Jonah Taylor CEA B7

Overview: Concert Hall

Justification of Design
This concert hall has been designed for orchestral, choral, and solo performances. It
has 772 fixed seats, with 88 of those seats in the upper balcony level. It has been
designed to be used as a performance hall for a college campus. For this reason, the
hall also features a coffee bar and study lounge. This hall is not designed to host
theatrical performances or ceremonies.

Design Requirements
From my brainstorming, I chose these required elements for my design:
Design for music not theatre, entry foyer, sloped floor, fan-shaped seating,
wrap-around balcony seating, refreshments in foyer, control room up top,
green roof above foyer, modern design- angular geometry easier to model,
trapezoidal stage that can hold about 40 performers, seat 700-1000 people,
access hallways on side, include elevator, storage area, security room,
performer exit hallway.

Flow
Concert halls have a unique design challenge regarding flow: its either all or
nothing. In most buildings, flow can be designed assuming that only a certain
percentage of the max occupancy will actually be walking around at any given time.
In a concert hall, however, the entire audience usually leaves as soon as the
performance is complete, meaning that the building must be able to give all 772
persons a quick and easy route to the outside of the building under normal
circumstances. Thankfully, concert hall doors, like the ones in this halls access
hallways, do not need to take swing distance into account because they are
propped open against a wall most of the time. Taking all of this into account, this
concert hall has been designed far above the minimum egress requirements in
order to comfortably accommodate the type of traffic that it will hold.

Style
This concert hall has been created in according the principles of modern style. It
features clear geometry, neutral colors, and elegant simplicity in design. The front
face of the building features blue steel highlights placed in horizontal lines. The
color and placement of these lines serve to calm the audience members as they
enter the building. The vertical black accent points exist to asymmetrically balance
the window wall on the other side of the doors. During the day, the sun lights the
foyer of the building naturally through the large curtain window walls, making it an
excellent study spot. The furniture in the lounge area of the foyer also reflects
modern design. Inside the main hall, the warm, dim lighting serves to help the
viewer to focus on the stage.

Jonah Taylor CEA B7

Design of main hall

The floor of the hall is sloped so that it is easy for everyone in the hall to see the
stage clearly. This has an advantage over the slightly more comfortable terraced
approach because it prevents the sound from the stage from being reflected off of
or absorbed by vertical steps. The top balcony wraps around the sides of the hall to
help facilitate a community atmosphere in the audience. It has been shown that
audience members feel more connected to the performance when they can see
other members surrounding them in upper-level seats. The main hall is dimly lit in
order to place emphasis on the stage.

Sustainable Design Aspects

Green Roof
Approximately 42% of the roof of the concert hall is a green roof. Its main purpose is
to prevent runoff. It has been designed to grow small grasses and shrubs, although
it can support larger plants if need be. However, larger plants have little purpose on
this green roof, because it serves no purpose other than runoff prevention and
aesthetics. It is accessible through a ladder in the control room for general
maintenance and upkeep. It is not accessible to the general public, because there is
little reason for the audience in a concert hall to relax outside on a green roof.

Possible LEED Credits

Source: LEED O+M: Existing Buildings | v4 - LEED v4
Credit name
Site management
policy

Points
Possible
Required
prerequisite

Rainwater
management

3 points

Indoor water use

reduction

up to 5
points

Water metering

2 points

Optimize energy
performance

up to 20
points

Action Required
Create and implement a site management
policy that employs best management
practices to reduce harmful chemical use,
energy waste, water waste, air pollution,
solid waste, and/or chemical runoff
Capture/treat water from 25% of the
impervious surfaces for the 95th percentile
storm event.
Have fixtures that use less water than the
baseline calculated in WE Prerequisite
Indoor Water-Use Reduction. Points are
awarded based on a table.
Establish permanently installed meters; 1
point for two water subsystems, 2 points
for four or more water subsystems. Meet
certain requirements with these meters.
For buildings eligible to receive an energy
performance rating using the EPA ENERGY
STARs Portfolio Manager tool, points are
awarded for ENERGY STAR scores above
75, according to Table 1.

Jonah Taylor CEA B7

Codes and Regulations Followed

American Disabilities Act (ADA)
The entire building is ADA accessible. The floor of the main hall has a slope of less
than 1/12, and there is an access ramp to the front door. There is also an elevator to
the balcony floor.
Code
Reference
IBC 303.4
IBC Table
503
IBC 1004.4

IBC
1005.3.1

IBC
1005.3.2

IBC 1005.5

IBC

Code Summary
A concert hall with fixed seating falls in the occupancy group A1
An A1 building with 2 stories and an area >15,500 ft 2 must be built
with construction type 1A or 1B
The occupant load of each floor is determined by the number of
fixed seats installed there.
Floor 1 = 684
Floor 2 = 88
The minimum width of stairways is determined by multiplying the
occupancy load that the stairway serves by 0.3. Each of my stairs
serves 44 seats, and each half is mostly isolated from the other.
Therefore:
Occupancy load per stair = 44 * 0.3 = 13.2 inches minimum stair
width
My stair width = 60 per stair
The minimum width of other egress components (doors and
hallways) is determined by multiplying the occupant load by 0.2
in. Therefore:
Min. egress width for the central hall = 684 * 0.2 = 136.8
Min. egress width for entire building = 772 * 0.2 = 154.4
My egress width for the central hall = 6 - 32 doors 192
5 - 68 doors 340
Total = 532
My egress width for the entire building (exterior doors) = 2 - 68
doors 136
4
- 60 doors 240
Total = 376
(The performer exits in the back are not counted because those
doors are not easily accessible to the main audience)
No single exit may contain 50% or more of the minimum egress
width
Front exit (4 doors grouped as one exit)= 240
West side exit = 68
East side exit = 68
None of these exits, if blocked, would reduce the total egress
width to less than 154.4/2 = 77.2
Three exits must be provided for any story with an occupant load

Jonah Taylor CEA B7

1021.2.4

IBC 1028.5

Noblesville
code
159.107
(Table 6)
IBC
1009.7.2

of 501-1000
My occupant load (1st story) = 684
Number of exits: 3
For balconies, galleries or press boxes having a seating capacity
of 50 or more located in a building, room or space used for
assembly purposes, at least two means of egress shall be
provided, with one from each side of every balcony, gallery or
press box
My balcony has 2 main exits and a seating capacity of 88,
meaning it follows this requirement.
The minimum lot size of any PB (planned business) lot is 20,000
sq. ft.
My lot is approximately 300,000 sq. ft.
Stair riser heights shall be 7 inches maximumRectangular tread
depths shall be 11 inches minimum.
My stairs: 7 riser, 11 tread