SYNOPSIS

Dewan Filharmonik Petronas is Malaysia's first purpose built concert hall for classical music by Malaysia's oil company, Petronas.

Of interest to engineers will be the:-

• concert hall which is an 885-seat jewel box shaped room.
• The space which is designed to serve every kind of music.
• The room which is fully equipped for professional recording and fully isolated from the surrounding environment.
• concealed movable ceiling that can change the acoustic volume of the room from as little as 13300 m2 to 18975 m2. This feature was designed by acoustic consultant, Kirkegaard Associates.
• pipe organ in this hall which has three manuals and a pedal division, mechanical couplers, electric stop action, and an electronic memory system for the pre-selection of registration combinations. There are 2,977 pipes ranging in length from the smallest (an inch) to the towering 32 foot rank in the pedal division.
• Design of the hall which is by Abbey Road Studios of EMI Group (UK) and constructed by Audio Design Group.
• The hall showcase an exceptional architecture complemented by a high ceiling of 81 feet.
• The perforated metal ceiling vault appears solid but is in fact acoustically transparent, allowing sound to travel to an upper ceiling. Special absorptive panel on the side walls further enhance the acoustics by adjusting the resonance in the hall.
• The audience chamber is mounted on resilient pads and structurally isolated from the rest of the complex in order to further isolate the hall from the noisy surroundings.
• The choice of all materials and finishes further enhance the acoustic quality.