March 10, 2020
Did you know that we are designing the acoustics for the renovation of the SS United States? Cerami is partnering with RXR Realty LLC to repurpose the ship as a “permanently moored floating structure anchored by a hotel”. This unique Philadelphia project is having us suggest some interesting solutions.
Check out the Bloomberg News article on the ship here!
Mann Report, January 2020
A building made of hard panes of glass and located on a busy Midtown street should be a recipe for cacophony. But the $450 million newly reimagined Museum of Modern Art features an expanded 40,000-square-foot gallery space that can offer musical performances — and blessed quiet.
“It’s about understanding the user experience and how you translate into it,” said Victoria Cerami, CEO of acoustic and audiovisual consultant Cerami Associates. “It’s the difference between a restaurant experience or the office experience. But the museum is the intersection of art and architecture. The patron may not connect to why this is so cool, but if it weren’t there, you’d notice it. It’s that invisible, unconscious need.”
As the acoustic and audiovisual consultant for the Mo MA, Cerami melded art and science to create an environment that allows people to enjoy music without distraction from street noise, speak quietly and wander the exhibits without footsteps distracting others.
The redesign was led by New York architecture firms Diller Scofidio + Renfro and Gensler. Cerami created an acoustical design focused on the lobby, bookstore, main staircase, gallery spaces, restaurants and eateries, Creativity Lab and the Marie-Josee and Henry Kravis live performance Studio. Dedicated acoustically absorptive finishes were applied throughout the gallery spaces, common areas and installations that included audio.
“The acoustical treatment at the stair at MoMA is also something you’d find at a restaurant,” said John Hauenstein, a Cerami principal. “That absorption may not come into play when the restaurant is lightly occupied or at a Sunday lunch. But at night when the bar is busy, it reaches a limit.”
The staircase is clad in suave, stained panels of micro-perforated bird’s-eye maple, cantilevered from a steel sheet connected to the ceiling and suspended like a mobile. Walnut-paneled walls to dampen the clatter of heels are speckled with micro-perforation.
Perhaps most striking is the Studio, a dedicated space for performance, music, sound, spoken word and film performances that faces the street. However, sound is blocked via a box-within-box construction, which places metal mesh within the façade, controlling sound and light that enters and leaves the space.
Acoustical ceilings were utilized to control noise levels in the common lounge and restaurant areas that involved eating/drinking, footfall, chair scraping, etc. Even the MoMA store implemented acoustical controls to provide a calm environment.
Cerami’s goal is to inform the client about the acoustic results of their design decisions so they can make the appropriate decisions, Maniscalco said.
“It’s about balancing the architect’s vision for the space and making it match,” added Matthew Schaeffler, associate principal.
Today, technology is increasing the accuracy of acoustical design without building a multitude of costly mockups. Cerami’s in-house demonstration studio allows clients to experience the varying results with different technologies. Virtual reality can allow clients to “walk” through a space and experience how noise levels (conversations, etc.) can change. In one case, a client in the midst of value-engineering a project made millions of dollars of decisions in 90 minutes after going through the simulations.
“We help guide them through the decision making for each company, and it’s different for each geography,” Maniscalco said. “What works for Google [a Cerami client] on the West Coast might not on the East Coast.”
The MoMA team was an early user of the studio, explained Virginia Demske, a Cerami associate.
“It was out of necessity. The whole team wanted to understand the implications of the façade,” she said. “Now, it’s become part of the drill. We’re always happy to do it.”
New York, NY, October 21, 2019 – As the MoMA reopens today to the public after a $450 million renovation, there is sure to be even more noise about the additional 47,000-square-feet and the 1,000 additional pieces of art. What won’t be making noise are the droves of patrons sauntering through the museum, clanking up and down the steps, clamoring for the first look at “the new MoMA”. That’s because Cerami & Associates, the acoustic designers for MoMA, were brought in to build the architect’s acoustic vision and design the way art is heard.
