New Auditorium of Foggia Hospital (408 seats)

Introduction to the project group

The study conducted was part of the work for the refunctionalisation of the “Ospedali Riuniti” University Hospital in Foggia. Specifically, a new entrance will be built to connect the hospital area with an external Conference Hall with around 400 seats located in a dedicated building. The capacity of the hall is 408, and it has a volume of approx. 3400 m3, with a gross floor area of approx. 1700 m2. The seating section of the hall is surrounded by a large foyer on the ground floor, with steps above it; there is a large cloakroom, a reception desk with an office area at the back and toilets for the audience. On the first floor is a control room, power unit, toilets and utility areas.

Acoustic design

Much of the study consisted of analysing the conference hall of the Hospital, for which the optimisation of acoustic response was required. A detailed analysis was carried out of the architectural project, regarding the geometry of the conference hall and the particular sectioned profile chosen for the roof, and verification was conducted of the acoustic insulation of the façade and the regulatory compliance of the façade and of the new Hospital building.

The study conducted of the conference hall covered the acoustic design of the sound-absorbing coverings of the interior finishes, evaluating their impact on the quality of the acoustic response of the conference hall. The main reference parameter that guided the design project was Sabine’s reverberation time, and we also verified clarity of speech and the speech transmission index, since the building is to host a conference hall.

The materials considered for the improvement of the acoustic parameters were selected for their characteristics in relation to the respective coefficients of sound absorption, robustness, compactness and non-deformability with changes to humidity and duration.

Following the functional choices made regarding the interior coverings, the project was organised into the following stages:

• Manual statistical calculation of reverberation time.
• Verification using the Ramsete© acoustic simulation software: after reconstructing a 3D model of the theatre, the architectural materials in the project were assigned to the surfaces, with the respective absorption coefficient α.
• 3D acoustic software simulations of the solution proposed and tabulation of the objective acoustic parameters in accordance with ISO-3382.
• Presentation of the improvements in both reverberation time and STI .
  (intelligibility).

In addition to the above regarding the acoustic response of the conference hall, the study also verified compliance with the passive acoustic requirements of the entire building in which the hall is located, focusing in particular on the sound insulation of
the façade. Considering the large windows, the key aspect of the study was the investigation of the acoustic insulation capacity of the windows, to ensure compliance with the pertinent regulations governing the acoustic insulation of the façade. Verification of compliance with passive acoustic requirements was also extended to a representative sample of areas in the central building featured in the design project, selecting
rooms destined for different uses and with different types of façade wall stratigraphy. The purpose of these checks was to extend compliance of the areas verified.