Bristol Beacon (Colston Hall) Bristol, UK

By bob.essert

Bristol Beacon (Colston Hall)

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bob.essert

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Sound Space Vision’s track record on new and renovated concert halls in the UK and around the world has gained the respect of the music community. SSV was the acoustics consultant of choice when Bristol City Council and Bristol Music Trust, after 20 years of tireless effort, decided to transform the Colston Hall building – southwest England’s premier concert destination. Renamed Bristol Beacon in 2020, the project has transformed the  the Concert Hall and a second performance hall, The Lantern, whilst also creating a new performance space and music education hub in the building’s Victorian cellars.

Bristol Beacon has gone through four major changes of interior geometry over its 150-year history, transmuting from a classical concert hall form to different variations of a cinema-type form. Each change increased the audience capacity but also altered the Hall’s acoustics. Modern concert hall standards and the demands of mixed programming served to highlight the significant acoustic limitations of a 1951 stage and auditorium designed before the advent of rock and roll. The goal of Bristol City Council and the Bristol Music Trust was to give the building a new lease of life, a  new relevance to the 21^st Century, improving the sound for amplified music and for classical music – essential to Bristol Beacon’s future business plan as a regional centre of international quality music making of all genres.

The new concert hall interior has 2 balconies, both shallower than the deep single balcony in the 1951-2020 design.  The shoebox plan geometry has been retained, with important modifications around the platform and organ to improve the natural acoustic onstage.  The sound is clear and warm, with bass clarity that speaks to 21^st century listeners’ acoustical aesthetics.

As acousticians for the project, we were the “ears”, offering assessment and strategic guidance to improve the immersion and warmth of orchestral sound, as well as creating a clear tight sound for amplified music and speech events.   Our detailed acoustical design and engineering for this project included room acoustics and flexibility for the Concert Hall and The Lantern, sound isolation, services noise control and ongoing liaison with orchestra and choir.

Concert halls are places where the quality of the experience for audiences and performers is largely based on acoustical excellence. 

Bristol Beacon has been very well received by the entire music community, with plaudits from conductors, soloists, rock and pop performers.  In the Lantern Hall the singer-songwriters and jazz ensembles find an intimate and flexible performance environment.

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