New World Symphony

New World Symphony, America’s Orchestral Academy, is a leading, world-class cultural institution. Its new iconic headquarters, designed by Pritzker-Prize-winning architect Frank Gehry and located in the City of Miami Beach, seeks to introduce nontraditional audiences to classical music and foster their appreciation of the art form.

Accurate Perforating is known for creating functional and aesthetically beautiful designs that often take center stage, but on this project, perforated metal components needed to shape sound were designed, manufactured, and installed for an important behind-the-scenes role in directing acoustics and engaging passersby.

Overview of New World Center

The 106,000-square-foot facility includes a 757-seat concert hall, 6,000-square-foot rooftop garden, 2.5-acre public park, and parking structure. Inside the concert hall, five large, billowing, sail-like acoustical panels display projected high-definition images during musical performances. An array of acoustically designed rehearsal spaces, ensemble rooms, teaching facilities, and performance spaces are all constructed with a glass observation wall, drawing visitors into the musical process.

An ideal acoustical environment for concert halls or other facilities is largely achieved through sound isolation from external noise and vibrations. Creating an immersive experience posed a challenge for designers and builders. The solution was to line the mullions of the windows with acoustically transparent perforated metal panels lined with an absorptive acoustical layer. This pairing reduces noise transmission and eliminates sound reverberation while also providing a unique yet unobtrusive appearance. Accurate manufactured the precisely engineered acoustical panels for the mullions of the glass walls. These panels were installed into the interior windows and doors.

Overcoming challenges to ensure on-time delivery

Accurate’s lead-time for intricate custom components is typically four to six weeks. In order to meet construction deadlines, the terms of the project schedule required a two-to-three-week turnaround on most of the acoustical components, including painting, installation of an absorptive acoustic layer, and custom packaging. Accurate had to produce 300-plus custom perforated and fabricated acoustical panels of various sizes for the interior windows and doors of the New World Symphony within these very short prescribed lead times. Each panel had to be made to precise field measurement – with dimensions often provided just weeks before their due date. According to Charlie Philips, Project Manager for Harmon, “Very few panels were the same. They were measuring the window openings as they moved along to get field measurements for the panels.”

An orchestrated production flow

Accurate’s Architectural Project Manager, Chris Berthold, understood the challenges of manufacturing hundreds of precisely engineered acoustical panels for the mullions of the glass walls. He diligently coordinated internal and external resources to complete the panels on time and within budget. Accurate utilized an array of equipment at both perforating and fabrication divisions, including perforating presses, laser cutters, panel benders, press brakes, shears, and levelers to precisely produce the custom components. Berthold implemented a quick-change process so the custom components could be manufactured in a short timeframe.

He accomplished this by staging the panels and then applying the last-minute fabrications upon receipt of the final field measurements from the installer, Harmon Inc. In addition to responding quickly and coordinating all resources, Berthold also compared field dimensions to the original drawings to ensure the panels were made accurately the first time. That attention to detail allowed him to quickly engineer a precise component every time for each of the over 300 panels. In the end, Philips was very satisfied with how quickly the project was completed without compromising product quality.

Shaping sound with superior products and services

To exceed expectations, a perforating company must have more than a large facility, advanced machinery, and experienced, problem-solving employees. Accurate believes in being a good partner by collaborating together to complete a project successfully. When faced with a challenge, we utilize resources to quickly and proactively convert an issue into a solution. Today, Accurate’s perforated components work in harmony with all of the other structural elements at the New World Center, helping to set the tone for an American architectural and acoustical masterpiece.