Variable Geometry Acoustical Dome
Variable Geometry Acoustical Dome is a dome-like or shaped ceiling, installed in a new or an existing building that modifies the acoustical performance of that space.Acoustical domes are used in auditorium or theater as surface to either reverberate the sound to a whole audience (acoustical shell) or to absorb acoustical wave and avoid echoes.
“Variable geometry acoustical domes” is a design concept developed by David Serero at the Villa Medici in Rome in 2004. Suspended to the vaulted ceiling of the grand salon of Villa Medici, the device is an articulated faceted surface which form and position can be modulated by 12 control points tight to ropes . This transformation of shape allows modifying the acoustical behavior of the hall in real time depending on the type of event, a music concert, a lecture, a play. As Serero states: “This project defines architectural form not in a final state, but rather as an ephemeral and variable condition, where the possibility of its transformation is inscribed inside of its geometry.”