The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra is the nation’s only full-time professional chamber orchestra and is widely regarded as one of the finest chamber orchestras in the world. The 35 virtuoso musicians present more than 150 concerts and educational programs each year and reach over 140,000 listeners each week on more than 110 public radio stations.

Even with all its acclaim, the SPCO had no rehearsal venue of its own. A large space with an unusually high ceiling was available in their administrative offices, which was originally a theatre. This “found space” was naturally suited to development into a dedicated rehearsal venue for the orchestra.A preliminary study was carried out by AD to determine the feasibility and cost of developing the existing space into an appropriate rehearsal venue. Our work included identification of key sound isolation challenges, such as isolation between the rehearsal venue and the office space located directly underneath the rehearsal room.

AD played a lead role in the design of the noise and vibration isolation of the room floor and mechanical systems and provided architectural drawings of the main rehearsal room. Our team updated the initial HVAC design to ensure specific sound levels were achieved. In the end, our contribution entailed wall and ceiling shaping, development of adjustable acoustics elements, development of flexible platform elements and musician platform layouts.