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Can an open ceiling help reduce echo in large worship or prayer halls?
Large worship or prayer halls—like those in Dubai’s Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque or Riyadh’s Imam Turki bin Abdullah Mosque—often suffer from long reverberation times due to vast, hard-surfaced volumes. Aluminum open ceilings, when combined with targeted acoustic treatments, can dramatically reduce echo and improve speech intelligibility during sermons and recitations.
Perforated panels backed with high-density mineral wool or fiberglass achieve NRC values up to 0.90. In Muscat’s community mosque expansions, architects specify 50% open area perforations with 25 mm acoustic backers, cutting reverberation times from 4.5 seconds to under 2 seconds.
Suspended acoustic clouds shaped like traditional domes hang at 6–8 m heights, absorbing mid- and low-frequency sounds generated by congregational echoes. LED uplighting embedded within cloud frames accentuates architectural features while avoiding glare.
Angled slat arrays direct sound energy downward and toward carpeted floors, further disrupting reflections off balcony soffits. In Doha’s multi-level prayer halls, a combination of slatted clouds and perimeter wall treatments ensures that the imam’s voice carries clearly without loudspeakers overpowering adjacent spaces.
Integrated sound-diffusing rings around central chandeliers scatter sound evenly, creating a balanced acoustic field. Maintenance access remains straightforward: removable panel clusters enable cleaning and backer replacement without impacting worship activities.
By leveraging perforated aluminum panels, suspended baffles, and strategic slat orientation, open ceiling systems transform expansive religious interiors into acoustically balanced, spiritually resonant environments.