AIA Southeast Asia/ Rockfon - How your Design Choices Can Lead to Great or Terrible Acoustics
When: Thursday 20 August 2026 @ 05:45 (Eastern US time)/ 17:45 (Singapore time)
Where: Raffles City Convention Centre, Singapore 178882
CES Credits - Estimated 1 LU/ HSW for AIA Members
Speaker
Gary Mandaras, PhD, Assoc AIA, ASA, INCE; Acoustics Specialist I Rockfon
Description
That large surface overhead ~ the ceiling ~ is very important for making your designs sound great. Will students understand their teachers? Will patients feel privacy? Will diners be able to chat comfortably? It all depends on what materials you use and where you place them. A common mistake is using specifications from old projects that compromise the acoustics, instead of learning simple design approaches that optimize the sound.
You will learn what roles your ceilings might need to play - absorb noise inside the room, block noise from a floor above or keep conversations in the room next door private. You will learn how materials absorb sound and what all the numbers from the manufacturers mean. You will then learn how much of different materials are needed, and where to place them, to ensure your design is successful to the ears. This seminar is a practical guide to acoustical design with actionable points to improve current projects immediately.
With experience and graduate degrees in Acoustics (Ph.D.), Architecture (M.Arch.) and Business (M.B.A.), Dr. Madaras brings a broad skillset to any auditory endeavour.
In his more than 25-year career in architectural acoustics, Dr. Madaras has served as an Acoustics Consultant with firms such as Jaffe Holden Acoustics, Talaske and PMK Consultants in the United States. For the past 16 years, he has served as Rockfon’s Acoustics Specialist for North America.
Dr. Madaras’ project experience includes a wide variety of educational, cultural, civic, hospitality, healthcare, worship, corporate, multi-family residential and entertainment facilities. He specializes in the design of large assembly spaces for performing arts and education as well as healing environments inside healthcare facilities.
He has been awarded the Robert B. Newman Award for Merit in Architectural Acoustics and his research has won an award from the Institute of Noise Control Engineering.
His work in architectural acoustics has been featured in a series of commARCH video podcasts, on Wall Street Journal Television and in Construction Specifier, Medical Construction & Design and Building Design + Construction magazines.
Dr. Madaras works frequently with organizations such as the National Institute of Building Sciences, National Institutes of Health and Green Building Initiative to evolve acoustical design standards for buildings. He lectures frequently at professional meetings, conferences and trade shows in the architecture, acoustics and healthcare industries.
Many educational videos about architectural acoustics are available on his LinkedIn profile.
