WPI senior Peter De Bonte's love of science and music were in perfect harmony last spring when he analyzed ways to maximize the quality of the sounds that will emanate from the Meadow Summer Stage of the Boch Center for the Performing Arts in Mashpee, Mass . The arena is part of Phase I of the Boch Center, Cape Cod's first and only year-round professional and community arts facility, which will be built on 10.9 acres adjacent to the Mashpee Commons marketplace. The fan-shaped audience area will incorporate 1,000 fixed seats under a canopy covering plus space on the lawn for an additional 1,000 people. It will be adjacent to a Community Arts Center with dressing rooms and multipurpose studios for rehearsals, performances and meetings.
Outdoor venues have no walls.
Noise is another problem for the Boch Center-the windy site is a short distance from Otis Air Force Base. In his report, De Bonte recommends adding a central loudspeaker system to make up for the area's lack of walls, grading the meadow at a steep angle, and replacing grass with ground covers such as wood chips in selected areas to improve the acoustics. De Bonte completed his research and report for his Major Qualifying Project, a WPI degree requirement. The project required creative approximation of the open-air space as an indoor facility. CATT then simulates sound as rays traveling from the sources to the receivers.