-lightweight structure, and may compromise the activities of the
students. Indeed, the sound reduction index for a façade should not be lower than 50
dB, as recommended by the ANSI S12.60 standard, but in this case the value obtained
BUILDING ACOUSTICS · Volume 21 · Number 4 · 2014 293

from preliminary experimental measurements was 16.9 dB, which is far below the
desirable level [13].
Therefore, it is recommendable that this kind of structure be placed in quiet areas,
and to protect them with plants placed along the perimeter; the latter solution should
reduce the indoor noise level by about 10 dB.

Table 3. Comparison between NCB 35-40 and the measured sound pressure level [dB]

Hz 125 250 500 1k 2k 4k 8k

NCB 35 50 44 40 37 33 30 27
NCB 40 54 49 45 42 38 35 32
Sound pressure level 53.6 55.1 60.3 52.9 48.7 43.1 38.6

5.2 Measurement of the acoustic indexes

The plots in Fig. 3 to Fig. 6 present the experimental results for T30, EDT, C80 and D
for each octave-band central frequency, after individual values from all the receivers
have been spatially averaged. Furthermore, for the sake of comparison, in each figure
the optimal value of the corresponding parameter is also plotted.
As shown in the plots, most of the indexes are far from the optimal values, in
particular in the range of frequencies that affect speech comprehension (500 Hz – 2 kHz).
In fact, the reverberation time is more than twice as high as the optimal values at
high frequencies (see Fig. 3). On the other hand, the EDT keeps very close to the

Figure 3. Frequency profile of the measured Reverberation time (T30)

294 Acoustic Quality of a Tensile Membrane Structure used as a Lecture Hall,
and Proposals for its Improvement

optimal range, included between EDT = 1.8 s and EDT = 2.6 s, for medium and high
frequencies, but it is very low between 125 Hz and 500 Hz (see Fig. 4). As concerns
clarity C80 and definition D, both of them are quite low if compared to the minimum
value required for good speech comprehension [14].

Figure 4. Frequency profile of the measured EDT

Figure 5. Frequency profile of the measured Clarity (C80)

BUILDING ACOUSTICS · Volume 21 · Number 4 · 2014 295

Figure 6. Frequency profile of the measured Definition Index (D)

All these results suggest that the lecture hall is characterized by intensive late
reflections and by too weak a contribution of the first reflections. Indeed, the first
reflections are well defined by C80 and D, but the values measured are not acceptable
for the frequency range between 250 Hz and 4 kHz. Moreover, the values of C80 reach
negative levels, while the values of D remain under the threshold value of 50%, which
is not suggested for speech comprehension. This is probably due to the shape of the
structure and to the PVC membrane, which create an undesirable and annoying flutter
echo. This is also confirmed by the measured values of STI = 55.2% and RASTI =
49.9% that, according to Table 1 and Table 2, just allow the intelligibility to be
classified as “fair”. Consequently, an improvement of the acoustic quality should be
based on the introduction of sound-absorbing materials, which should be located in the
areas most affected by the sound rays, in order to reduce late reflections.

6. VALIDATION OF THE COMPUTER MODEL

Amongst the commercial software packages available on the market, CATT is the one
that has been chosen to perform the simulations necessary in this paper. CATT-Acoustic
v8.0k implements the so-called Randomized Tail-corrected Cone-tracing (RTC)
algorithm, a hybrid method based on the combination of various characteristics from
specular cone-tracing, standard ray tracing and image source models.
The construction of a three-dimensional geometrical model of the room is the
starting point towards reliable acoustic computer-aided simulations [15]. In this case,
Google SketchUp and Autocad were used to realize the three-dimensional geometrical
model of the room. On the other hand, the acoustic characterization of the surfaces in
the computer model mainly consists in defining their capability to absorb and scatter
energy from incident sound rays. Every entity in the model whose size shows an order
296 Acoustic Quality of a Tensile Membrane Structure used as a Lecture Hall,
and Proposals for its Improvement

of magnitude not comparable to the wavelength of the excitation signal was disregarded
and then compensated by flat surfaces with accordingly corrected scattering
coefficients [16].
As for the absorption coefficients, data taken from extensive databases found in the
literature were firstly assumed for most of the materials of the room. Then, these
absorption coefficients were calibrated in order to ensure that the simulated T30 differs
by no more than 5% from the values measured in situ. Table 4 illustrates the values of
the absorption coefficients retained after the calibration process.
On the other hand, the comparison between the experimental and the simulated
values for T30 are shown in Fig. 7. As one can observe, the only significant deviation
occurs at 1000 Hz and 4000 Hz; however, simulated and experimental values do not
differ from one another by more than 5%.

