Ada Township Parks and Recreation

Challenge

The Roselle Park Meeting Room at Ada Township Parks and Recreation in Ada, Michigan suffered from excessive reverberation that made community meetings, public hearings, and events difficult to follow. Speakers were hard to understand, and the problem worsened as room occupancy increased. The township needed a solution that would dramatically improve speech intelligibility without compromising the room's aesthetic character.

Memtech Acoustics conducted on-site acoustic testing in June 2017, measuring reverberation time (RT60) across multiple frequency bands. The results confirmed what occupants had long experienced: reverberation times were well above acceptable thresholds for speech-primary spaces, with mid-frequency RT60 values creating significant intelligibility problems during meetings and public events.

Solution

Memtech Acoustics developed two engineered treatment options, each modeled to achieve a target 60% reduction in reverberation time:

Option 1: Ceiling-Only Treatment covered approximately 1,200 square feet of ceiling area using high-performance absorptive panels. Product options evaluated included Lapendary ceiling panels, SonaKrete spray-applied acoustic finish, Acoustement 40 trowel-applied treatment, and StarSilent acoustic plaster. Each product was modeled against the room geometry and frequency response to confirm performance before specification.

Option 2: Combined Ceiling and Wall Treatment reduced the required ceiling coverage to approximately 800 square feet by adding roughly 300 square feet of wall-mounted panels rated at NRC 0.95. This hybrid approach distributed absorption across two surfaces, improving performance uniformity throughout the room and reducing the visual impact on any single surface.

Both options were engineered to meet the same RT60 targets. Memtech provided predictive acoustic modeling for each configuration so the township could evaluate performance, aesthetics, and budget side by side before committing to a direction.

Results

The selected treatment achieved the target 60% reduction in reverberation time across the critical speech frequency range. Post-installation measurements confirmed that RT60 values dropped to levels consistent with ANSI/ASA S12.60 guidance for meeting and assembly spaces. Community members and township staff reported immediate, noticeable improvement in speech clarity during meetings and public events. The acoustic treatment integrated cleanly with the existing room finishes, preserving the space's visual character while transforming its acoustic performance.