Assessment of physicist Higini Arau-Puchades’s career in architectural acoustics: Between scientific vocation and the profession of consultant in a peripheral country

Spanish physicist Higini Arau-Puchades (Barcelona, 1946) has been an example of professional achievement in a country with a tradition of acoustic studies that was not highly developed. His prestige was established during the years of the Spanish democratic transition, in which the country invested in the construction of a large network of auditoriums and theatres. In the 1980s, during the refurbishment of the Palau de la Música Catalana of Barcelona (1981-89), he grew as a professional in close contact with German consultant Lothar Cremer. Soon afterward, he published his perfected formula for calculating reverberation time (1988) and collaborated with architect Rafael Moneo in the design of the Auditori of Barcelona (1987-99) and the Kursaal of San Sebastián (1990-99). Moneo and Arau also participated in the consultation of 2002 on the Avery Fisher Hall of New York. The acoustics of the reconstructed Gran Teatre del Liceu of Barcelona (1994-99) opened the door to him for the renovation of the Teatro alla Scala of Milan (2004). His latest contributions have been focused on correcting concert halls using a type of diffuser that can increase the acoustic volume. This principle was applied brilliantly to Tonhalle St. Gallen (2010).