Designing a place of worship represents one of the most complex and fascinating challenges in architectural acoustics. For the Santa Maria del Carmine Complex in Santa Maria la Carità (Naples) — a project born from winning a design competition alongside architects Emilio Vitale and Adriana Pidalà — close multidisciplinary collaboration from the very first conceptual phase was key to the project's success.

Involving Studio Sound Service from day one enabled us to model the geometry and analyze the complex volumes of the space long before final construction details were set. This approach made it possible to calibrate shapes and materials in perfect alignment with the architectural vision, preventing the acoustic issues typical of sacred spaces and eliminating the need for late, invasive, or unsightly corrective measures.

Integrated acoustic solutions:

• Integrated acoustic wall (Slat Absorber): designed as a timber slat wall with a porous sound-absorbing backing. This custom solution utilizes traditional interior design materials, transforming them into high-performance elements for sound absorption and reflection control.
• Monolithic acoustic plaster and seamless ceilings: continuous, joint-free acoustic treatments applied to the room's surfaces to control reverberation time (RT60) while preserving the clean, uninterrupted aesthetic of the architecture.
• Precision electroacoustic integration (Column Arrays): installation of a directional column array sound reinforcement system. This technology focuses acoustic energy directly onto the congregation, minimizing unwanted reflections off reflective surfaces and ensuring excellent speech intelligibility (STI).