Project Type: Hospitality

The Union League
Lincoln Hall
Architect: BLT Architects

The Union League of Philadelphia has made its home in an elegant, Second Empire style brick and brownstone building in the heart of Philadelphia since 1865. In 1911, additions designed by famous Philadelphia architect Horace Trumbauer which extended the length of the building to an entire city block were completed and there have been various modifications, upgrades, and other renovations throughout the years.

One of the most extensive renovations was initiated in 2012, involving upgrades to the main kitchen and big changes to The Lincoln Ballroom. Metropolitan Acoustics was commissioned to provide design and testing services for the acoustics of the ballroom and to design a new A/V system for it as well.

One of the interesting aspects of the renovation was the installation of a new ceiling. There were drawings for the original ceiling that was never built, so the design team made the decision to use those drawings and build the ceiling the way it was originally meant to be. When we were doing our acoustical analysis we were able to use the drawings and we built a computer model of the space with the new ceiling which gave us a clear indication of the room characteristics and what needed to be done to address echoes and reverberation. This was also helpful in our design of the A/V system, since the new ceiling had different design elements which were going to affect the performance of the system and the overall intelligibility of the amplified audio. Since we were involved in the design of the sound system as well as the methods for tuning the acoustic properties of the room, we were able to provide solutions that worked seamlessly with one another to create a space with optimal sound characteristics whether a particular event required amplified sound or not.

Click here for more information and some before and after pictures of the ceiling.