This 320㎡ community multi-use hall in Manchester hosts Sunday services, community meetings, small choir performances and after-school kids’ activities. Original stone masonry walls and a high vaulted ceiling create strong mid-low frequency standing waves and uneven sound distribution. Speech is muddy during services and announcements, and choir performances lack clarity and balance. The hall needed acoustic tuning that works for both spoken word and music, while still respecting the historic character of the building interior.

On side and rear walls we installed a grooved and perforated resonant acoustic panel system, paired with mineral wool infill and rear air cavities. We ran acoustic simulation on the hall’s volume and geometry, then precisely tuned the slot and perforation ratios to target the 250–1000Hz mid-low frequency standing waves that were causing most of the problem. The whole system hits NRC 0.90, delivering balanced full-band sound absorption that works for both speech and live music.

On the ceiling we used high-density fiberglass acoustic tiles, NRC 0.90–0.95, to control overhead reflections and even out sound field coverage across the whole room.

All panels meet EN 13501 Class A fire safety for UK public assembly venues. We used a warm wood-effect wall finish that complements the historic stone interior, no modern industrial look.

Speech intelligibility improved by an estimated 45% across all seating areas, and choir performances now have clearer layering and tighter bass response. The hall can reliably host both spoken services and musical performances without extra temporary acoustic gear. Community group booking volume is up 30%.