ACOUSTICAL DOORS AND FRAMES CASE STUDY

Photo: © Doublespace Photography; courtesy of Ambico Limited

Project: Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts
Location: Kingston, Ontario, Canada
Architect: Snøhetta (Oslo, Norway) in partnership with N45 (Ottawa, Canada)

The Project: This new performing arts center at the heart of Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, was initiated by a generous $22-million donation by Drs. Alfred and Isabel Bader. The Center, which totaled $63 million in cost, is named in honor of Isabel Bader, for her love of music and theater. Concealed behind the incredible Isabel Bader Center and its benefactors is a truly romantic love story: Isabel met Alfred aboard a ship, the two courted, and more than 400 love letters were exchanged. After their relationship ended prematurely, Alfred went on to marry someone else and have a family. Years later, when Alfred was divorced, he and Isabel rekindled their romance and they married.

The Challenge: In addition to a performance hall, the building needed to accommodate the very different needs of students studying theatre, music, film and media. This meant acoustical control within and between the different spaces was of great importance. Every aspect of the construction including walls, ceilings, floors, and especially the many doors needed to be carefully addressed. Further, all of this needed to fit within a compact piece of land that, while featuring fantastic lakeside views, demanded fitting a new building around substantial historic structures.

The Design Solution: Due to the multifaceted nature of the building as a performance hall and student facility, the architects had to rely on carefully selected acoustic material to block the sound from room to room. In particular, they specified nearly 100 steel and wood door and frame assemblies for the project with a typical rating of STC 40 plus other more stringent STC 51 steel doors for certain locations. In addition, there were some unequal pairs of steel doors that required STC 59 ratings. All of these doors possess perimeter and bottom seals with astragals that are all tested in accordance with ASTM E-90 and E-413 standards.

The Results: The acoustic door and frame assemblies provided for the Isabel Bader Centre are a great example of how properly specified and installed products can improve the experience of those who visit the building. The doors lock in the sound of each respective room to ensure that the performances experienced in the Isabel Bader Centre will live up to the beauty and intimacy of the romance of its namesake.