Episode #20 - Acoustic Essentials For Architects - A Discussion With Michael Fay

In this episode, hear about a topic that quietly impacts our daily lives yet is often overlooked in the early stages of design: acoustics. Michael Fay, a 45-year veteran AV and acoustical design engineer, former editor of Recording Engineer/Producer magazine, and author of Acoustic Essentials for Architects, has a gift for breaking down complex concepts into practical, no-nonsense guidance—making the science of sound not only accessible but fascinating.

In this conversation, we’ll explore key principles from his book, uncover why acoustics often get sidelined in architectural projects, and learn how asking four simple questions can make the difference between a space that just looks good and one that sounds as good as it looks.

Whether you’re an architect, designer, or just someone curious about how sound shapes our world, this episode will change the way you think about the spaces you create and inhabit.

Get your copy of Michael's book here: Acoustic Essentials for Architects: The Primer Many Architects Wish They Were Offered in School

 

 

 

Lisa Morrow, Brand Champion, Catalyst Acoustics Group

Welcome to Catalyst Conversations, where we share inspiring discussions with industry leaders who shape the spaces we live, work, and play in. I'm your host, Lisa Morrow, and today we're joined by Michael Fay, a 45-year veteran AV and acoustical design engineer and former editor of Recording Engineer Producer Magazine. In this episode, we'll be diving into some principles outlined in his book, Acoustic Essentials for Architects.

What I especially like about the book and what I think our listeners will enjoy is Michael's no-nonsense approach to discussing medium to large room acoustic principles and how he's able to bridge the gap between architectural design and acoustical performance. Today, we'll endeavor to dive into some of those principles Michael believes many architects wish were offered in schools. Without further ado, welcome, Michael.

Michael Fay, Author, Acoustic Essentials for Architects

Hi, Lisa. Thank you for having me on. I'm happy to be here. It's an honor to be invited to the Catalyst Conversations podcast series. I just love talking about acoustics. So, let's do this.

Lisa Morrow

Great, I'm happy you're able to join us. So, just jumping in, your book states that acoustics is one of those things nobody wants to deal with, yet everyone notices when the acoustics are wrong in a space. I'd like to unpack that. Why do you think people avoid acoustics in the early stages of design?

Michael Fay

Sure, I think there's three reasons. First, acoustics is a relatively complex subject. Most people surely know more about the law, medicine, astronomy, architecture, computers, and the internet than they do about acoustics. Even the most basic vocabulary words aren't accurately known or understood.

Second, unless appropriate measures can be built into the initial architectural design, acoustic treatments generally need to be customized for each room. For example, if the architect is able to rotate or slope the walls, that can be very helpful. So too can sloping the floor and or the ceiling.

And third, acoustic treatments are often seen as being expensive, bulky, or generally unattractive. However, companies like Lamvin, Kinetics Noise Control, and RealAcoustix now offer effective and visually appealing products that are suitable for both new construction and retrofits.

Lisa Morrow

Thank you. Your book offers a great way to simplify the whole process using four basic questions. Would you mind sharing with our listeners what those questions are?

Michael Fay

It took me more than a minute to figure this out, but the essence of acoustic design boils down to four feasibility questions. How will the room be used? Where can we put it? And by it, I mean treatment products or materials. What does it look like and how much does it cost?

First, how will the room or space be used? This is the most important answer an owner can provide. Is the space meant to be quiet like a library, speech-focused like a classroom, music-focused like a club or performing arts venue, or maybe all the above like a church?

Once we have that answer, an important follow-up question is, what will the most demanded use of the space be? Think loud live music as an example. In a church, amplified live music is much more acoustically demanding than the spoken word. Notice I didn't say more important, just acoustically more demanding to control. Second, where can we put it? For medium and large commercial rooms, there will always be areas that are off limits. Think windows, doors, and high traffic pathways. Identifying these areas is critically important. Third, what does it look like?

This is the age-old aesthetics question. A general discussion of what can and can't be seen is generally helpful at the earliest point of the design process. Do any of the necessary treatments need to be hidden, carefully blended in, color-matched, or look like something other than acoustic treatment? If so, all those options are currently available these days. Examples would be things like wood beams, fine art, brick, metal, abstract patterns, and transparent curtains. All of those are materials that can be developed and installed into a room, but have acoustical properties, in particular absorption.

And the fourth is how much does it cost? For many clients, the cost of the various treatments can be a deal breaker. Fortunately, there are many manufacturers in the Catalyst portfolio that offers similar products at higher and lower prices.

