Georgetown University Law Center

Washington, DC

Client:

Polysonics provided complete acoustical and technical systems design for the construction of the new Law Center at Georgetown University with a $600,000 budget. Adjoining the existing law library which underwent simultaneous renovations, also with the guidance of Polysonics, the new facilities included multiple mixed-use learning spaces, two large lecture halls, a fitness center and a moot courtroom that was designed to simulate the U.S. Supreme Court. Leveraging years of experience providing the design of courtroom technologies for the Administrative Office of the US Courts, Polysonics provided systems that enhance both the learning experience in the classroom and introduce the student to technologies that they will employ in the course of their work upon graduation.

Of particular interest in the Law Center project is Polysonics’ use of a centralized control system that is capable of monitoring and servicing all A/V systems from a remote master control facility. Providing help-desk services, asset management/loss prevention, maintenance and operations scheduling, this system offers significant quality of service and return on investment advantages when compared with a collection of stand-alone systems. Each of the two lecture halls features video teleconferencing capabilities, while other classrooms have connectivity to allow remote lecture attendance and distance learning applications. The moot courtroom is further equipped with advanced document and evidence presentation systems, modern court reporting capabilities and carefully designed acoustics for clearly intelligible speech. Each classroom and lecture hall was designed to meet or exceed what is now accepted as the ANSI S12.60 acoustical standard for classroom environments. This standard, now adopted universally in the United States, further serves as the basis for a number of LEED credits in projects for education seeking such certification.