Arena ‘Double roof’ design will keep music fans and neighbours happy
EXPERTS are working on an innovative roof design to ensure the sound from concerts is crystal clear inside the YTL Arena when it opens in 2024 – but neighbours won’t hear it.
There are “numerous workstreams currently in flow” on Bristol’s new arena in Filton, including infrastructure packages, that will support the venue when it is up and running.
Planning permission was granted in 2020 for a stadium at the former Brabazon Hangars at Filton Airfield.
Developer YTL says the arena will be the ‘number one live destination for the South West,’ with sustainability taking centre stage.
At 28,000 square metres, the floor space of the Brabazon Hangars – where the Concorde was built – is more than twice the size of a large football pitch, meaning that keeping the noise inside the venue will be crucially important to ensure that neighbours are not continually disrupted by events in the space.
The developers are working with a company called Vanguardia to design a space that is acoustically pleasing in all corners of the arena, as well as for the neighbours outside the arena by limiting how the sound escapes.
Inside the venue, they will ensure a balance between the atmosphere, clarity, and tone, while ensuring that sounds are not reflected back on attendees.
Olly Creedy, director at Vanguardia, said: “It’s important that we can ensure suitable reverberation times right down to the sub frequencies to provide a clean sound for amplified music while maintaining the tonal balance of the higher frequencies.
“We must ensure that any flat surfaces are reviewed to avoid any unwanted late reflections of sound that can be heard as discrete ‘slap back’ and sometimes acoustic treatment alone is not sufficient, and we need to angle surfaces to redirect or diffuse the sound.”
YTL Arena Bristol will have areas of angled glazing, which will ensure that any sound that is reflected is directed away from the audience areas, and bass-traps will be designed into the roof to absorb low frequencies (the bass sound).
The arena won’t just be used for music, though – it will host comedy, sports, and much more, meaning that the acoustic design take all this into account.
Mr Creedy explained that digital modelling will be carried out to assess how the sound will reflect and reverberate.
“This includes optimising the placement of loudspeakers to ensure they complement the acoustics and architecture. Binaural auralisations are calculated and used to allow us to ‘sit’ and listen in the virtual space before the building even leaves the ground,” he said.
But a key question for those living nearby is: how will the arena stop me from hearing every concert in my living room? The design includes what is being described as two separate roof structures with an “envelope design”, which will absorb the low frequencies, which are the ones that travel the furthest.
“By having two acoustically isolated roof structures and large cavities between, the weight of the roof can be substantially lighter than other comparable arenas and provide the same overall acoustic performance”, Mr Creedy said.
“All other routes of noise are looked at from the venue to ensure that suitable internal noise levels can be achieved for rock/pop shows and not provide a disturbance to the surrounding environment.”
The history of the space is another key consideration in the design – it is the first aircraft hangar in the world to be repurposed into an arena.
Mr Creedy said: “The architects are working to ensure the character of the building can be maintained, while integrating the required technology for a cutting-edge modern building.
“I’m most excited about stepping into the completed venue and hearing it for the first time, which is always rewarding after working on long-term projects.”