Plenary Lecture
The Acoustic Design of Scattering and Diffusion in Italian-Style Opera Houses
Professor Lamberto Tronchin
DIN – CIARM
University of Bologna
Italy
E-mail: Lamberto.tronchin@unibo.it
Abstract: The acoustic design of sound quality in Italian-style theatres and opera houses normally included the study of the acoustic absorptions of tissues in the main hall, the measurements in reverberant room of sound absorption of seats, the acoustic design of the Orchestra pit, which could be equipped with several acoustic panels. Nevertheless, no particular care is normally devoted to solving the effect of focalisation that often occurs in these special buildings. The focalisation in these theatres could compromise the overall acoustic quality and for this reason should be considered and avoided. During this plenary lecture, a short overview about the meaning of focalisation and its presence in the theatres will be presented. After some recalls about the theory of scattering and diffusion and its measurements, some examples of acoustic design of diffusing panels will be introduced. Moreover, some experimental measurements of sound scattering and diffusion, made following the ISO 17497 procedure, will be shown. Finally, these theories and examples will be applied to the acoustic design of the new Teatro Amintore Galli in Rimini, north-East of Italy. The results of the measurements made on some particular diffusing panels which have been designed for this theatre will be introduced, as well as the comments of musicians, performers and listeners after the opening, scheduled for the 28th October, 2018
Brief Biography of the Speaker: Dr Lamberto Tronchin is Associate Professor in Environmental Physics from the University of Bologna and is recognised internationally as a leading authority on the subject of sound and acoustics. A pianist himself, with a diploma in piano from the Conservatory of Reggio Emilia, Dr Tronchin's principal area of research has been musical acoustics, room acoustics and signal processing. He is Associate Editor of the Journal of AES, and the author of more than 220 papers and was Chair of the Musical Acoustics Group of the Italian Association of Acoustics from 2000 to 2008. Dr Tronchin is a member of the Scientific Committee of the CIARM, the Inter- University Centre of Acoustics and Musical research, has chaired sessions of architectural and musical acoustics during several international symposiums, been a referee for a number of International journals and is Chair of Organising and Scientific Committees of IACMA (International Advanced Course on Musical Acoustics). He was a visiting researcher at the University of Kobe in Japan, a visiting professor at the University of Graz in Austria and Special honored International Guest at the International Workshop, ‘Analysis, Synthesis and Perception of Music Signals', at Jadavpur University of Kolkata, India in 2005. He has chaired the International Advanced Course on Musical Acoustics (IACMA), organised with the European Association of Acoustics, which was held in Bologna, in 2005. Starting from 2008 he gave plenary lectures at International Congresses on Acoustics in Vancouver, Prague, Bucharest, Santander, Kos, Malta, Paris and Cambridge (UK). He designed theatres and other buildings, as acoustic consultant, in collaboration with several Architects, among them Richard Meier and Paolo Portoghesi.