In an enclosed room, the sound can be overwhelming. In a wide open space, sound is lost in the void. Using lessons from nature, we design sound for intimacy and clarity. We help designers refine spaces through active research that informs the development of geometries, materials, and systems. Our approach reinforces the visual realm of architecture with the subtlety, power, and delight that sound can bring to the built environment.
Why Threshold?
Charles and Ray Eames said, “The details are not the details, they make the design.” Attention to the way materials and geometries interact with sound energy can affect how comfortable space feels. While broad design concepts set the tone or the "big picture," the details are where those ideas come to life.
We are a studio of 35 design thinkers who deliver a tailored approach with clarity, wit, and approachability.
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Our work emphasizes an understanding of users’ needs, re-framing problems, and developing ideas through a collaborative, iterative, and empathetic process.
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Our firm scale is designed and deliberately structured to be responsive to client feedback, resulting in a higher level of service and more direct communication.
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We approach everyone involved in the project as an ally in the effort to mold the soundscape in service of the building’s purpose. We recognize our responsibility to avoid jargon and speak directly to our audience.
Our Services
Acoustics are intrinsic to architecture, not add-ins to a completed design. We help the Design Team make smart decisions oriented toward what the owners and users need and expect from their building. Basing our interactions in goodwill, candor, and respect has helped us build long-term relationships with our clients and collaborators.
Acoustics
Spaces must now succeed as both rooms and venues, for presentation and conversation, as places for in-person presentation of ideas as well as their distribution and collaboration at a distance. They thus have theatrical demands: lighting, acoustics, AV technology, and even basic arrangement of the participants. We consider these demands holistically, as architecture, if the audio/video objective is a natural effect, a present conversation, near or far. This way technology acts as a window for participants, instead of an onerous barrier.
