The restoration of the Theatre of Arts Academy in Tirana - Acoustic analysis and design of the new Orchestra pit

Abstract

The origin of the Theatre of Arts Academy of Tirana dates back to the early 20th Century, based on the design of the Italian architect Gherardo Bosio. It was almost abandoned in the last 20 years and only recently a complete renovation has been undertaken, including the extension of the Orchestra pit. Measurements were carried out at different points in the platea, in the gallery and in the lodges, using both balloon bursting and sine sweep convolution technique. The results of the measurements achieved in each of the areas with the two different techniques were compared with each other and with the reference values given by literature. According to the measurements, the Theatre appears to be rather dull, but is nevertheless listed as one of the best theatres in Albania. Acoustic measurements (monaural and binaural IRs) were then used to calibrate the 3D simulation model and to elaborate the new acoustic design of the Theatre, the most important part of which concerns the reopening of the Orchestra pit, which had been closed and unused for the past decades. The paper briefly reports the history of the Theatre and the most important outcomes of measurements and simulations.