Wood is an effective acoustic material due to its ability to absorb and dampen sound vibrations through internal friction within its cellular structure. The Sydney Opera House effectively utilizes various types of wood in its construction to enhance acoustic performance, including white birch plywood panels in the concert hall ceiling which help reduce echoes, and brush box timber used for wall panels and floors for its warm color, grain, durability and acoustic insulation. The architect designed the Sydney Opera House interiors primarily with wood to provide acoustic warmth and contrast to the heavy concrete shells.
2. DEFINITION
The hard fibrous material that forms the main substance of the trunk
or branches of a tree or shrub, used for fuel or timber.
WOOD COMPOSITION
• Its network of small interlocking wood cells converts sound
energy into heat energy by frictional resistance within these cells
and by vibrations within their sub-structure.
• Because of this internal friction, wood has a stronger sound
dampening capacity than most structural materials.
• While a concrete wall will also reflect sound, it
does so in a much harsher way, resulting in stronger
echoes.
TYPES OF WOOD
1.TIMBER
• Timber performs strongly in the acoustic arena - whether the objective is to
enhance sound or reduce sound.
• The natural acoustic properties of timber control this excessive echo, or
reverberation, by reducing the transmission of sound vibrations.
3. • Timber acoustic paneling will often use holes or slots to increase the amount of
sound absorption, essentially breaking up the energy of the soundwave.
• By breaking up the sound, the echoes are reduced.
• A classic example of what can be achieved with timber acoustics is the Sydney
Opera House.
• Ceilings in the Opera Houses' Concert Hall and Opera Theatre use white birch
plywood panels with an acoustic plasterboard substrate.
• This world-class and iconic public building serves as an architectural and acoustic
benchmark to this day.
• These properties of timber are why many public buildings, clad walls and ceilings
are lined with acoustic timber panels or spaced timber battens.
4. WOOD FIBRE PANELS
• Plywood and wood fibre acoustic products are used in theatres and auditoriums
to provide low-frequency reverberation control.
2.PLYWOOD AND WOOD FIBRE
ACOUSTICAL PROPERTIES
• Wood is a light material, so as such
its sound insulation performance is
not particularly good. Neither does
a thick, dense-surfaced and smooth
wooden structure dampen sound
particularly well, so wood alone is
not a good absorption material.
5. • A dense wooden structure reflects sound, and can easily be made into surfaces
that channel sound reflections.
• This property is utilised, for example, in musical instruments and concert halls.
• A sufficient level of sound insulation in wooden buildings can usually be achieved
structurally by using multi-layered constructions.
7. Introduction
The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts
centre in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. And it is a masterpiece of
late modern architecture.
Opened : the facility formally opened on 20 October 1973
Completed : 1973
One of the most famous place for performing arts in the world.
Over 3000 events each year take place.
It took 7 years to build the model of the opera house and 17 years to complete
the actual building.
THE ARCHITECTURE
Is 185 meter's long and 120 meter's wide.
The Sydney opera house height is 65m.
Some of the roof sections weigh up to 15 tons.
Has over 1 million tiles on the roof.
8. THEATRES
IT K29 8
The Concert Hall (with 2679 seats)Studio Theatre (with 364 seats)
Drama Theatre (with 544 seats)Opera Theatre (with 1547 seats)
11. • The architect was responsible for modeling all architectural finishes, such as acoustic
paneling within the theater auditorium, bronze elements, and precast wall and floor finishes.
CONSTRUCTION OF SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE
• - From the beginning Utzon envisaged timber as the primary material for the interiors, with
the warmth, colour and tactility of timber providing a contrast with the heavy, monochrome,
load bearing concrete of the podium and sails.
• The ceiling was to consist of a series of plywood box beams radiating out from the stage
and suspended at points from the concrete arches of the shells. Each beam was to be made
up of two plywood box beams bolted together, with acoustic insulation in the cavity inside
each beam.
12. • Spanning horizontally between the box
beams were to be panels of plywood
reinforced with hot bonded aluminium.
• These horizontal elements were attached
to the top of one beam and the bottom
of the next creating a stepped form to
the ceiling.
• On the top of these panels was to be
bonded 2mm of lead for low frequency
sound insulation.
• For many of the same reasons as Utzon, Hall, Todd and Littlemore chose timber as the
dominant material for the interiors.
• For the timber finishes to the floors and walls, the new architects faithfully followed the
direction set out by Utzon.
• However for the ceiling of the concert halls, while still using plywood, the design took a
significantly different direction.
13. THE BRUSH BOX CONCEPT
• Throughout the interiors, prefabricated panels of laminated Brush Box were used for
flooring, stair treads and risers and wall panels.
• An extremely hard and dense timber, Brush Box was chosen for its warm, rich colour and
grain, acoustic performance and high durability.
BRUSH BOX TIMBER
14. • The ceilings in the Concert Hall and Opera Theatre,
while differing from Utzon’s intentions, are still a
spectacular use of plywood.
• Both ceilings are constructed of White Birch plywood
panels backed with acoustic plasterboard and
suspended from steel purlins.
• The purlins in turn are suspended from arched steel
trusses in between the shells and the ceiling.
• With the trusses picking up all the loads of the ceiling
and distributing them to the side of the shells, the
ceiling itself no longer has any structural elements
like the plywood beams in Utzon’s scheme.
• A crown of plywood dominates the ceiling of the
Concert Hall over the stage.
• Radiating out from this is a series of ribs that cascade
down to their junction with the walls
15. Strategy for Design in Timber: THE CONCEPT OF ARCHITECT
• Timber has historically been used for acoustic applications for a number of reasons.
• A timber surface does not just reflect sound, but resonates slightly, giving it a
particular quality and colour.
• A hard surface such as concrete reflects sound with a hard
and sharp quality.
• Timber is well suited to the control of excessive echo or
reverberation off surfaces in performance and public
spaces.
• This surface treatment breaks up
the sound, reducing echoes.
• As a contrast to many of the hard
concrete surfaces, sections of the
walls in the foyers, the two
theatres and other public spaces
are lined with panels made up of
spaced Brush Box battens over a
sound absorbing mat.
CEILING TIMBER
WALL TIMBER PANELS
SUSPENDED TIMBER