The construction of the World Trade Conference Center in St. Paul, MN required strong cooperation between architects and acoustical consultants.

According to Steven J. Orfield of Orfield Laboratories, Inc., "...meeting center designs are driven either by architectural concerns (resulting in poor A-V system performance), or by technological concerns (resulting in less-than optimum facility aesthetics)."

Orfield, who was the performance consultant on the Minnesota World Trade Conference Center project, knew that his client would not compromise on the high expectations for the interior architecture and the interior performance. His client was in fact involved in major design decisions, and, "...when it became apparent that the building in which the Center was being constructed would not meet NC (Noise Criteria) for this project, they insisted on a negotiation with the building developers to resolve problems of a noisy HVAC (heating and cooling) system (a problem resolved after much discussion and measurement)." His client even arranged another line of credit to expand their AV budget in order to insure that the highest quality system was installed in the center.

By the end of the project, all of the rooms in the Center met performance standards for NC values, reverb time, intelligibility and sound isolation. Steven J. Orfield's article is available here, and contains in-depth information on the full process of conference center design.

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