ARCHITECTURAL ACOUSTICS DESIGN is one of the specialty design services offered by Kehl Associates.  We provide specialty design services for all types of facilities.     

Historic Theater Renovation in St. Paul   Kehl Associates Chosen for Palace Theater Acoustics The St. Paul Palace Theater, a 3.000-seat theater originally constructed in 1916 for vaudeville performances, was eventually converted for use as a movie theater, but has basically stood dark and silent since 1977.  The Palace was purchased by the city of St. Paul in 2014 and the 2-year renovation project commenced.  Oertel Architects was selected for the project, which was filled with major construction and budgetary challenges.  The acoustic challenges of the theater renovation were also significant and of primary importance for this music venue.  Robert Kehl, a native of St. Paul and founder of Kehl Associates, was very pleased that his firm was selected for the acoustical design of the renovation.  His team worked closely with the project architects and engineers to overcome the challenges and obstacles presented by the renovation of this 100-year-old historic theater.  A major acoustical challenge was the noise that would be created by the new HVAC systems, needed to provide better and more efficient air-conditioning, heating, and fresh-air ventilation, as mandated by modern  building codes.  New HVAC units were required and there was no space for them in or on the building, nor was there room on the property for an expansion to house the new HVAC Rooms. The design team had no choice, other than to locate the new HVAC Rooms in  the Fly Loft and the rear Upper Balcony.  Since the stage should be the quietest space in a theatre, the architect knew that these locations could cause noise issues. They called on Kehl Associates to asisst with designing adequate noise isolation into the renovation design.  The architect had designed the new HVAC Rooms with dual-stud walls, for increased noise isolation.  Kehl Associates, by constructing an advanced acoustic model of the HVAC Rooms, determined that additional isolation was needed.  By tweaking the HVAC Room wall materials and thicknesses, Kehl defined a cost- effective solution that provided the needed noise isolation within budget. The next acoustical challenge lay in designing acoustical treatments to adequately lower the RT60 in the theatre.  The only remaining acoustical treatment in the space was a few small areas of acoustical plaster ceiling, now 100 years old.  Kehl Associates built an acoustic model of the main theatre, estimating the acoustical properties of the 100-year-old acoustical plaster.  As is often done in “best practice” techniques, on-site RT-60 testing of the current theatre space was used to calibrate the acoustic model.  Once calibrated, the model could reliably be used to simulate different acoustical treatment materials to identify the best one for the project.  The final solution utilized ASI Echo Eliminator Acoustical Cotton panels in the high ceiling and Custom Acoustical Draperies on the Balcony sidewalls.   Additional acoustical treatment,  recommended for the lower sidewalls and under-balcony ceilings, was postponed until after construction due to budget constraints.