AMBICO has designed and supplied nearly 100 both wood and steel acoustic doors and frames for the new Isabel Bader Center for the Performing Arts at Queen’s University in Kingston, ON, Canada. AMBICO has been involved from the very early design stages of the project, right through to the installation.
Due to the nature of the building being a performance hall, the architects had to rely on AMBICO’s acoustic material to block the sound from room to room. AMBICO produced STC (Sound Transmission Class) 40 steel and wood doors and STC 51 steel doors for the project, in addition to some unequal pairs of STC 59 steel doors. Make no mistake, sound is on a very short leash in this performance hall. These doors possess perimeter and bottom seals with astragal pairs that are all tested in accordance with ASTM E-90 and E-413 standards.
The project was totaled to $63 million with $22 million being generously donated by Drs. Alfred and Isabel Bader. The Center is named in honor of Isabel Bader, for her love of music and theater.
Concealed behind the incredible Isabel Bader Center and its benefactors is a truly romantic love story: Isabel met Alfred aboard a ship, the two courted and more than 400 love letters were exchanged. After their relationship ended prematurely, Alfred went on to marry someone else and have a family. Years later, when Alfred was divorced, he and Isabel rekindled their romance and the two got married and remain happily married today.
The acoustic doors and frames provided by AMBICO for The Isabel Bader Center are a great example of how our products can improve the experience of those who visit the building. The doors lock in the sound of each respective room to ensure that the performances experienced in the Isabel Bader Centre will live up to the beauty and intimacy of the romance of its namesake.
Photo © Doublespace Photography
