Acoustics for community spaces

The narrative begins with the façade and continues throughout the building, illustrated in material choices, colours, and structure. Designed as a multi-use space, the exhibition hall is expected to host anything from car shows to large-scale art exhibitions and 2,000 attendee banquets. The acoustic report indicated a high reverberation time—not uncommon for large halls with high ceilings—and required an NRC of 1 to ensure acoustic comfort for visitors, particularly those who may be hearing impaired. Continuing the motif of Ngāi Tahu tradition, a ‘basket weave’ design was chosen for the walls, realised using custom 3D Tiles.

Looking for a Kiwi company to provide the acoustic solution for the exhibition hall, the team approached Autex Acoustics^®. Our in-house design team and manufacturing capabilities meant it was easy to test solutions, provide prototypes, and create the final 1200 x 600 mm tiles with a custom mould. Petronas was selected as the tile colour allowing for objects on display in the space to take centre stage. The finished product, installed by Oroqi, spans all four walls of the 3600 sqm hall, with the 3D Tiles ‘basket weave’ honouring the tradition and culture of the local community while simultaneously presenting a sleek backdrop for international functions. The meeting rooms were also fitted with 12 mm Cube^™, keeping reverberation and echo at bay, and ensuring a high level of speech intelligibility. Sustainability informed the design decisions throughout the project, and with our Carbon Neutral Product Initiative, the embodied carbon of all Autex Acoustics product was offset using certified carbon credits. Te Pae has also achieved a Toitū enviromark gold certification.