The Aga Khan Museum, Toronto/ Maki & Associates Architects with Moriyama & Teshima Architects

situation:

The Aga Khan Museum, due to open in 2011 in Toronto, Canada, will be dedicated to the acquisition, preservation and display of artefacts – from various periods and geographies – relating to the intellectual, cultural, artistic and religious heritage of Islamic communities. The building will house a Recital Hall for classical music that also must function as a lecture hall and cinema. There will also be a library offering direct access to specialized documentation and information from virtual sources.

assessment:

Specific challenges we tackled were the design of the 300+ seat auditorium with acoustic requirements seemingly at odds with each other. The auditorium’s main objective is to cater for musical performances with the delicate instruments of the Sufi world. However, it must also serve the purpose of a lecture theatre and double as a film screening venue from time to time.

solution:

To achieve ideal natural acoustics in the space with the specific type of music in mind, the volume of the space had to be increased to achieve higher reverberance, and the shape of the room was designed to achieve good musical clarity. To serve its alternate purposes, retractable acoustic curtains help provide better speech intelligibility without altering the visual aesthetic dramatically.

The background noise level of the space has also been designed to be Preferred Noise Criterion (PNC) 15 or lower. Having the site located next to the busy Don Valley Parkway, careful design of the ceiling was necessary in addition to a quiet under-floor HVAC displacement system

results:

The fruits of this labour will soon be realized when Aga Khan Museum opens its doors, giving Toronto a great new cultural attraction.