Page 31 - Fall2021

FEATURED ARTICLE
How Room Acoustics Design of Worship Spaces Is Shaped by
Worship Styles and Priorities
David W. Kahn
Introduction
The room acoustics design of concert halls is a topic much written about in the acoustics literature (Kierkegaard and Gulsrud, 2011; Hochgraf, 2019). Not only is concert hall design of great interest to many acoustics professionals but it also rightfully garners the attention of musicians, other design professionals such as architects, and the music-loving public. Articles on the room acoustics design of concert halls often appear not only in pro- fessional journals such as The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (e.g., Beranek, 2016; Lokki et al., 2020) but also in the popular media (e.g., Wagner, 2019).
In contrast, the acoustical design of worship spaces receives little attention in professional acoustics journals, and it is possible that there have never been any articles published on the topic geared toward the general public (but see Bradley et al., 2016 for a popular treatment). This is curious given how many more worship spaces than concert halls there are and that most members of the general public spend more time in worship spaces than in concert halls. Certainly, the acoustics of worship spaces has as much of an impact, if not more, on the experience of worshippers during a service as does the impact of performance space acoustics on the experience of those same people in a concert hall.
There are many religions, each of which has unique ways of worshipping. This article addresses only those with which I am professionally familiar, which are primarily Christian and Jewish worship services.
Design Considerations
From the viewpoint of an acoustics designer of worship spaces, the acoustics design of concert halls is simple. The nature of the sound sources is well-known, and the
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https://doi.org/10.1121/AT.2021.17.3.31
nature of the sounds emitted by those sources (usually an orchestra) is fairly consistent. In addition, there are only rare occasions where some of the sound sources are placed “off stage” in a very limited number of works. Furthermore, the audience experience is not participa- tory; attendees simply listen to the sound being emitted from the performance platform.
Contrast that to a worship space, where the situation is quite different. First, congregations often participate in worship; they are not always just listening. Their audible experience of hearing themselves and others in the con- gregation is a key element of the worship experience.
Second, although much of the activity in a worship ser- vice takes place on a platform at the front of the sanctuary similar to the stage at the front of a concert hall, many worship spaces have musicians’ areas (e.g., instruments, singers) that are not integrated into this area but are else- where. One example is the Church of the Resurrection in New Albany, Ohio, where the musicians are off to the left of the sanctuary (Figure 1). Pipe organs are often inte- grated into worship spaces, but unlike concert halls where the pipe organ is located on the upstage wall, pipe organs in churches are often also located elsewhere in the space.
Third, in a concert hall, the acoustics designer focuses on the quality of music and is much less concerned about the quality or intelligibility of the spoken word because this is rarely a key component of an event in a concert hall. In contrast, in a worship space, the acoustical quality and intel- ligibility of the spoken word is almost always of importance. Consequently, one important distinction between worship spaces and concert halls is that the former must support both music and the spoken word equally well.
Volume 17, issue 3 | Fall 2021 • Acoustics Today 31