Gymnasium

Acoustically Treating a Gymnasium

There are many reasons why addressing the room's acoustics in a gymnasium is beneficial. Gymnasiums are typically terrible acoustical environments. Due to the construction, room shape and room size of a typical gymnasium loud noises and sound reverberations tend to permeant from the walls. When it comes to sports, communication is key. The reverberations that a typical gymnasium has cause vocal clarity to be horrendous. This is particularly bad if you're a school that is using the gymnasium as an auditorium. Essentially you're giving out the most important announcements for your school and the worst acoustical environment possible. This makes it harder for people to hear and increases listener fatigue. (Listener fatigue (also known as listening fatigue) is a phenomenon that occurs after prolonged exposure to an auditory stimulus. Symptoms include tiredness, discomfort, pain, and loss of hearing sensitivity. If your gymnasium is your school's makeshift auditorium, acoustical treatment is a must. If you're only using your gymnasium for sports activities then acoustically treating it will help with vocal clarity for team sports activities. This will allow for a better playing experience by cutting down reverberations and decreasing overall volume in the gym. We recommend a minimum of 30% wall coverage to achieve a better acoustical environment for your gymnasium. Because of the sheer size of most gymnasiums, extra large acoustic panels are recommended for the treatment of the available wall space. Another option which gives a completely different look as installing lots of smaller panels in multiple columns and/or rows. Whatever method you decide upon will be effective as long as you reach your rooms minimum coverage requirements.To calculate your gymnasium's treatment requirements simply multiply the square footage (length x width) dimensions of the room by .30     The resulting number is how many square feet (sq/ft) of acoustical treatments you will need to achieve a beneficial change in the rooms acoustical properties. 

Note: Remember that you need to account for the ceiling height when determining your rooms requirements. The previous equation is for spaces that have an 8ft-10ft ceilings. So for every extra 8ft increase in height, your treatment requirements double. If you have a 16ft ceiling multiply the final number by (2). If you have a 24ft ceiling multiply your final number by (3). This will ensure that your room is getting adequate coverage. 
 
If you have any questions about calculating the requirements for your particular room please fill out our FREE ROOM ANALYSIS FORM. You can also send photos of your room to customerservice@NGAcoustics.com Or you can call us to discuss your rooms requirements between 9am-9pm et. @ (336) 684-0287
 

Our acoustics experts are here to help. We promise to help you find the BEST possible solution for your rooms needs!