Table 4. Absorption coefficients at the different frequencies (Hz) associated to the

materials in the computer model

S (m2) 125 250 500 1k 2k 4k

Tensile membrane 540.0 0.35 0.25 0.14 0.07 0.04 0.06
Furniture 43.6 0.15 0.25 0.43 0.69 0.85 0.91
HVAC System 3.8 0.15 0.20 0.50 0.35 0.30 0.20
Doors 28.8 0.35 0.25 0.18 0.12 0.07 0.04
Floor 314.0 0.02 0.04 0.05 0.05 0.07 0.08

Figure 7. Comparison between measured and simulated values of T30

BUILDING ACOUSTICS · Volume 21 · Number 4 · 2014 297

A very good reliability of the virtual model was also observed for the prediction of
all the other acoustic parameters, with the only exception at 4000 Hz, where the
simulated values of D and C80 are slightly lower than the measured values. These
results are not reported in detail for the sake of brevity.

7. ACOUSTIC CORRECTIONS
One of the main practical applications emanating from the calibration and validation of
the geometrical model is the possibility to study the effect of suitable interventions for
acoustic correction, in order to improve acoustic quality. Different possible
interventions were considered in this paper:
• solution A: installation of an absorbing material on the upper surface of the
false ceiling;
• solution B: installation of suspended absorbing panels on the lower surface
of the false ceiling;
• solution C: acoustic treatment of the floor;
• solution D: installation of an absorbing material on the vertical surfaces.
In more detail, the product adopted in solution A is based on a polyethylene foam with
high absorption coefficients, with a thickness of 50 mm. It has the advantage of low
weight (being very porous) and great workability; furthermore, it does not require an
application with glue, since it can be directly placed on the desired surface. In this way,
the material absorbs the sound rays that pass the false ceiling laterally and that are
reflected back from the dome, with a consequent reduction of sound focusing and
intensive late reflections.
As concerns solutions B and D, the same product is considered, i.e. perforated wood
panels (TOPAKUSTIK® type 5/3 M). On the other hand, solution C is based on the
application of a covering made of wood fibre composite material (1 cm thick)
superimposed on a resilient mat (thickness 0.5 cm). The absorption coefficients of these
materials are illustrated in Table 5.
As concerns their application, the panels along the wall (solution D) can be
connected to the existing steel structure, through tie rods in the upper part, to ensure
stability and an inclination of 20° with respect to the wall, see Fig. 8. Each panel
measures h = 2.90 m and l = 4.48 m. The number of panels installed was varied during
the simulations, in order to find out the best configuration.
On the other hand, the upper surface of the false ceiling is treated with 14 rigid
acoustic panels with height h = 0.64 m and length l = 8.00 m (solution A). For solution
B it was decided to install 14 double-sided rectangular panels (h = 0.64 m, l = 8.00 m)
in order to increase the absorbing surface.
Such treatments were simulated with Catt Acoustic in order to evaluate the
influence, efficacy and contribution of each intervention or their combination on the
acoustic response of the room. Fig. 8 illustrates some details of the virtual model with
the intervention on the false ceiling (Fig. 8.a) and on the walls.
 298 Acoustic Quality of a Tensile Membrane Structure used as a Lecture Hall,
and Proposals for its Improvement

Table 5. Absorption coefficient of the materials used for the proposed solutions
125 Hz 250 Hz 500 Hz 1 kHz 2 kHz 4 kHz
Solution A 0.10 0.21 0.40 0.93 0.92 0.98
Solution B - D 0.12 0.62 0.92 0.93 0.85 0.81
Solution C 0.15 0.25 0.40 0.50 0.50 0.40

Figure 8. 3D Catt Acoustic virtual model. a) solution A+B; b) solution D,

c):Solution C, d) Solution (A+C+D) with 3 panels, e) panel orientation.

The plots reported from Fig. 9 to Fig. 12 illustrate the results of the application of
the proposed solutions for the improvement of the acoustic quality of the hall.
In particular, one can observe that solution A improves the acoustic quality of the
hall especially for frequencies between 1000 Hz and 2000 Hz. This improvement is
evident for all indexes, but it is not sufficient to approach an optimal reverberation time
T30 (see Fig. 9), and still keep the definition D and the clarity C80 under the minimum
threshold (see Fig. 11 and Fig. 12, respectively).
One possibility to obtain further improvement might be to couple solution A and
solution B, in the attempt of reducing reverberation and late reflections. However, the
results seem to suggest that the addition of other absorbing panels suspended under the
false ceiling (solution A + B) does not induce significant improvements on the
reverberation time T30 (Fig. 9) if compared to solution A, and on the contrary this
solution may even worsen T30 at 1000 Hz and 2000 Hz. On the other hand, some
improvements are observed for D and C80 (see Fig. 11 and Fig. 12), whereas the EDT
BUILDING ACOUSTICS · Volume 21 · Number 4 · 2014 299

