Convent of Jesus & Mary — Administrative Block & Auditorium

Established in 1909, the Convent of Jesus and Mary, Ambala Cantonment is a co-educational senior secondary school affiliated to the CBSE. The school was looking for acoustic panel solutions for its auditorium. Inspired by the light-coloured wood and acoustic properties of the materials used in the Sydney Opera House concert hall, Rajesh Jain selected Canadian Douglas fir for the acoustic panels.

The 45-foot ceiling span was a design challenge, since the wood was only available in 8 to 20 ft lengths; it was overcome by end-matching the boards with inner tongue-and-groove joints. Each inverse U-panel is 75 ft long end to end, made of acoustic backing with 25 × 100 mm Douglas-fir strips spaced 30 mm apart to create a shadow line — more than 4,000 lineal feet of 1 × 4 fir in all.

Structural-grade Douglas fir was chosen for its colour, attractive grain and acoustic properties; as seasoned, ready-to-use softwood it allowed the project to be completed on time and within budget without compromising the architect’s vision. The administrative block and auditorium were inaugurated on 21 December 2018, and the project was featured by Canadian Wood, British Columbia.