Chapter 4: Courtrooms
Shape and Finishes
When court is in session, participants in the proceedings must not be distracted by
noise from outside the courtroom. Therefore, an acoustical enclosure, or soundlock,
that does not allow sound to transmit into adjoining spaces should be provided. The
public has free access to the courtroom to attend proceedings; however, a
soundlock must be provided at the main entrance to eliminate sound transfer from
outside the courtroom.
For courtrooms located on the periphery of the building, provision must be made
for adequately excluding exterior noise coming in through the facade or through
windows.
Courtroom interiors must ensure high speech intelligibility. Interior finishes must
control reverberation time. Echoes can be avoided by installing an acoustical
ceiling, sound-absorbent wall finishes, and/or carpeting. Fabric seats stabilize
reverberation when occupancy is low. For larger courtrooms, longer reverberation
times may be appropriate. Design of courtroom wall and ceiling planes should
address the following:
Acoustically reflective, concave surfaces that focus sound at the center
point(s) of the curve should be avoided. Acoustically reflective, convex
surfaces disperse sound over a wide area.
In large courtrooms, front walls should consist of acoustically reflective
materials, so that sound generated from the judicial area is reflected to the
spectator seating areas at the rear of the courtroom.
If the ceiling at the front of the courtroom is curvilinear or irregular, it can
be reflective. If the ceiling is flat, the geometry of the room determines
where sound-absorptive materials should be placed and where reflection is
necessary.
Walls and ceilings at the rear of the courtroom (around the spectator
seating area) can be finished with sound-absorptive materials to prevent
sound from reflecting back to the judicial area. In some cases, it is
appropriate to finish two walls or portions of walls at right angles with
absorptive materials.
12/19/97
4-61
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