J&C Joel was asked to improve the acoustics in The Royal Festival Hall at London’s South Bank Centre.
The Royal Festival Hall is one of the world’s leading venues, playing host to performances ranging from operatic and philharmonic works to poetry recitals and sets from contemporary chart-topping performers.
To ensure that the acoustics within the Royal Festival Hall’s Auditorium were suitable for the wide variety of performances staged in the venue, J&C Joel designed, manufactured and installed 4 Acoustic Motorised Concertina Banners, 38 Acoustic Motorised Roller Banners and chain-driven tapestry tracks to which the Hall’s famous Hilary Bourne tapestries were re-mounted following restoration.
The Acoustic Motorised Concertina Banners were manufactured using black Wool Serge and were installed in front of the Auditorium’s organ doors, each measuring 5m wide with a drop of 10m.
The 38 Acoustic Motorised Roller Banners were installed around the stage area and were manufactured using two layers of J&C Joel’s Wool Serge 565 (WS090) specially bonded together to make an anechoic fabric, which is ideal for roller banners.
As well as providing the Auditorium with a completely adjustable acoustic environment, J&C Joel also fitted Silent Gliss electric roller blinds and 3-Way curtain tracking which was recessed into the ceiling space within the Terraces (the Royal Festival Hall’s seven-suite function area). Various tracks and drapes were also installed within the rehearsal rooms within the Royal Festival Hall complex.
