Built decades before the birth of the modern field of architectural acoustics, George Post’s Troy Savings Bank Music Hall incited a less than favorable response from critics at its 1875 opening.

Fifteen years later, in 1890, a large Odell concert organ purchased from New York financier William Belden was installed in the Hall. Though the Hall’s design was never intended to accommodate such a substantial presence, legend has it that this modification transformed the Hall into the acoustic wonder that it is today.

Sometime later, the Hall invested in custom, hand-painted, chemically formed, absorptive panels to fit in the legendary above-stage cove for use during amplified events. Years of use eventually caused the panels to lose their form. The Music Hall has a strong history of preservation, and rather than undertake an expensive replacement of the panels, they sought an appropriate restoration solution. 

After assessing the performance of the acoustic panels and carefully dimensioning the cove’s complex shape, support armatures were designed with an approach that retained acoustic performance while minimizing visual impact. The result is a retrofitted, water-jet cut armature that returns the panels to their intended shape at a fraction of the cost of replacing them.

Location Troy, NY