“MoMA is the intersection of art, architecture and the technology of acoustical illusion.” said Victoria Cerami, Cerami & Associates CEO. “We designed the acoustics at MoMA, so the sound disappears, and the art and architecture can be fully realized.”
Upon entry, one is captured by the stunning Blade Stair, designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro, the signature centerpiece connecting the old space to the new, cantilevered from a slender sheet of steel, and suspended like a mobile. A piece of artwork in itself, the stair creates a seamless acoustic connection from one gallery to the next carrying the visitors through the collections without interruption and praised by the Wall Street Journal architectural writer as “one of the most elegant acoustic measures I have ever seen.”
Aspirations for the space were achieved through a marriage of science and art. Cerami performed a series of detailed acoustical analysis to determine the optimum amount of acoustical absorption that would satisfy design objectives, landing on floor-to-ceiling wood-paneled walls, speckled with millions of barely detectable micro-perforations that absorb sound like a sponge – aligning the sound with the sleek beauty of the design.
At the heart of the new space is the Marie-Josée and Henry Kravis Studio, the worlds’ first dedicated space for performance, process and time-based art. Challenged with how to design the Studio to be impervious to NYC’s bustling 53rd Street and ensure its adaptability for an expansive variety of uses, Cerami brought this design challenge into their Immersive Studio to the MoMA creative team experience the experience before it was built. Through virtual simulations and numerous iterations, Cerami’s solution was a floating gallery with tilting walls, adjustable banners that can alter the acoustics, and an isolated secondary curtain wall engineered so guests will never know they are in midtown Manhattan. This silence is part of the gallery experience, art you can’t touch, but you can sense; a blank canvas to be transformed with each installation.
Cerami is proud to have contributed to the sensory experience of the new MoMA. For over 50 years, Cerami has provided signature buildings with their signature voice.
Philadelphia, PA, August 12, 2019 – Comcast Technology Center has made its splashing debut amongst Philadelphia’s skyline as a major entrepreneurial, technological and culinary hub. Designed by world-renowned architects Foster + Partners, Gensler, Kendall/Heaton Associates, and Daroff Design Inc., the new tower was envisioned to become Comcast’s new home for technological innovation that attracts the best talent from around world.
As the technology consultants to this tech company, handling all their communication technology, as well as the acoustic design, Cerami helped sync their HQ to the rhythms of Philadelphia and their network to the world.
With Cerami’s visioning capabilities, we set up new campus standards for hundreds of conference and collaboration spaces that we equipped with communications technology. This included 60 miles of fiber optic cabling, more than 1100 wireless access points and communications technology for 900,000 square feet of workspace, NBC10 studio, showcase floor, café, fitness center, and incubator spaces. We also were the master planners of their campus security.
The Comcast tower has gained acclaim for the numerous public spaces that are woven through the building. In particular, the enormous townhall and showcase floor. Cerami designed this amphitheater-style event space for ultimate transformation. In less than 60 seconds, with just a push of a button, the event space converts to a 10,000-foot DCI-compliant Dolby Atmos Surround screening space. Already, it’s been used for political debates, film screenings and new product introductions.
This extraordinary journey was captured in intimate detail by award-winning journalist James Andrew Miller. Please enjoy a digital version of the publication entitled ‘A New Era.’
It is with great excitement that Cerami announces the appointment of Christopher Peltier to Partner!
Christopher Peltier, PE, Partner
A reputation for excellence spanning coast to coast. Driving legacy projects such as Salesforce Tower, Media HQ projects, Hudson Yards, TWA Hotel, Little Caesars Arena, and the new Citi Headquarters, Christopher has unparalleled experience developing acoustical designs for projects of various complexities, nationally. He also has a background in IT and teledata infrastructure and multimedia system design, providing our clients with expert multi-discipline thought leadership and seasoned project management talent. As partner, Christopher will help lead the firm’s continued growth with a sharp focus on our brand promise to deliver best-in-class client service.
