“We have good sound! I can’t believe our church sound system could sound so good.” These are the words that met Sound Creations’ Managing Director
, Mr. Nipul Shah on his visit to certify successful acoustics treatment at P.C.E.A, in Chuka Town, Meru.
The Presbyterian Church of East Africa (P.C.E.A) suffered from poor acoustics in their sanctuary for a substantial period of time. Prior to the acoustic treatment by Sound Creations, the church used various acoustic products but none seemed to resolve the issue. The church governing committee acknowledging the issue as one that needed calculated attention constituted a committee referred to as acoustic committee to specially focus on an ideal, durable and reliable acoustic solution. In an online search, a member of the committee learned about Sound Creation’s involvement in acoustics through a thesis Acoustic Performance in Contemporary Churches publicized on the company’s website. The company was selected in a competitive process. The committee shortlisted various companies. Sound Creations was invited for a site in which they conducted acoustic tests and simulations. The company presented a sound system proposal and after several consultative meetings, Sound Creations was awarded a chance to carry out the acoustic treatment at the venue.
The committee then organized to visit the Seventh Day Adventist Church, Lavington, one of the sites that Sound Creations had successfully offered a solution. They were amazed at the results and decided to organize for a larger portion of the congregants to visit the venue so as to mobilize the finances. They then organized two busloads of people totaling to 120 congregants to visit the venue. The congregants were also amazed at the results, some even pledged to take personal loans so as to facilitate the acoustic treatment for their church.
Program
The church is a one level T-Shaped building. The surface finishes were characterized by hard materials. The floor was a terrazzo finish floor; the walls were of natural stone finish while the ceiling was the underside of the corrugated iron roofing sheets on steel trussing and purlins. These finishes created a naturally reverberant space which destroyed speech clarity.
Sound Creations Ltd. conducted reverberation time measurements in the sanctuary using acoustic test
Program
The church is a one level T-Shaped building. The surface finishes were characterized by hard materials. The floor was a terrazzo finish floor, the walls were of natural stone finish while the ceiling was the underside of the corrugated iron roofing sheets on steel trussing and purlins. These finishes created a naturally reverberant space which destroyed speech clarity.
Sound Creations Ltd. conducted reverberation time measurements in the sanctuary using acoustic test equipment. The measurements indicated that the church was experiencing a long reverberation time of up to 3.77 seconds at low frequencies (125Hz). The average reverberation time at mid frequencies (500-1,000Hz) was equally high at 3.32 seconds. This was higher than the recommended reverberation time of 1.22 seconds for better intelligibility in the given volume. Page 2 of 2
Design and Installation
To shorten the reverberation time to the most appropriate time we recommended the installation of 740m2 of Rockfon Artic ceiling panels. Rockfon Artic is a stone wool acoustic ceiling with high sound absorption and good aesthetics. It is also renowned for its fire protection, thermal insulation, humidity resistance, microorganism resistance and optimum light reflection. The Rockfon panels were suspended at a minimum height of 200mm from the existing ceiling, following the slope of the existing ceiling.
With this installation, the reverberation time would reduce from 3.3 seconds to 1.1 seconds which would greatly increase the intelligibility of sound. The tiles would also improve the aesthetics of the church and make it much cooler due to their thermal insulation. With the tiles’ optimum light reflection, the church would be much brighter and full of light.
Results
Reverberation time measurements were conducted after the installation was completed. The results indicated that the reverberation time at mid frequencies had reduced to 1.1 seconds from 3.3 seconds as had been earlier predicted. Apart from the improved acoustic environment, the church also had improved aesthetics, thermal comfort and was much brighter. The committee members expressed great satisfaction and excitement with the results, they were glad they opted to use professionals this time
