The historic Wolverhampton Civic Halls were closed in 2015 in order to undertake a major refurbishment of the spaces. The two live performances spaces, the Civic Hall and the Wulfrun Hall, have capacities of 3,400 and 1,200 respectively.

The refurbishment works included major renovations to the halls and conferencing spaces, new roof constructions to the halls, new ventilation systems and the construction of an additional balcony level within the Civic Hall. The works also included the creation of new bars and ancillary spaces for both patrons and performers.

Sandy Brown was appointed to advise on the acoustic design of the refurbishment works through to handover. Recommendations for acoustic criteria for the development, along with a review of the design were provided in relation to the following:

• Location and provision of suitable acoustically absorptive and reflective finishes within the halls to provide suitable internal conditions for the variety of performances that will take place at the Halls, assessed using a ODEON generated 3D computer model
• Control of external noise ingress via the building envelope
• Detailed assessment of control of entertainment noise egress to determine the required performance and specification of the new roof and secondary glazing systems
• Sound insulation of internal separating elements
• Control of noise from building services within the building and to nearby noise sensitive premises.

Support was provided to the contractor throughout the construction period, including providing guidance on the mechanical services redesign and commissioning testing was undertaken prior to handover to demonstrate compliance with the acoustic criteria.