is now quite low and out of the optimal range (1.8 < EDT < 2.6).
From these results, solution A seems to be already sufficient for the treatment of the
false ceiling, and it should be coupled to other solutions able to limit the reflections
coming from the floor and from the walls. Consequently, the solution A + B has been
discarded.
Thus, the next proposal was to couple solution A to the treatment of the floor
(solution C). However, in this case (solution A + C) the results would not be very
different from solution A + B, hence this proposal of intervention was also discarded.
Finally, the possibility of combining solutions A, C and D was considered (solution
A + C + D). In this case, several simulations were performed by varying the number of
panels installed on the wall. This series of simulations provided very interesting results.
In particular, the solution (A + C + D) with only 3 panels on the walls is very
satisfying as it optimizes T30 for f > 500 Hz (see Fig. 9), while improving D and C80,
which are now over the minimum threshold at all frequencies (see Fig. 11 and Fig. 12).
The RASTI and STI indexes can now be classified as “good” (Table 6), whereas only
the EDT seems to be too low (see Fig. 10).
When adding other panels on the walls, no significant improvements are observed,
and T30 even becomes too low if compared to the optimal profile. Hence, the best
compromise for an optimum acoustic response of the room seems to be solution (A + C
+ D) with only 3 panels for all indexes. The three panels were placed at an angle of 120°
with respect to the centre of the structure (see Fig. 8).

Figure 9. Simulated values of T30 for the proposed solutions for improvement
300 Acoustic Quality of a Tensile Membrane Structure used as a Lecture Hall,
and Proposals for its Improvement

Figure 10. Simulated values of EDT for the proposed solutions for improvement

Figure 11. Simulated values of D for the proposed solutions for improvement
BUILDING ACOUSTICS · Volume 21 · Number 4 · 2014 301

Figure 12. Simulated values of C80 for the proposed solutions for improvement

Table 6. Measured and simulated values of STI and RASTI

302 Acoustic Quality of a Tensile Membrane Structure used as a Lecture Hall,
and Proposals for its Improvement

Figure 13. Comparison between simulated T30 with false ceiling (A + C + D) and
without false ceiling (C + D)

Finally, it can be underlined that the presence of a flat false ceiling is not pleasant, as it
deteriorates the perception of spaciousness in the room. However, in some cases it may
be useful for the installation of the lighting system, as well as to conceal the air-
conditioning system.
Hence, in order to understand whether the presence of the false ceiling might be
avoided without worsening the acoustic quality of the room, an additional simulation
was carried out without the false ceiling. In this simulation, the solutions C and D were
employed, the latter with only 3 panels on the walls. Solutions A and B were obviously
discarded, as they apply to the false ceiling.
As shown in Fig. 13, when adopting suitable treatments for the floor and the walls
(C + D), the reverberation time T30 without the false ceiling is very close to what is
obtained with the false ceiling and the treatment A + C + D with 3 panels. Hence, the
main message coming from these results is that the false ceiling might actually be
avoided without affecting the acoustic quality of the room. However, if used, the false
ceiling should be treated with absorbing materials in order to avoid multiple reflections
between its upper surface and the dome, which would produce excessive sound
reverberation. This particular behaviour is obviously due to the particular conformation
of the false ceiling, which does not entirely cover the plane of the room, leaving a space
of around 20 cm laterally.
BUILDING ACOUSTICS · Volume 21 · Number 4 · 2014 303

8. CONCLUSION
The analysis of acoustic comfort inside the tensile structure has suggested the following
considerations:
• Reverberation time: the room is very reverberant, with values more than twice
as high as is optimal.
• Early Decay Time: the values are closely linked to those of the reverberation
time, they are non-linear and non-coherently scattered with respect to the
optimal range (1.80 ÷ 2.60 s).
• Clarity C80: the values are not acceptable in the entire frequency band, except
at low frequencies (125 Hz - 250 Hz), as they are lower than 3.0 dB. In the
central frequencies there are even negative peaks, likely due to interference
with structural elements.
• Definition D: the values are not acceptable with respect to speech, but they are
good for low frequencies (125 Hz - 250 Hz). For this index, as for C80, in the
central frequencies there are peaks of only 30%, but D50 ≥ 50 % is required
for speech intelligibility.
• RASTI and STI: these two indexes characterize the quality of a room for
speech transmission, and their values allow the hall to be classified as “fair”.
Moreover, the background noise perceived inside the room is quite high, due to the very
poor sound insulation provided by the lightweight structure. Thus, it is evident that the
room does not meet the minimum requirements for satisfactory acoustic comfort.
In a following step, the room was modelled with the software Catt Acoustic, and the
model was satisfactorily calibrated against the experimental values. Then, some
interventions were proposed to improve the acoustic quality of the room, and the
effectiveness of such interventions was tested through simulations.
In particular, the reflection rays coming from coverage and floor were tackled with
the help of sound absorbing panels on the upper side of the false ceiling, so as to reduce
the sound pressure level due to the late reflections, on the whole frequency spectrum.
At the same time, the vertical walls were treated with an appropriate amount of
absorbing surface, but taking care to avoid a drastic reduction of the reverberation time
that would make the hall too “dumb”. Finally, the simulations have shown that the false
ceiling might actually be avoided without affecting the acoustic quality of the room.
In conclusion, this paper has offered not only the possibility to identify the necessary
actions to improve the acoustic quality of an ultra-lightweight structure, but also to
provide general messages about the acoustic behaviour of these kind of spaces.

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