Study of the acoustic of Jean Nouvel's Auditorium 400, at the Museum Reina Sofia in Madrid

Abstract

The Auditorio 400 is one of the buildings that make up the National Art Museum Reina Sofia in Madrid. It is the work of renowned French architect Jean Nouvel. This space was designed to accommodate primarily chamber music concerts but now can be considered as a multipurpose venue. This hall hosts events with different content: acts with the voice as main sound source as conferences, seminars etc. and concerts with music from diverse styles, classical, contemporary, avant-garde and electro acoustic music. This versatility assumes that th e acoustic conditions required for the different uses of Auditorio 400 must be diverse and special depending on the sound source, in order to achieve the adequate sound quality for the various events that are held there. This paper presents the study of the acoustics of the Auditorium 400, analyzing various parameters for evaluating the sound quality of the room, highlighting the worst areas of listening, the reasons for the existence of such areas and the description of improvements to be made to ensure that the enclosure meets the expectations in a hall of its relevance. © 2013 Acoustical Society of America.