When Governor “Robert Moses” Cuomo announced the 1.6 billion transformation of the landmark James A. Farley Post Office into a 21^st Century Transportation hub, he said that it was time for commuters to “travel without anxiety”.  Our acoustic consultants and AV designers knew how reducing stress depended on decreasing noise and increasing intelligibility of announcements.  The PA system had to be 100% clear, always, despite noise from Amtrak trains and HVAC equipment. Assuring the Moynihan Station stands the test of time, Cerami designed state-of-the art way-finding, with sophisticated information displays and LED screens so that Moynihan will be, as Cuomo said, “everything Penn Station is not.”

Signature Solution: By now you’ve heard about that stunning Train Hall with a 92 foot- high skylight and an acre of glass. You may have even seen it for yourself.  But what you probably haven’t seen are the PA speakers.  The use of 3D acoustical modeling allowed Cerami to efficiently and accurately evaluate the various architectural design concepts by SOM in the virtual environment to seamlessly integrate the PA speakers. 650,000 daily commuters will be able to hear us loud and clear – and find their way without stress.

Cerami is pleased to announce its role in steering the acoustic design for the new Concourse B at LaGuardia Airport. The $4 billion renovation project involved replacing dated stainless-steel columns and low ceilings with an airy, art-filled concourse dotted with trees, natural light, and soaring 60-foot ceilings. LaGuardia Terminal B, reimagined and redesigned by HOK, is now a beacon of light in 21st-century development and the first new airport built in the country within the last 25 years, with acoustics that are designed to create a welcoming and relaxing environment.

Cerami’s mission from the Port Authority was resolute: make the customer feel better. To that end, Cerami designed the concourse, terminals, pedestrian bridge, ticketing gates, and headhouse, so they are as welcoming as possible, reducing the stress of flying for passengers and creating a calm environment for airport staff. Even the TSA offices and baggage claim area weren’t overlooked. Extra care was taken in designing specific noise control measures for things like the baggage handling conveyors, which aren’t even visible to passengers.

Signature Solution: Cerami designed the acoustics for the new pedestrian bridge, which has airplanes taxiing right underneath it. While a very elegant architectural feature, travelers would certainly not want to hear the roar of engines or feel the vibrations as they pass over it on their way to their gate. Our team collaborated with the structural engineers, establishing criteria and specific calculations, to get it just right. “We took to the airfields to measure noise levels from airplanes taking off, landing and even taxiing to determine the perfect type of glass to control sound,” said Victoria Cerami, CEO of Cerami. “The first impression of New York will be one of peace – something we can all use more of these days.”

Grand Central Terminal is the epitome of a thriving transportation hub. For years, GCT was the euphemism for frenzied cacophonous activity. That was before Cerami was brought in to upgrade the Audio-Visual systems as part of the Metro North Railroad Customer Service Initiative project.

With 2 million people commuting each day, the user experience needed to improve. The PA system and the giant schedule boards were not catching up to changes quickly enough. The question was how to design a new system, but keep the acoustic and visual aesthetic of this 1913 Historic Landmark.

Signature Solution: Steerable Line-Array of Speakers: To develop a PA system that could efficiently address hundreds of thousands of people daily and compensate for the challenges of maintaining existing speaker layouts and landmarked finishes, we used 3D acoustical modeling to optimize the intelligibility of announcements. Along with this upgraded system at GCT, Cerami undertook the improvements of 130 Metro-North platforms. If you miss your train, you can no longer blame it on the PA system!