Trust the New York Times to write an article about acoustics without consulting a single acoustician. Particularly horrific, considering modern noise abatement began in New York City. I mean, it's a lovely article but it has that archetypal, "sound is magical nobody can predict it" aspect that causes architects to not predict it. Which is a modern problem, not an ancient one. Seattle Times, July 2009: Seattle Times, August 2009: Actually, the guy who had to manage the pain-in-the-ass acoustics for that space told us to STFU and GTFO.This chapel, formerly part of a Catholic seminary, was designed 50 years ago for the purpose of communion with God. But somehow — perhaps by accident, perhaps by design — the chapel also captured that most elusive of qualities: near-perfect acoustics.
The acoustics were the result of a deliberate, painstaking design process, including numerous experiments with the help of audio-equipment experts, acoustics salesmen and even paint manufacturers.