Re: Acoustics in common house--need to plan for
From: Richart Keller (richart.kellergmail.com)
Date: Sat, 25 Feb 2012 08:14:07 -0800 (PST)

I thoroughly agree that common meals are central to the life of the
community and that an acoustic-friendly environment for conversation at
meals (and at common meetings) is essential.  The need for this likely
increases as folks age and is also important to support folks of any age
with hearing issues. 

As we have found, music is also a way of bringing the community together and
reaching out to our neighbors.  My thought is that if one of a community's
goals is to provide for a resonant space which would support certain types
of concerts, they should to provide for this in their original design.  This
might be accomplished by either a separate space (which might also be used
for other activities), or it might be accomodated by a combination of (1) a
portable acoustic shell which could be assembled in the great room/dining
area when needed and (2) designing the room so that other features (shape,
height, etc.) support both uses.  (Its important to note that such an
acoustic shell may not be sufficient to make up for other characteristics of
the room.)

Laura, I am glad that you enjoy the music performances and I appreciate that
you have also taken initiative to make music a part of the life of our
community.  

Rick



Richart Keller, AICP
Pioneer Valley Cohousing
120 Pulpit Hill Road #25
Amherst, MA 01002
413-835-0011
401 486-2677 (cell)
(richart.keller [at] gmail.com)


-----Original Message-----
From: Laura Fitch [mailto:lfitch [at] krausfitch.com] 
Sent: Thursday, February 23, 2012 9:03 PM
To: Cohousing-L
Subject: Re: [C-L]_ Acoustics in common house--not always desirable



Hi Rick - while I appreciate the music that you have brought to our common
house, I would not trade our acoustic treatment for improved concerts.  I
have known way too many communitiies who have failed to put in enough
acoustic treatment and it is always a disaster.  You can have a community
without top-notch concerts, but cohousing is defined
by dining together!   There is nothing worse than a noisy dining
environment!

Laura Fitch, AIA, LEED-BD+C
Kraus-Fitch Architects
110 Pulpit Hill Rd.
Amherst, MA  01002
lfitch [at] krausfitch.com

Board Member, Cohousing Association of US
www.cohousing.org

On 2/23/12, Richart Keller <richart.keller [at] gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Hi all
>
> A word of caution about sound-deadening acoustics:
>
> When you are considering acoustics in the common house, make sure that 
> you have included provisions for concerts if you think that you might 
> want to include music as a potential use.  In particular, don't expect 
> to rely on electronic amplification for all types of music.  Some 
> kinds of music, particularly chamber music (string quartets, etc.) or 
> even acoustic folk sound much better in a resonant room--without 
> external amplification.  Also, it is easier for the musicians hear 
> each other while they play--important for sound balance and for a 
> well-integrated ensemble.  A sound-dead room is not likely to attract 
> professional quality musicians in those genres.
>
> Rick
>
>
>
> Richart Keller, AICP
> Pioneer Valley Cohousing
> 120 Pulpit Hill Road #25
> Amherst, MA 01002
> 413-835-0011
> 401 486-2677 (cell)
> (richart.keller [at] gmail.com)
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Kathy Kelly [mailto:kksantacruz [at] gmail.com]
> Sent: Saturday, February 18, 2012 4:34 PM
> To: Cohousing-L
> Subject: Re: [C-L]_ Acoustics in common house
>
>
>
> Hi Melanie,
> This sounds great and affordable! Do you have pictures posted 
> somewhere? It would be great to see how it looks. Thanks, Kathy Santa 
> Cruz, CA
>
> On Sat, Feb 18, 2012 at 9:27 AM, Melanie Mindlin <sassetta [at] mind.net> 
> wrote:
>
>>
>> There are a number of ways recommended to dampen the noise in the 
>> common house.  Rugs, for example, would help a lot but of course we 
>> want to be able to do easy clean up in the dining area so they are 
>> not appropriate.  We tried pieces of rug glued under the tables, 
>> which didn't make much difference and came unglued.
>>
>> Then we saw some lovely homemade acoustic panels in the common house 
>> of our nearby cohousing community in Bend, Oregon.  These are about 
>> 30" square (the exact size is not important) made out of 2x2 wood 
>> with some light canvas type cloth stretched over the frame and filled 
>> with blue-jean insulation batts on the top.  These are hung from 
>> short chains (about 2-3"
>> long) from hooks in the ceiling.  They are in a regular pattern with 
>> a couple of inches between the panels and can be taken down for 
>> cleaning if necessary.  We made them ourselves over several community 
>> workdays.
>>
>> We are quite pleases with the results.  Not only are they attractive, 
>> but they really work.  Since we did all the work ourselves the cost 
>> was very reasonable and they're out of the way where nobody has to 
>> bother with them.  It was a little tricky working around our existing 
>> light fixtures, but we calculated the whole pattern and size of 
>> panels ahead of time to fit around them.
>>
>> Melanie Mindlin
>> Ashland Cohousing Community
>>
>> Begin forwarded message:
>> >
>> > From: Holly McNutt <holly.mcnutt [at] gmail.com>
>> > Subject: Re: [C-L]_ exclusive dinners vs community dinners- Mary 
>> > Ann
>> > To: Cohousing-L <cohousing-l [at] cohousing.org>
>> > Message-ID: <E81F6155-038F-4568-951B-266EE24C18DA [at] gmail.com>
>> > Content-Type: text/plain;     charset=us-ascii
>> >
>> > Mary Ann - If/when you find some good noise abatement solutions, 
>> > pleas
>> let me know Thanks, Holly
>> >
>> > Visionary Properties
>> > www.visionaryproperties.vpweb.com
>> > holly.mcnutt [at] gmail.com
>> > (303) 447-2339 direct
>> > (303) 517-4180 cell
>> > (303) 447-8204 fax
>> _________________________________________________________________
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>>
>>
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