The Challenge
Excessive reverberation caused by hard surfaces like drywall, marble, and glass created poor acoustic conditions in the Marriott Marquis hotel lobby and lounge, New York, NY.
The Solution
An acoustical study of the hotel’s lobby and lounge revealed that replacing drywall ceilings with the ACOUSTIBUILT seamless acoustical ceiling system reduced reverberation time by over 80%, significantly improving sound quality and comfort. These enhancements brought acoustic performance well within the preferred target range, enhancing sound clarity and overall comfort in the space.
Installing also improved the hotel’s acoustic comfort while maintaining the smooth, monolithic visual of drywall.
Resources
Acoustical Report Highlights
The original drywall ceilings and hard-surface finishes which resulted in excessive reverberation — measured in at 4.26 seconds in the lobby and 3.18 seconds in the lounge. These values far exceeded the recommended reverberation time range for such spaces, which should ideally fall between 0.6 to 1.4 seconds.
ACOUSTIBUILT ceilings reduced the reverberation time to 0.66 seconds in the lobby and 0.55 seconds in the lounge — an 85% and 83% improvement, respectively. These results demonstrate that with the correct acoustic analysis, you can significantly enhance speech clarity, reduce noise, and contribute to a more comfortable and inviting environment for hotel guests and staff. The seamless aesthetic of ACOUSTIBUILT also offers a clean monolithic visual without compromising acoustic performance.
Lobby
Conditions
Room: Estimated Area of 2900 SF
Average Ceiling Height: 14’
Surface finishes:
- Floor: Marble
- Walls: Drywall & Glass
- Ceiling: Drywall (baseline)
Lounge
Conditions
Room: Estimated Area of 1500 SF
Average Ceiling Height: 12’
Surface finishes:
- Floor: Vinyl
- Walls: Drywall & Glass
- Ceiling: Drywall (baseline)