Chancellor Hall, a 25,700 m³ university convocation venue, was measured well outside its target reverberation time. Soundzipper modelled the hall, tested it on site, and designed the treatment that brought it back into range.

Client Universiti Brunei Darussalam	Location Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei
Service Acoustic Simulation & Testing	Completed 2022
Scope Chancellor Hall — 25,700 m³

1.4s → 1.1s

Reverberation time at 1,000 Hz on stage — from measured baseline to post-treatment simulation

794 m²

Total acoustic panel treatment proposed across four zones — back wall, front sides, LED wall, and backstage entrance

25,700 m³

Hall volume — among the largest venue acoustic simulation projects Soundzipper has undertaken

The Situation

Universiti Brunei Darussalam engaged Soundzipper to diagnose and address the acoustic performance of Chancellor Hall, the university’s main convocation and ceremonial venue at its campus in Bandar Seri Begawan. The hall is approximately 25,700 m³ in volume and hosts university ceremonies, academic events, and formal speeches, where the ability to hear and understand a speaker clearly from any seat is a basic functional requirement. That requirement was not being met.

What We Found

Chancellor Hall required a reverberation time below 1.2 seconds at 1,000 Hz to support clear, intelligible speech across the hall during convocation ceremonies and academic events. On-site measurement established the existing baseline against that target: RT of 1.4 seconds on stage and 1.5 to 1.8 seconds across the audience seating positions, well outside the required range. Soundzipper then built a full acoustic model of the hall in EASE 4.0, the industry-standard simulation software for large venue acoustics, calibrating the model to the measured baseline and the hall’s actual surface materials, including its mineral tile ceiling, plasterboard walls, fabric panels, carpet, and fabric-covered seating. The calibrated model gave Soundzipper an accurate basis for testing treatment options before specifying any physical materials.

What We Designed

With the EASE model calibrated to measured conditions, Soundzipper ran a series of simulations testing different treatment configurations. The recommended solution was 794 m² of 50mm fabric panels with 32 kg/m³ fibreglass infill density, distributed across four zones: the back of the LED wall (135 m²), the front of the hall on both sides (234 m²), the back of the hall (185 m²), and the entrance to backstage (240 m²). The panel locations were selected to absorb the primary reflection paths that were sustaining the hall’s long decay time, without over-treating the space in a way that would make it acoustically dead or fatiguing for audiences during extended ceremonies. The simulation with treatment applied showed an RT of 1.1 seconds on stage and 1.1 to 1.5 seconds across the audience area, bringing the hall to within the target range for the stage position and close to target across the full seating area. For Universiti Brunei Darussalam, the result is a convocation hall where a speaker at the podium can be understood from the back row.

EASE simulation — proposed treatment zones and coverage mapping