Charcoalblue to Host PLASA Seminar on Acoustic Design for Contemporary Theatres

	Charcoalblue's recent project, Cambridge's The Leys School, included acoustics work by Byron Harrison. Photo: Ben Hanson

Theatre design consultancy Charcoalblue's acoustic and audio design specialists Byron Harrison and Ian Stickland will be addressing the challenges of designing acoustics for contemporary spaces at this year's PLASA London 2013 show, October 6 - 9, at ExCel London.

Senior consultant Harrison -- who is head of acoustics at Charcoalblue -- provides consultancy in all aspects of acoustic design for the performing arts, including major arts centers, university buildings, outdoor venues, and school auditoria. He has written several conference papers for the Acoustical Society of America and guest lectured throughout the USA and UK.

"As building designers, we play the role of the advocates for quality listening experiences in performance spaces and we're continuously evaluating spaces and being challenged to defend our own designs on the basis of sound quality. In this talk, we aim to address some of the traditional means of assessing sound quality and consider their enduring relevance to the design of future venues," explains Harrison.

Stickland specializes in project management and audiovisual systems for the performing arts. He is a qualified Tonmeister (a degree in music and sound recording) from the Institute of Sound Recording, University of Surrey and a diploma in acoustics and noise control from the Institute of Acoustics. Stickland has worked in a wide variety of venues including Battersea Arts Centre, Abbey Road Studios, and numerous festivals and tours and is currently associate director of Bad Physics. He has worked with artists including Punchdrunk, Kneehigh Theatre Co, Diana Ross, London Symphony Orchestra, and Stephen Frears, and has performed professionally as a musician. Stickland's expertise focuses on sound reinforcement and recording.

"Many aspects of our culture and surroundings inform our listening and our expectations -- from headphone listening, to our tolerance for noise, to our trained link of visual and aural stimuli through watching television. These experiences inform the expectations of audiences at live events and for venues to remain relevant, acoustically and in terms of audio design we need to acknowledge these factors. We hope that our industry colleagues will come along and consider some big picture thinking, as well as considering the interconnection of audio and acoustic disciplines," adds Stickland.

The "Acoustics and Audio for Theatre Buildings" seminar takes place on Monday, October 7, 12:30-1:30pm in the AudioLab Theatre at PLASA London. Registration for the PLASA Professional Development Program is available at the URL below.