Thomas Aites
Senior Consultant
When Carnegie Mellon University began construction on the Tepper School of Business, they didn’t set out to create a new gateway to the university, but that’s just what they did. CMU prides itself on having the most forward-looking business school in the world, and now they have the home to prove it.
Moore Ruble Yudell Architects & Planners led the design of the new five-story building, in association with Pittsburgh’s Renaissance 3 Architects. Acentech provided acoustics and audiovisual consulting services for the 295,000 square-foot building.
The Tepper School of Business was designed to foster connections, collaboration, and community. Acentech’s acoustics and audiovisual consultants strived to make this vision a reality. Acentech’s acoustics consultants used 3DListening to illustrate the auditory result before construction of the building. This predictive listening model allowed designers and end-users to hear how different design decisions would influence the sound of spaces. Our consultants also provided strategic acoustical design for the mechanical, architectural, and structural design of the building, allowing spaces to remain open and fluid, promoting a sense of community while maintaining good speech intelligibility.
Acentech’s audiovisual consultants designed and specified systems for spaces in the Tepper School of Business. These spaces include a welcome center, classrooms, faculty spaces, a fitness center, and a 600-seat auditorium. While each space had its unique requirements, all spaces centered on the design goal of connectivity. The audiovisual systems, along with the acoustic treatments work together to ensure all speech is intelligible while also promoting a sense of community. The Tepper School of Business has surpassed all expectations and is now, not only home to the Carnegie Mellon Business School, but also home to interdisciplinary collaboration, fostering new ideas and, the next generation of forward-thinkers.