Lisa Morrow

Now, let's dive into applications a little more. When should an architect start thinking about acoustics, and how can they identify the acoustic goal of a space or potential acoustic obstacles?

Michael Fay

Architects should begin by defining whether a ring is sound critical or not. This may be best defined by the owner. The phrase sound critical means the space is dependent on having good acoustics for spoken word, live music, ambient noise control, blocking sound from getting into or out of the space, or maybe all of these things.

The venue is not sound critical. Architects can generally work through their design processes without too much concern about the acoustics. If the answer is yes that the space is sound critical, then defining the goals and expectations for their specific sound critical room needs to be a priority. This is so important that bringing an acoustic consultant into the design team should probably be done as soon as possible.

The consultant can then evaluate the owner's responses to the first feasibility question, which again was how will the room or space be used? Based on those answers, a design goal can be formulated, beginning with one of an acoustic consultant's most important concerns, which is what is the appropriate reverberation time for the events and activities that have been described?

There are many other pieces to the design puzzle; establishing the design to hit an appropriate mid-band reverberation time is often the most important.

Lisa Morrow

So, they've identified the goal. How does someone determine where acoustic products should be installed?

Michael Fay

That's a great question. That question engages both the owner and architect, but it doesn't require them to know anything about acoustics. If there's an acoustical consultant on the design team, they can make all the appropriate recommendations based on knowing where treatments can possibly be installed, what acoustical tools, and by the word tool, I mean the three main tools that are classified as absorption, diffusion or reflection, you know, which of those is needed and how much of each is necessary to meet the design goals.

Then, considering the stated goals, aesthetics, and budget, a treatment plan can be discussed and refined as needed.

Lisa Morrow

Obviously, this one might come down to personal preference or the space that is being designed, but who plays a role in the selection of the acoustic products?

Michael Fay

The acoustical consultant should be allowed to initially select the appropriate products, but they will rarely, if ever, have the final say. That decision is almost always left to the owner and or the architect. The consultant's job is to know the goals for the room, know the products that are available from all or most of the various vendors, and be able to explain why the products are needed, what other options might be available, provide budgetary numbers for the uninstalled materials.

Lisa Morrow

Here's the million-dollar question. What does it cost? How can an architect factor in costs of acoustic products? Do you have any rules of thumb you could share?

Michael Fay

Well, that's a good question, too. This is where the custom design requirements make cost estimates challenging. Early in the design process, it's hard to provide budgetary estimates because there are still many unknowns and variables to work through. For example, many other rough trades can provide estimates based on square footage of the job.

Unfortunately, this never works for acoustics or sound systems. The scope of work and goals are simple enough, and you know the project only needs 30 or so four-foot by eight-foot hanging ceiling baffles. Almost anyone can get a budgetary quote for those baffles.

What's more difficult to estimate are the labor costs and attachment hardware because the exact attachment locations and techniques may still be unclear or unknown. And rental tools will probably be needed tool because installing ceiling baffles generally requires a scissor lift or scaffolding.

All these things can be estimated if you have all the necessary info and you know who will be installing the baffles. It could be a general contractor, a specialty acoustical contractor, or an AV contractor, but know that each of those will have different pricing structures and skill sets.

For more elaborate or complex designs, a good acoustical consultant will be able to get initial budgetary quotes for the various products being specified. But these quotes won't become available until the design has progressed enough that the actual products and quantities are reasonably well-defined. Okay, so with all that preamble, here's a rough rule of thumb to consider, but it comes with a catch-22 caveat. Here's a percentage of the audio system budget as a guideline.

If the project is planned for a $100,000 audio budget, then the acoustics budget should probably be an additional $50,000. Here's the caveat. Owners and architects may also have a hard time determining what the audio system budget should be. Really, experienced audio professionals can answer that question with any accuracy.

If you're starting with a $500,000 audio budget, that usually signals the need for an advanced system that can produce high volume and serve a large audience area. In these situations, using the 50 % add-on guideline is still a reasonable way to estimate the acoustical treatment costs. I didn't say AV budget. I said audio budget. We're trying to manage sound energy, not light energy.

Also, the concept of the iron triangle fits well into this context. You can pick any two of these: location, appearance, and cost, and achieve a reasonable outcome. But if you must have all three, the third will very likely introduce a cost multiplier of significant magnitude.

Lisa Morrow

So far, our discussion has centered around a project that has gone smoothly. I'd like to flip the script, if I may. What happens when acoustics aren't factored into a design early on in the planning stage?

