Okemos Community Church

The congregation of the Okemos Community Church enjoys and appreciates the wonderful acoustics of their 350-seat Sanctuary with balcony and pipe organ.

When the decision was made to reconfigure the seating, add pew seat padding and cover the side block walls with gypsum wallboard, the church and their architect sought professional advice on how to preserve the room’s acoustics.

Soundscape Engineering measured the acoustical characteristics of the space including reverberation time, which gives depth to music when ideal, provides sound envelopment and supports congregational signing, plus the impulse response, which informs us about sound reflections. Around this knowledge base, we constructed a computer model that gave us a clear picture of the existing conditions and a reference for various renovation options.

We provided recommendations for materials and their specific installation method as to not adversely affect the room acoustics. We also advised on the sound blocking performance of replacement windows to reduce sound from the main road just outside the Sanctuary.