Audimax TU Wien

The largest lecture hall at TU Vienna was planned in accordance with the requirements of OIB Guideline No. 5 and ÖNORM B 8115-3, with particular attention paid to good listening conditions, good speech intelligibility and noise reduction within the room. In rooms used predominantly for communication and audiovisual presentations, the speech intelligibility parameters are of the greatest importance alongside the reverberation time T60. These include the definition C50, the Speech Transmission Index STI and the articulation loss parameter ALcons.

"This project involved the acoustic redesign of the “Auditorium Maximum” as part of the complete renovation of Building Section BA at the Vienna University of Technology."

First, the room acoustics of the lecture hall were measured before the renovation work, so that a comparison could be made later. The next step was to create a detailed 3D simulation model using the room acoustics software CATT^TM, into which various acoustically effective surfaces were introduced.

The redesign reduced the room volume of the Audimax from approximately 5,700 m³ to about 3,060 m³. The room geometry was also optimized in a way that specifically suppresses room resonances and multiple reflections (flutter echoes).

Best results through our room acoustics products

The use of broadband absorbers and microperforated materials in the design of the rear wall, together with the combination of different absorbers in the ceiling area and the acoustically effective perforation on the underside of the 545 folding seats, make the Audimax at TU Vienna a room in which everyone enjoys speaking and listening.

A verification measurement of the room acoustic parameters confirms the good listening conditions and good speech intelligibility that together produce a thoroughly pleasant acoustic environment in the lecture hall. The optimization of the noise control for the building services systems, which was likewise carried out during the project period from June 2013 to August 2014, leads — alongside the noise reduction achieved by the room acoustic measures — to a marked reduction of the background noise level in the room.