RPG Waveform™ and BAD™ Panels
create ideal acoustics for Zionsville Fellowship

Acoustician

“Zionsville Fellowship Church is a unique congregation in many ways. Their facility required approx. 900 seats in a mildly sloped stadium type seating with deep rows to allow for their unique style of communion distribution. But the most unique aspect, acoustically speaking, is in their usage of their sanctuary space. They not only incorporate a contemporary band, praise team, choir, and organ into their service, but they also have a very special 'sharing time'. At this time, any member of the congregation can verbally offer thoughts or other inspirational messages to the rest of the members (unamplified from where they are seated or standing); and the congregation must be able to hear them! After intense computer modeling of many possible variations of the space, the acceptable room geometry was determined. We then contacted Peter D'Antonio at RPG Diffusor Systems, Inc. in order to provide some form of much needed diffusive elements for the ceiling. The resulting custom Waveform™ ceiling modules along with Binary Amplitude Diffsorbor™ units behind a stretched fabric wall system, provided the required diffusion and absorption for this space. We have never received as many compliments in attaining a client’s difficult requirements as this project. RPG was an invaluable team member of this very successful project." Tom Lorenzen, President dBA Acoustics, Ft. Wayne, IN

Client

Another view of 2D FRG Waveforms on another ceiling area. “It has been a very good and gratifying experience for Zionsville Fellowship to have had dBA Acoustics, Ft. Wayne, IN involved in the planning of our new church facilities in Zionsville. We extend many thanks for your help. Our first Sunday in the building went off without a hitch and the acoustics were what we had hoped for. As we come to the end of the construction phase, we now enter into a time of celebration. “ Pastor Tom Streeter

Architect/Builder (FBi Buildings, Inc.)

2D Fiber Reinforced Gypsum (FRG) Waveform panels on sanctuary ceiling provide omnidirectional diffusion, which provides ambiance and support for congregations responses and singing. The sanctuary acoustical design was painstakingly analyzed to ensure that it worked with Zionsville Fellowship's worship style. The finished room worked even better than expected, allowing everyone to hear as people throughout the large sanctuary offer spontaneous prayers and comments - without the aid of electronic amplification. "It just works!" says Patty Blakley, building committee member. Like the rest of the church, she is "...so thankful... to have a facility designed for the way we do ministry...."

Farmingdale High School Auditorium and Lecture Hall, Farmingdale, NY

Side View of Auditorium with fabric
covered Omniffusors™ and BAD™ Panels

Front View of the auditorium	Rear view of lecture hall showing Topperfo® absorptive wood system

RPG Diffuse Seminar Series Continues to Grow in Scope and Attendance
RPG’s July Diffuse Seminar attended by a wide range of design professionals.
RPG’s Diffuse Seminars are becoming an event that architects, acousticians, sound contractors, studio and home theater designers cannot afford to miss out on. The facility continues to grow in capability and can now accommodate up to 25 design professionals with full auralization capability at every seat. The curriculum has also been expanded to include many examples and auralizations.

View of attendees from speaker’s podium.


Attendees listen to CATT Acoustic auralizations at their seats


View of the screen from the rear of the seminar room.


Dr. Gary Madaras describes auralization examples in a Gymatorium.

RPG Invited to Lecture at ASA in Austin, TX
Dr. D’Antonio will present two papers at the upcoming ASA meeting in Austin entitled “Low Frequency Evaluation and Treatment of Small Rooms” and “A New Seamless, smooth, interior, absorptive finishing system” in the Small Room – Big Challenges and Acoustical Design of Government Buildings sessions, respectively. SIAP will also present a paper entitled “Acoustic Enhancement Systems: Design criteria and evaluation of acoustical parameters based on in situ measurements” in the Electro-acoustic enhancement systems in rooms for music.

The Abstracts for Dr. D’Antonio’s invited papers follow. For further information on other topics, please visit our library at www.rpginc.com\news\library.htm or contact RPG.

