Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated places in the world, hosting an outdoor music event in the hub of the city will draw in a lot of tourism, but will at the same time cause a nuisance to the nearby neighborhood. The Central Harbourfront Event Space (CHES) is an ideal venue for organizing music festivals, but the venue is surrounded by several noise-sensitive buildings. In our involvement in designing the acoustical environment for the pop concerts, it was important for us to contain the noise within the legal noise limit while achieving the best sound experience. Using sophisticated acoustical design and modeling software, we were able to analyze and predict the impact of the physical environment while foreseeing the outcome of our acoustic solutions. Based on the result of our analysis, we came up with the following acoustic design solutions:
• Erected a large noise barrier made with locally sourced plywood and fiberglass. The modular barrier could be easily taken apart and stored for future use.
• Double-decker shipping containers were placed at the edges of the concert venue facing the Chinese People's Liberation Army Forces Hong Kong Building. The shipping containers were a cost-effective solution, as they were easily assembled and transportable.
• Noise enclosure for loudspeaker towers. The enclosure diverted the sound to the concert area while reducing the noise impact on the surrounding neighborhood.
• Sandbag barrier was erected around the subwoofers to absorb the low-frequency sound