For projects in Lisbon
Auditorium acoustics and soundproofing in Lisbon
A large hard volume where speech falls apart long before anyone calls the room echoey. The target is intelligibility at the back row, which is a reverberation and early reflection problem, not a loudspeaker problem. Church buildings, civic auditoria and function rooms are stone volumes with very long decay.
- Reverberation time
- Set against use. Speech and music want different numbers, and a dual use hall needs a decision.
- Early reflections
- Shaped surfaces that send energy to the rear seats rather than absorbing everything.
- Rear wall
- The single worst surface in most halls, and the first one to treat.
- Quote
- From a plan and a section, within 48 hours
01 / Start here
What you are buying, and what it fixes in Lisbon
A large hard volume where speech falls apart long before anyone calls the room echoey. The target is intelligibility at the back row, which is a reverberation and early reflection problem, not a loudspeaker problem.
Church buildings, civic auditoria and function rooms are stone volumes with very long decay.
Work reaching us from Lisbon is mostly hotel and short let conversions, apartments, restaurants, offices, clinics, studios.
- Conversions put beds either side of old walls A house divided into guest rooms turns internal partitions into separating walls overnight. Doors and corridors generate more complaints than the walls themselves.
- Timber floors, every floor Footfall from above is the single most common complaint we hear from this city. It is a floor problem, and treating the ceiling below rarely fixes it.
- Hills and narrow streets Access decides the delivery. Tell us the street and the stairwell and we break pallets down to what will actually get to the room.
- Reverberation time Set against use. Speech and music want different numbers, and a dual use hall needs a decision.
Full specification
Thickness, density, NRC by frequency, fire class, standard sizes and build-up detail for auditorium acoustics are on the main product page. This page covers what that means for a project in Lisbon.
02 / The build-up
The stack, in the order it is installed
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Layer 1
Wood wool acoustic panels
Wood fibre bound into a rigid board with an open texture. In Lisbon, split units with condensers in courtyards and light wells, plus seasonal heating in cold damp winters.
On a cavity. Mounted on battens with an air gap, which is where the low mid performance comes from.
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Layer 2
PET felt acoustic panels
A rigid non-woven panel pressed from 100% polyester fibre, a large part of it recycled. In Lisbon, church buildings, civic auditoria and function rooms are stone volumes with very long decay.
Direct to wall. Panel bonded or mechanically fixed flat to the substrate. Simplest, and the weakest at low frequency.
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Layer 3
Acoustic carpet and rugs
A tile carpet with a dense polyester face on a felt backing. In Lisbon, school buildings are hard surfaced with high ceilings, and canteens are the loudest rooms.
Zoned. Carpet in the circulation and meeting zones, hard floor elsewhere, so the treatment sits where the noise is made.
Architects working in Lisbon usually need the build-up before the product. We will draw the section and mark what does the work. See how we support architects.
03 / Local conditions
What the buildings in Lisbon do to the specification
- Conversions put beds either side of old walls
A house divided into guest rooms turns internal partitions into separating walls overnight. Doors and corridors generate more complaints than the walls themselves.
- Timber floors, every floor
Footfall from above is the single most common complaint we hear from this city. It is a floor problem, and treating the ceiling below rarely fixes it.
- Hills and narrow streets
Access decides the delivery. Tell us the street and the stairwell and we break pallets down to what will actually get to the room.
- Late districts under homes
Venues in the old districts operate directly beneath apartments. Low frequency containment is what keeps the operation trading.
- Assembly and performance rooms
Church buildings, civic auditoria and function rooms are stone volumes with very long decay.
- School and campus buildings
School buildings are hard surfaced with high ceilings, and canteens are the loudest rooms.
04 / Room by room
Where the money goes on a Lisbon project
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Reverberation time
Set against use. Speech and music want different numbers, and a dual use hall needs a decision. A house divided into guest rooms turns internal partitions into separating walls overnight. Doors and corridors generate more complaints than the walls themselves.