Michael Fay

Well, unfortunately, this is too often the case, not the exception. Let me reiterate the title of my book and the subtitle. Acoustic Essentials for Architects. The primer many architects wish they were offered in school. Most architects receive little to no formal education in acoustics during their architectural studies. Consequently, most projects result in acoustic designs that can be described as pure random accident.

So first, the bad news. Fixing room acoustics after the fact is usually possible, but it will always be more expensive than it would have been during the initial rough construction phase of a building. Now the good news. If all the construction work is complete, including the furnishings and finishes, it's actually easier in some ways.

One advantage is that an acoustical consultant can do on-site testing to determine exactly what's going on. This is not entirely possible predictively, even with the best acoustical modeling software. Our primary acoustical measurement tool is called a room impulse response test. The acronym is RIR. Such tests are done using sophisticated hardware and software apps and are a bit like doing an acoustical echocardiogram on the room. Much data is captured in the RIR testing files, and the experienced acoustician can read the various charting graphs to glean objective answers to all the important what, where, and how much questions.

Once we have those answers, we circle back to the four feasibility questions, defining the acoustical goals, and recommending an appropriate mid-band reverberation time.

Lisa Morrow

Well, Michael, I have to admit you're making it seem very systematic and easy. But why would you say it's so hard to achieve at least good acoustics in almost all rooms?

Michael Fay

Well, developing a comprehensive acoustical design is an exercise in calculated probabilities. Even under ideal conditions, there are simply too many variables and unknowns for precise results. For most projects, an acoustical consultant’s specifications will define treatment materials and techniques that are based on lab-tested data, published performance specifications, computer modeling, best practices, and decades of experience.

From there, the important variables and unknowns include the lack of a well-defined scope of work document that clearly establishes the primary uses and acoustical goals through venue, the owner and architect's willingness to accept and implement the consultant's recommendations, ill-advised value engineering, poor installation practices, and a margin of error that exists in all acoustical modeling software.

Because of these variables, consultants cannot and should not guarantee precise results. Look for consultants who will commit to providing a good faith effort to direct and achieve, as best as possible, the stated acoustical goals set forth in their proposals and scope of work documents. Compromise may also need to be part of the conversation.

As I note in Chapter 15, which is titled Acoustical Pragmatism, I would rather see 60 to 80% of the design implemented rather than have 100% be rejected because any or all of the feasibility issues are unresolvable. At 60 to 80% implementation, noticeable improvements can be achieved and documented.

From there, as-built measurements can be made to establish a baseline for any future acoustical needs. I also recommend paying for a design that provides, as closely as possible, the 100% solution. Then, if necessary, let the consultant prioritize any cuts needed to meet the project's immediate goals and budget. This approach offers a reasonably clear path forward for any future treatments that may be necessary.

Lisa Morrow

How would you respond to a client that says they want or need it all?

Michael Fay

In two words, the answer is variable acoustics. Variable acoustics means the acoustical characteristics of a room can be changed either manually or electronically to better match the requirements of a performance or presentation. This is a very useful feature, but one that will come at a significant cost. I don't think we'll have time to dive into this more today, but Chapter 13 in my book covers variable acoustics in some detail our conversation.

Lisa Morrow

We've just hit our time for the episode. I'd like to give you one opportunity, though, to leave any parting words you have for our listeners.

Michael Fay

It's important for your listeners to know that I'm not trying to teach architects to be acousticians. Mine is a reference guide, not a textbook. It's written in a low-tech conversational style to help architects fill the knowledge and vocabulary gaps they haven't already gathered. The overriding goal of this book is to introduce architects to the wild and sometimes crazy world of sound and acoustics.

Like all other technical trades, the subject of acoustics is loaded with concepts, formulas, buzzwords, and acronyms. Simply and accurately tying all these together is my objective. Architects are not required to have an in-depth understanding of acoustics, but it's important for them to be familiar with the fundamental concepts and have access to at least a very basic lexicon of the terminology.

This knowledge will help them understand how the sizes, shapes, and finishes they design influence the behavior of sound and acoustics. As the legendary 20^th-century architect and acoustician Russell Johnson often stated, acoustics is architecture.

Lisa Morrow

Thank you, Michael, for your insights, and thank you to everyone who tuned in. If you're an architect interested in learning more about acoustics, we'll drop the link to Michael's book, Acoustic Essentials for Architects, in the show links. We hope you enjoyed this episode and invite you to share and subscribe for more insights on how sound shapes our spaces. Until next time.