Worship space acoustics is a branch of architectural acoustics which deals with the audible effects imparted to sounds produced within architectural spaces.


These effects—the most familiar being reverberation and echo—are brought about by the size, shape, and finish materials of enclosed spaces and are physical consequences of these architectural elements. These audible phenomena have, therefore, existed for as long as we have had buildings.

Architectural acoustics as an engineering discipline is, by comparison, a relatively new field, emerging in the early twentieth century when Wallace Clement Sabine, a Harvard physics professor, was called upon to correct speech intelligibility problems in a lecture hall in the Fogg Museum on Harvard’s campus. 


Considered the father of architectural acoustics, Sabine was the first to develop a scientific basis to quantify and predict acoustical characteristics; because of this he was hired as the acoustical consultant for Boston’s Symphony Hall, the first concert hall designed using quantitative acoustics. 


Given these historical beginnings and the importance of sound quality in music performance halls, architectural acoustics has focused primarily on concert halls, where most of the research and scientific design developments have occurred.

In concert halls, acoustics is usually the top priority, and the best concert halls are often cited to evoke images of acoustical excellence, such as Carnegie Hall. Although acoustics is also a major priority in worship spaces, it is often compromised by liturgical and architectural imperatives, budgets, and aesthetics.

It is significant that the authors of Worship Space Acoustics state, on the first page, a key motivating factor: “Although concert halls have been a primary subject of room-acoustics research, worship spaces are used more frequently and by more people, thus calling for a book of this nature.”



Originally writen by sacredarchitecture and most pictures collected from pinterest