INPUT
House of
Worship Design:
Higher Ceilings,
Higher Efficiency
By Joseph De Buglio
C
hurches these days are building lower and lower. I guess when
so many churches have experienced only poor quality acoustics,
many wonder what the point of building a taller worship space
might be. As it turns out, a lot of churches are getting their
acoustics fixed, sounding better today than they ever have before.
When a church builds a low ceiling, it limits congregational singing and
makes you more dependant on technology. But guess what. The same things
that limit congregational singing are what also limit the performance of all
sound systems. So, instead of getting 100 per cent out of your high-quality,
expensive sound system, you’re getting only 40 to 60 per cent of the system’s
true performance abilities. It is actually cheaper to build higher than the
added cost of audio technology to compensate.
The chart below should clear the air as to the minimum height your next
church should be. Also, a taller worship space does not mean you’re stuck
with longer reverb times. A higher ceiling means natural room reverberation
is adjustable and tuneable. With a taller ceiling, you can change the frequency
response of the whole room independent of a sound system or equalizer.
Note: This data is based on 2,800 churches from North America, Europe, the
Philippines, and Central America.
Church height is important for a worship space. One of the biggest parts of
worship is singing – congregational singing, to be specific. When singing
as a group, several elements are required for a good and healthy worship
experience. There is chorusing, harmony, the volume of the singing, and
being able to hear yourself and the people around you. When all of these
elements are in balance, the worship experience is like no other. People get
a lot of satisfaction from the singing experience in rooms that have ceiling
heights that match the size of the seating capacity of the worship space.
The chart shows minimum heights. If you want to build higher you can, as
the singing experience gets even better though the improvement is subtler.
In countries with freedom of religion laws, the worship space portion of
a church building has no roof height limits, regardless of local city building
height restrictions.
High ceilings allow better and less expensive sound systems to be
used. Higher ceilings permit better gain before feedback and make it easier
to isolate drums and floor monitors. The performance of the sound system
is also much better when this is coupled with a good quality acoustical
management system.
There are economic advantages, too. The higher the ceiling, the cheaper
it is to heat and cool when using a vertical displacement HVAC system, which
is specifically designed for large gathering spaces. Such systems use smaller
HVAC components, cost less to install, and about 30 to 40 per cent less to
operate. In addition, the cooling systems last two to three times longer.
Another thing to consider: if building new, don’t build a flat ceiling that is
parallel to the floor. Many churches that are moving into commer-
cial buildings are learning the hard way that flat ceilings limit the
quality of live musical performances and congregational singing.
Sure, with the right acoustical panels, you can improve the room
for amplified sound for a static congregation, but a vibrant and
interactive audience will be very limited. There is little that can
help congregational singing even if you have the height. Vertical
standing waves are harder to manage than horizontal ones. If
you know what you are doing, horizontal standing waves can be
controlled to create an outstanding room. It is part of the formula
for the almost perfect worship space.
Funny, concert musicians that perform in a church that I have
fixed often make comments like, “I wish our concert hall sound-
ed and performed as well.” That is almost like saying, “Concert halls
make for lousy worship spaces but worship spaces can perform
as concert halls.”
This piece was originally published on Joe De Buglio’s Church Sound &
Acoustics Blog, found at www.churchacousticsandsoundsystems.com.
Joseph De Buglio is an acoustician and the owner of JdB Sound Acoustics, which
has been working exclusively with the church community in solving acoustical
and sound system problems since 1981. In that time, hundreds of churches have
had their acoustical problems fixed, expanding the performance of their sound
systems at the same time. For more information, visit www.jdbsound.com.
PROFESSIONAL SOUND 9
PROFESSIONAL SOUND 9