Prince Mahidol Hall
ThailandCompany Name: Christiani & Nielsen (Thai) PCL.
Project description
Prince Mahidol Hall is a gigantic music and performance hall. It has been designed as a world class 2,000 seat theatre for the Mahidol University’s Salaya campus. The hall space is specially designed to provide the best natural acoustics for opera or orchestral symphonies. It also caters for other specialist activities within the university. The design concept originated from the Mahidol University logo with the pitch form often found in traditional Thai architecture. In recognition of the university’s prestigious medical background, graceful organic forms are inherent within the building’s design DNA. The abstract purity of shape of the dramatic steel ribs forming the skeletal structure of its roof was inspired by human ribs and plant leaf veins.
Contractor
Christiani & Nielsen (Thai) PCL.
Christiani & Nielsen (Siam) Ltd. was established in Thailand on 28th February 1930 with shareholders Christiani & Nielsen A/S, The Privy Purse (Crown Property Bureau) and The East Asiatic Company Limited. During the past 85 years, the company has constructed almost 2,000 projects in Thailand and internationally handed to both the Government and private sector companies. Today, we are a leading construction company in Thailand providing a wide range of services including design and construction of building and civil engineering projects, design, fabrication and erection of steel structures and mechanical and electrical installations.
Key Achievements
- Good relationship/cooperation within the team. The owner had a good relationship with architect and also main contractor. We all had worked very hard together to achieve the best solution for the project.
- Invention of a new solution- The displacement air condition system has eased a problem of noise control and also the energy consumption.
- Performance Simple standard gypsum board can create a wonderful acoustic ceiling for the hall. It was also solving the time limit and exactly the cost control.
Key Challenges
The acoustic requirements were challenging but achieved through the acoustic design- the minimum noise level air-conditioning supply, the double layer shell, solid walls and sound-reducing doors were all important in ensuring the highest sound quality within the auditorium itself. The displacement air-conditioning system, which distributes air to the auditorium’s seats from floor level, was specifically selected to efficiently ventilate the hall whilst reducing noise and waste energy from within such a large volume. The acoustic ceiling of the auditorium was deliberately designed to achieve the best acoustic performance with the simple material of 3 layers regular gypsum board. It saved time and cost at the same time.