University of Washington Conibear Shellhouse
Seattle, WA
Scope:
All aspects of acoustical design in the renovation of the existing Shellhouse, including the addition of a dining hall, classrooms, team training rooms, a computer learning center and an office space.
Challenges:
Completed in 2004, this building is durable enough in design to stand up to everyday uses by the students, but attractive enough to be used for key campus events. We needed to meet the design standards of Miller/Hull, an AIA 2002 National Award Winner, while working within the budget.
Solutions:
We worked closely with Miller/Hull throughout the design phase to ensure the Northwest aesthetic design for the spaces would not be sacrificed for acoustic needs. We narrowed our search for the right materials based on the design, and tailored our recommendations to the materials selected by Miller/Hull. Design specifics include sound isolation in the floor/ceiling assembly from the practice rooms to the classrooms, both noise control and room acoustics for the dual-use cafeteria, speech intelligibility in the classroom, lecture hall and computer study spaces and sound vibration and isolation for the rooftop mechanical equipment.