- Wooden slat acoustic panels, MDF, FR MDF, HDF or HDHMR
- PET felt acoustic panels, 9, 12, 18 and 24 mm standard, tolerance plus or minus 5 percent
- Ceiling baffles and clouds, Made to the drawing, standard and custom
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Early reflections
Shaped surfaces that send energy to the rear seats rather than absorbing everything. Footfall from above is the single most common complaint we hear from this city. It is a floor problem, and treating the ceiling below rarely fixes it.
- Wooden slat acoustic panels, 13-3, 14-2, 28-4 and 59-5
- PET felt acoustic panels, 4 to 24 mm
- Ceiling baffles and clouds, Both faces work, which is why suspended area outperforms the same area laid flat
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Rear wall
The single worst surface in most halls, and the first one to treat. Access decides the delivery. Tell us the street and the stairwell and we break pallets down to what will actually get to the room.
- Wooden slat acoustic panels, 2440 x 192 mm and 2440 x 128 mm
- PET felt acoustic panels, 1220 x 2440 mm standard, 4 x 8 ft
- Ceiling baffles and clouds, ASTM C423
Interior designers tend to arrive with the look already decided. We will tell you which finish gets there without losing the acoustics. See how we work with interior designers.
04 / Climate and durability
Durability in Lisbon, before acoustics is discussed
Lisbon is hot dry summers and mild wet winters, and that narrows the material list before acoustics is discussed.
The swing between a dry summer and a wet winter moves timber. PET felt is dimensionally stable across that swing; slat panels want a stable substrate and a ventilated fixing.
The failure we design against here is seasonal movement in timber and winter damp in unheated stock.
Where a consultant is already engaged on a Lisbon project, we supply to their specification and send the test reports rather than describing them. More on working with acoustic consultants.
06 / Worth knowing
Six mistakes that turn into a second fit-out
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Absorbing the whole room and losing the back rows
Small on the drawing, expensive on site, and almost always found after handover.
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Adding speakers to fix a reverberation problem
It sounds like a small detail until the room is finished and the complaint arrives.
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Ignoring the rear wall because it is behind the audience
This is the one that comes back as a second fit-out rather than a snag.
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Treating it as a generic Lisbon job
A house divided into guest rooms turns internal partitions into separating walls overnight. Doors and corridors generate more complaints than the walls themselves.
05 / Route to site
Supply into Lisbon, start to site
| Ships from | Palwal, Haryana, India |
|---|---|
| Arrives at | Lisbon or Sines, then a short road run to site |
| Dispatch | 4 to 7 working days |
| Freight | Sea via Lisbon or Sines |
| Support | Drawings, build-ups, BOQ and material that arrives complete |
Standard items dispatch in 4 to 7 working days. Grooved panels and custom colours take longer, and we say so before you order, not after.
Sea freight into Lisbon or Sines, then a short road run to site. Air freight for samples and urgent quantities.
Questions from Lisbon projects
What makes auditorium acoustics and soundproofing different in Lisbon?
Church buildings, civic auditoria and function rooms are stone volumes with very long decay. A house divided into guest rooms turns internal partitions into separating walls overnight. Doors and corridors generate more complaints than the walls themselves.
Where should the budget go first on a Lisbon project?
Reverberation time. Set against use. Speech and music want different numbers, and a dual use hall needs a decision. Early reflections. Shaped surfaces that send energy to the rear seats rather than absorbing everything.
Do you have an office or installation team in Lisbon?
No. We manufacture in India and supply into Lisbon. We give you drawings, build-ups, a BOQ and material that arrives complete, and we will tell you plainly when a job needs a local contractor we cannot be.
How does material get to a Lisbon site?
ships from: Palwal, Haryana, India, arrives at: Lisbon or Sines, then a short road run to site, dispatch: 4 to 7 working days. Standard items dispatch in 4 to 7 working days. Grooved panels and custom colours take longer, and we say so before you order, not after.
What goes wrong most often on this kind of project?
Absorbing the whole room and losing the back rows. Adding speakers to fix a reverberation problem.
What do you need from us to quote?
A plan, a section through the critical partition or ceiling, and what the room is for. From that we can give a build-up and a BOQ rather than a price per square foot.
Next step
Drawings in, BOQ and a delivered date out
A plan and a section is enough. We will come back with a build-up, a BOQ and a delivered date, and we will say so if what you are asking for will not work.