New York, NY Cerami, one of the largest women-led acoustic design and technology consulting companies, created the intelligent Public Address (PA) system for Moynihan Train Hall. Designed to be, as gov. Cuomo said, “Everything Penn Station is not,” the PA system brings a sense of calm to the station, with an invisible sound system that never gets in the way of the overall aesthetics. Not an easy solve in such a cavernous space, with the potential of sound bouncing off the 92-ft. high skylight and the stone floors.

Acoustic Modeling

SOM, the lead architects for DASNY/Empire State Development, challenged Cerami to make sure nothing got in the way of the natural light pouring in from gigantic skylights above the main course—not even the smallest speakers. Cerami’s 3D model allowed them to perform intricate analyses and visually convey the findings to the team to help make decisions.

After sharing various concepts in virtual environments that seamlessly integrated the PA speakers, Cerami found a way to hide dozens of small speakers, uniformly, throughout the 255,00 s/f hall. According to Cerami, “If you can find even one, we’re buying lunch at the Starbucks, which we also designed in Moynihan Hall. (Hint: they are hidden behind grills and bands).”

Cerami is the official acoustic and AV consultant at Moynihan Train Hall.  Services included signage and screens throughout Moynihan Train Station, the sophisticated Passenger Information Display System (PIDS), HVAC noise analysis, and the overall acoustics.

Cerami is the premier acoustic design and technology consulting company working with world-class developers and architects on their iconic projects.