When re-imagining the David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center in New York, the team at Diamond Schmitt Architects put a central focus on creating an intimate, welcoming experience for both audiences and performers. This focus shaped the overall redesign of the venue and the selection of materials. To achieve the visual, experiential, and acoustic vision for the hall, European Beech (Fagus sylvatica) was selected as the ideal material.
The hall had been plagued by bad acoustics ever since it opened in 1962. Many factors contributed to the problem, according to Matthew Lella, a principal at Diamond Schmitt Architects and the lead architect responsible for the redesign of the audience chamber. “The musicians complained that it was hard for them to hear each other and hard for the audience to hear them. It felt as if the musicians were in a separate room from the audience.”
The new design changes that and is now intensely inclusive, incorporating both acoustic science and creative concert hall design techniques.
“Every detail in the design of a concert hall must contribute positively to the sound in the room,” Lella explained. “It is like designing a new musical instrument in that you design first for sound and then for visual appeal. The visual appeal actually comes from the acoustic appeal. As with an instrument, you see the form first and then experience the beauty of the wood. Your eye goes to the space and then takes in the loveliness of the wood, its curtainlike quality, the subtlety of its color. The wood plays a fundamental supporting role, contributing to the clarity of the sound, the warmth of the tone, as well as the visual experience.”
The walls of David Geffen Hall are clad in both solid Beech and veneered Beech panels. The undulating wood panels replicate the mathematical shapes of sound waves and were carefully sculpted to reflect and diffuse the sound emanating from the stage, enhancing the auditory experience.
“We thought long and hard about what species of wood to use,” Lella noted. “We looked at Oak, Walnut, Beech, and a few others, and considered many factors, including availability, acoustic qualities, workability and, of course, appearance.”
“European Beech was ideal for this application in every respect,” said Tim Wooley, Director of North American Sales and Marketing for Pollmeier Inc. “Sound tends to bounce off metal, plastic, and concrete surfaces, which is acoustically inefficient and unpleasant. For this project, the goal was no echoes and pleasant reverberation, balanced at all frequencies. European Beech has the density to be acoustically efficient to help direct and diffuse sound,” he explained.
Wooley noted that Pollmeier is the largest singlesource producer in the world of European Beech and the company’s timberlands in Germany have been sustainably managed for over 300 years. The trees are harvested within a growth segment ranging from 60 to 180 years. This lends itself to stems that are long and clear, with more straight lineal grain. New growth is left to mature and old growth is left to maintain the biodiversity in the forest. The wood is steamed before it is dried to enhance stability and set the color. This process also results in lumber that tends to be flat, straight, and machines better. No chemicals of any kind are used in the manufacturing process. “It’s amazing that wood not only enhanced the sound and the beauty of this project, while also being an environmentally friendly product,” Wooley added.
The design and engineering of the millwork at David Geffen Hall was a deep dive into the versatility and capabilities of European Beech. The exquisite detailing in the hall, including the Beechwood wave — a smooth wall surface transitioning into a ripple and then undulating into a larger, deeper wave — was inspired by the way music ebbs and flows, the way sound travels and music crescendos. The millwork was done by Fetzer Architectural Woodworking, one of the nation’s largest millworkers. “The Fetzer team definitely rose to the challenge of an immensely complex job and collaborating with them on this project was a career highlight,” stated Lella.
“We had a lot of fun working with this team and on this project,” said Wallace Fetzer, CEO of Fetzer Architectural Woodworking. “It was complex, with beautiful detail everywhere. Just look at the walls — going from flat panels to moderate waves to heavy waves and back to flat panels. There is also a horizontal pattern flowing around the entire hall created by a ¼ inch reveal oscillating from floor to ceiling every 4 – 8 – 12 inches and back. Another interesting detail is the wall above the choir hall. It’s made of 12-inch wide, 60-foot-long laminated ribbons twisting horizontally, allowing the sound from the organ behind the wall out into the hall. We worked out how to do so much in wood. For every move or change we suggested, there was an acoustician to evaluate the sound. It was a fascinating process.”
“The environmental physics were integral to the design process,” noted Lella. “The way the walls, floor, and ceiling are oriented must be optimized for both the projection and reverberation of sound. The sound must reverberate but not echo, so walls need texturing as part of their design. The sound needs to project out to the audience, but musicians need to hear as well, so it must be precisely moderated. The physics, the engineering and the technology provide guidance, but they don’t tell you what will ultimately work best. That’s where artistry and experience come in.”
Because of its density, Beech disperses sound completely and provides immediate reverberation of the sound waves with no counter-echo. “Beech is a dense hardwood and I knew it would machine well for the complexity of the design,” added Fetzer. “Pollmeier European Beech ensured consistent color quality and controlled grain throughout the hall. It was the perfect wood to use. And we were grateful to have the Sierra Forest Products team, who distribute Pollmeier, to support this project.”
The renovation of David Geffen Hall represented a statement of faith in New York’s artistic community, while providing jobs and economic development as the city struggled to rebound from the COVID pandemic. The redesign, originally slated to be completed in 2024, was fast-tracked, and the orchestra’s home reopened on October 8, 2022, a totally transformed venue that reimagines the entire concert-going experience. Above all, it ended once and for all the auditory curse that has plagued this venue for so long.
Tour Pollmeier’s beech sawmill in Aschaffenburg, Europe’s largest cut-to-size hardwood production site.