Impact of curved surfaces in performance spaces

Current acoustic practices deem that curved surfaces as room envelopes do not provide good acoustical performance. In contrast, old cathedrals, churches, and enclosed performance spaces with curved interiors seem to work very well even though their envelopes are comprised of curved surfaces (walls, ceilings, etc.) The aim of this project was to analyze curved surfaces and evaluate the resulting acoustic performance of these occupied spaces. The evaluations were achieved with both experimental methods, and computer simulations. After these evaluations were performed, results showed that in these conditions, the curved surfaces had minimal negative impact as perceived by the audience