ACTIVE ACOUSTICS
AMADEUS ACTIVE ACOUSTICS
Sound investment
64 AUDITORIA 2020 VOLUME ONE
T oday’s multipurpose halls need
adaptive architecture and highly
sophisticated technology to focus
on customer experience, argues
Thorsten Rohde, CEO of Amadeus
Active Acoustics and the consulting company
Rohde Acoustics. “Operators must understand
how to curate the venue both artistically and
commercially,” he explains. “To meet the
diverse demands of events including seminars,
conferences and concerts, variable acoustics
are essential in multipurpose venues. This is
the best insurance for profitability, enabling
the room to be used intensively and quickly
bringing a return on investment.”
A world-class concert hall opened
in the Swiss mountains in June 2019.
Andermatt is a tiny mountain village with
a population of 1,300. The new concert
hall is part of an ambitious development
project, funded by Egyptian property
developer Samih Sawiris and his group.
Sawiris commissioned Studio Seilern Architects
to convert an underground conference hall next
to one of his hotels into a prestigious concert hall
with impeccable acoustics. Kahle Acoustics was
the acoustic consultant on the project.
Amadeus Active Acoustics was commissioned
to create perfect acoustical settings for all kinds
of applications – from a subjective enlargement
of the room volume for symphony concerts to
speech enhancement for conferences. Amadeus’
solution shapes the diverse acoustics of this
venue at the push of a button.
No compromises
Rohde says the Amadeus system can create
perfect acoustics for any event. “Traditionally,
the acoustic planning process optimises the room
surfaces in terms of their acoustic behaviour, or
the way sound is reflected,” he says. “The final
design can work excellently for certain kinds of
events, as we know from famous concert halls,
but function poorly for others. Usually a
compromise is implemented and the acoustics
are only mediocre for any kind of use case.”
The Andermatt Concert Hall provides
space for up to 700 visitors and has a volume
Active acoustics will
help the Andermatt
Concert Hall host
a variety of events,
for a sustainable and
profitable future
Amadeus
active acoustics
are also used in a
3,500-seat concert
hall at the Hannover
Congress Centre
in Germany
Roland Halbe