Low frequency evaluation and treatment of small rooms
Peter D’Antonio (RPG Diffusor Systems, Inc., 651-C Commerce Drive, Upper Marlboro, MD 20774, pdantonio@rpginc.com)

At low frequencies, the acoustical coupling of the listener and loudspeakers with reflections from the room’s boundary surfaces and its modal pressure distribution can cause significant acoustical distortion. For rectangular rooms, software programs exist to predict the magnitude of these effects. However, there is no substitute for experimental measurements. When evaluating small rooms, it is often desirable to isolate the modal effects from the speaker-boundary effects, so that appropriate corrective measures can be applied. An MLS measurement procedure will be presented. After the room dimensions and listener/loudspeaker positions are optimized, one can apply dedicated low frequency absorbers to further control low frequency problems. Characterization of low frequency absorbers will be described, using a 7-ton, 22’ long impedance tube.

A new seamless, smooth, interior, absorptive finishing system. Peter D’Antonio (RPG Diffusor Systems, Inc., 651-C Commerce Drive, Upper Marlboro, MD 20772, pdantonio@rpginc.com)

Government architecture typically employs classic forms of vaults, domes and other focusing or reflective shapes, usually created with hard materials like concrete and plaster. Use of conventional porous absorption is typically rejected as an acoustical surface material for aesthetic reasons. Hence, many of these new and existing facilities have compromised speech intelligibility and music quality. Acousticians have sought a field-applied, absorptive finishing system that resembles a smooth plaster or painted drywall surface, since the dawn of architectural acoustics. Some success has been achieved using sprayed cellulose or cementitious materials, but surface smoothness has been a challenge. A new approach utilizing a thin microporous layer of mineral particles applied over a mineral wool panel will be described. This material can be applied to almost any shape surface, internally pigmented to match almost any color and renovated. Because of these unique characteristics the new seamless, absorptive, finishing system is being specified for many new and renovated spaces. Application examples will be presented.

Acoustic Enhancement Systems: Design criteria and evaluation of room acoustical parameters based on in situ measurements – Bjorn van Munster M.Sc. , Wim Prinssen M.Sc. (Systems for Improved Acoustic Performance B.V., Uden, the Netherlands)

Acoustic enhancement systems have evolved significantly during the years. Where the early systems only aimed to increase the reverberation time in a hall, nowadays the increase of the reverberation time is only one of the features of such a system.
Contrary and additionally to passive acoustics, an acoustic enhancement system enables a designer or acoustical consultant to change the acoustical characteristics of a hall in a more flexible way. Due to the sophisticated convolution processes and layout of such a system besides the reverberation time also e.g. speech intelligibility and spaciousness can be improved or special effects can be added to shows. In this paper the applications of an enhancement system in general will be outlined in more detail. Furthermore design criteria will be given which can be formulated for installation of such a system. These criteria can be used to evaluate proposed designs, but also to estimate the required provisions to be included in the planning of a system installation. Besides, the paper describes the results of in situ measurements of one such system (SIAP) whereby the increase of the reverberation time is evaluated with respect to certain important room acoustical parameters, i.e. reverberant level, lateral efficiency and clarity.

Diffusion in Critical Listening Rooms
RPG offers a new Technical Bulletin on the Application of Diffusion in Critical Listening Rooms. Read More

RPG seminars accredited by AIA Continuing Education System
RPG now offers four AIA/CES accredited seminars on various aspects of architectural acoustics.

The Next Generation of Acoustic Finishes, Shapes and Services
   ( AIA/CES AF1011 1 LuHour )
Participants learn how recent innovation and technology has resulted in a much broader variety of architectural finishes, shapes and services that solve age-old acoustic problems in the built environment.

Acoustical Diffusor Design/Computerized Shape Optimization
   ( AIA/CES DD1011 1 LuHour )
Participants learn the basic theory and history of sound diffusion as well as why sound diffusion is so essential in critical listening environments. A variety of methods, materials and products for diffusing sound will be presented.

Minimizing Acoustical Distortion in Critical Listening Spaces
   ( AIA/CES AD1011 1 LuHour )
Participants learn how sound reproduced in a critical listening room can be affected, positively or negatively, by a room's architectural surfaces prior to it arriving at the ears of a listener. A variety of methods, materials and products for minimizing the negative distortion of the reproduced sound are presented.


Desktop Acoustic Auralization of Architectural Spaces
   ( AIA/CES CA1011 1 LuHour )
Participants learn how recent innovation and technology in computer modeling has resulted in a reliable method for predicting the quality of a room's acoustics prior to its construction. Basic theory and examples of its application in practice are presented.

	New Additions Watch this section for new additions to the website.

Recent Completed Projects Q2-2003
Included is a partial list of architectural, home theater and project studio completed projects.