Profile
Nagata Acoustics is Japan’s leading acoustical consulting firm, and is one of only a small number of companies in this specialized field whose activities are known and respected worldwide. Founded in 1971 by Dr. Minoru Nagata, the company has continuously provided the most suitable and technologically advanced acoustical design services for a range of clients, including government agencies, private organizations, and educational institutions. The firm creates a wide variety of ideal sound environments, from concert halls to gymnasiums to recording studios. A team of experts in room acoustics, sound isolation, and other areas collaborate to give proper emphasis to every aspect of each project.
Nagata Acoustics provides comprehensive consulting to achieve the proper balance among architectural, acoustical, visual, stage, and other space requirements to satisfy our clients’ goals. The firm’s extensive experience and close working relationships with colleagues around the world are an invaluable advantage when solving the acoustical challenges of tomorrow’s world of sound.
In 2001, Yasuhisa Toyota spearheaded launching an office in Los Angeles, and in 2008 Nagata Acoustics International was formed. Since 2001, the firm has completed a multitude of internationally acclaimed projects. Yasuhisa Toyota, President of Nagata Acoustics International, is a native of Japan and a graduate of the Kyushu Institute of Design. With over 30 years of experience in designing some of the world’s finest performance venues, Toyota is an established international authority in the field of concert hall design.
Design Philosophy
Nagata Acoustics’ emphasized design philosophy is “flexibility”. This philosophy has brought success designing concert halls not only in the conventional shoebox style, but also in the “arena” style that features a seating layout surrounding the stage, as well as proscenium-style halls such as multi-purpose halls and halls intended primarily for opera performance. Suntory Hall, Sapporo Concert Hall, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Danish Radio Concert Hall, Shanghai Symphony Hall, and most recently Elbphilharmonie are our representative arena style halls, all of which enjoy high reputations. Kyoto Concert Hall is a representative example of an excellent shoebox-style concert hall. Multi-purpose halls which we have designed include the highly regarded Sosnoff Theater in the Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Bard College, Soka Performing Arts Center, and Musco Center for the Arts at Chapman University. Muriel Kauffman Theatre is a representative example of a single-use hall for opera and ballet. The late Maestro Herbert von Karajan described Suntory Hall as “truly a jewel box of sound”, and Sapporo Concert Hall and Walt Disney Concert Hall were also highly praised by Sir Simon Rattle as “the best modern concert hall[s] in the world”, and “a wonderful gift to music”.
We have collaborated with many architects, including Frank Gehry, Arata Isozaki, Renzo Piano, Jean Nouvel, Herzog and de Meuron, Perkins+Will, and Zimmer Gunsul Frasca amongst many others. Each architect clearly has an identity and very individual style. We believe that concert halls and opera houses must be architecturally beautiful, with acoustics playing a very important role. We believe that the acoustician’s primary role is to collaborate with and support the architect in their individual style and chosen forms in order to create the most acoustically pleasing space possible. Our success in working with a diverse range of architects has given us the flexibility to be able to work within many different architectural styles and personalities.