Bolshoi-Theatre, Moscow

Assignment
Another theatre was to be added to the Bolshoi-Theatre in Moscow. Designed to be eqipped with fixed seats, the auditorium was to be ventilated through air outlets in the area underneath the seats.
LTG was engaged to lab test various versions of possible air outlets and to evaluate the findings with regard to the thermal comfort for the audience and the noise power level to be expected.

Solution
A typical 1:1 scale section of the seating arrangement was rebuilt in our lab. An optimisation of the air flow during testing enabled us to decrease the air speed in the area of the audience´s legs while maintaining short mixing distances. Also, the temperature of the air on the floor was not supposed to drop beyond a set minimum value even at maximum cooling capacity to avoid producing »cold feet« . Thus, the audience sits in a perimeter displacement air flow, kept at a set temperature with a low pulse rate. The requirements of air volume, noise power level and pressure loss were investigated in our reverberation chamber. Heating processes in the plenum were determined using a simulation calculation.

Advantage
Highest thermal comfort for the audience while maintaining the required noise power levels.