Whittle Le Woods hall in Lancashire was originally built as a chapel in 1840 before being used for industrial purposes. It is now a thriving community hub providing users with a fantastic resource to stage all manner of events from children’s parties and fitness classes to concerts and theatrical productions.
So successful was the hall that they applied for funding to create a second hall at the rear of the premises to cope with demand. The new hall was constructed using modern methods and materials providing a contrast to the traditional look and feel of the old hall.
Despite the halls popularity, and as with many other similar venues, both rooms at Whittle Le Woods suffered from poor acoustics resulting in excessive reverberation and echo that affected productions and caused speech intelligibility issues for the groups that used them. It was decided that action needed to be taken and in 2023 Secretary, Peter Higham, made contact with acoustic specialists, Sound Reduction Systems (SRS) to see if they would be able to help.
SRS sent Alex Docherty to site to measure the spaces in detail and discuss treatments with the committee. Alex commented:
“Whittle Le Woods Hall provided us with a number of challenges, not least the treatment of two completely different types of building – one modern and one traditional. The modern building had a metal profile ceiling so we knew that a bonded Sonata Aurio solution would work best and also meant that we wouldn’t have to mechanically fix through the metal profile itself. The traditional hall presented a more testing challenge in that the ceiling had a complex design of exposed timber beams that limited the space available to install the panels without spoiling the aesthetics.”
Alex was able to take his measurements back to the office and prepare detailed calculations and graphs demonstrating exactly how many panels would be required to solve the acoustic problem in each area. In addition, he also provided layout designs for the rooms and provided these in the form of a convenient report, along with quotations, for the committee to consider.
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The committee decided to treat the new hall immediately and wait until some scheduled flooring work had taken place before treating the older hall. After the first hall had been treated in just one day, the difference was immediate and gave them the confidence that similar results could be expected when SRS returned to install the Sonata panels in their other room. On completion of the project, Peter from the hall commented:
“Now that both halls have had the Sonata panels installed, can I say how pleased we are with the result. It is so much easier to communicate within the rooms as the echo has been minimised. It has made a tremendous difference to the sound experience. Can you also pass on our thanks to the SRS installation team for the efficient way the installation carried out. There was no mess and everything went as planned. Thanks again.”
If you have a noise issue in your village hall, scout hut, school hall, or in any large, open area, please get in touch to see how SRS can help with soundproofing and sound absorption. You can fill in our simple 3 Step Estimator form by clicking here. The 3 Step Estimator works within your mobile device, so you can upload the pictures and information directly from site if required. Alternatively, you can just email or whatsapp us with the room dimensions and a few pictures of the ceiling and walls in the room.
Useful Links: https://whittlelewoods.com/
