Is “poor acoustics” part of the building heritage?

I often argue that it is. Acoustics are woven into the record, the significance, and the lived experience of historical buildings. I like the idea that the notes played long ago don’t completely vanish, that the voice of a space lingers, evolved over time.

But what happens when the brief is to rebuild a long-lost concert hall, exactly as per the surviving drawings? And what if the acoustics of that historic design fall short of clients’ and community’s modern expectations?

That’s exactly when the acoustician needs to be brought in early. Before the diggers, before the builders, before the politics.