We had the pleasure of working with HLW on the design of JetBlue’s new headquarters in Long Island City and are happy to share the news that the project is featured in the new issue of Interior Design. You can read the full article here.
219 West / Subcat Studios Wins 2012 AIANY Architecture Merit Award!
We had the pleasure of working on this project with all of the cool cats at SubCat and Fiedler Marciano Architecture! The studios are right next to a freight train and heavy traffic but with floated constructions, careful tuning of the interiors and close coordination with Fiedler Marciano Architecture, the studios sound and look great!
Newest member of the National Council of Acoustical Consultants
We are happy to announce that lally acoustical consulting is now a member firm of the National Council of Acoustical Consultants (NCAC). As the premier industry organization representing over 150 member consulting firms in the US and worldwide, the NCAC has been advancing the cause of effective, qualified, and ethical acoustical consulting since 1962. Candidate firms must demonstrate experience and qualification through client and colleague references, as well as participation in acoustics technical societies, including as the Acoustical Society of America (ASA) and the Institute of Noise Control Engineering (INCE). This year is the 50th anniversary of the founding of NCAC, and we are glad to be a part of it!
FFFFT (the fast fast fast Fourier transform)
No, it’s not the sound of the air being let out of your tires!
Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have just published a ground-breaking computational method for analyzing digital signals, including sounds and images.
The Fourier Transform is a way to break a complicated signal down into its most basic components, and it’s how computers manipulate things like acoustic and visual information—everything from your jpeg and mp3 files up to complicated acoustic measurement and analysis gear that consultants like ourselves use daily.
The last major improvement in the efficiency of the Fourier Transform came in the 1960s, with the advent of the “Fast” Fourier Transform (often denoted FFT). That was a long time ago, but the FFT is still the method of choice for on-the-fly number crunching in everything from cellphones to video games to high-end audio and graphics workstations.
The new algorithm that MIT has devised (a “nearly optimal sparse Fourier transform”) is substantially faster than the FFT for a large range of realistic and useful cases—up to 10 times faster. It isn’t hard to imagine that such a major leap in efficiency will lead to smaller, cheaper, and more powerful electronics, since the work they do under the hood just got a whole lot easier!
[via MIT News]
Happy new year!
Everyone at lally acoustical consulting would like to wish our friends, clients, and colleagues a happy and healthy 2012! We are looking forward to a great year and hope that you are too.
Random order
Using simple, functional components like DC motors, wire, and cardboard boxes, Swiss artist Zimoun assembles building blocks of motion into massive, engrossing sonic environments. An individual motor may exhibit repetitive motion and deterministic noise, but dozens of identical systems spawn complex imagery and random sound that evoke organic phenomena from wind in the grass to running water.
Zimoun’s “Sculpting Sound” is on display through January 8 at the Ringling Museum of Art in Florida, and the artist has an upcoming solo exhibition scheduled for February 2 – March 10, 2012 at Bitforms Gallery in Chelsea.
[via It’s Nice That]