Episcopal Academy - Chapel

Located in the middle of the "school village" at the Episcopal Academy campus, the chapel serves as the focal point of the new 123 acre campus. The chapel is surrounded by the Campus Center, Science Center, Athletic Center, Lower, Middle and Upper School Building on the central green. This 15,000 SF, 900-seat multi-purpose facility is used daily by students for Episcopalian services and special events featuring guest speakers.

Acentech tailored the acoustical design specifically to encourage good acoustics for music and religious communal singing and still provide clear speech intelligibility. Our recommendations allowed a sufficient amount of ‘desirable' sound to linger in the space. The partitions and vestibules control the amount of sound entering the space from the exterior; background sound from the mechanical system are very low.

Acentech designed the audio system to provide maximum speech intelligibility and full-range fidelity for listeners while maintaining an impression of natural, un-amplified sound. Due to the relatively high reverberation time of the room, we paid careful attention to keeping sound within the listener's area while avoiding unwanted spill onto the hard wall and floor surfaces. Loudspeakers built into recessed niches in the ceiling avoid disturbing the architectural features of the space. Operation of the audio system is automated, requiring minimal user interaction via a touch panel controller.