St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church was built in 1981. Ten years later, as the congregation increased, the original church building was converted to the parish hall, and a new church was built. In 1989, MLA was engaged to participate in an upgrade, which consisted of an interior acoustical treatment, HVAC equipment, and a new sound system. We worked closely with Armando Ruiz and Associates, the architect, who is also a parishioner.

Working on an existing space was an interesting challenge. In order to respect the interior appearance, acoustically absorbent plaster was applied to selected interior surfaces. This preserved the original color palette and texture. The existing mechanical equipment rooms were very cramped so the installation of the necessary silencers was difficult. Similarly, the loudspeakers were shoehorned into small cavities in the existing ceiling. New electronics were accommodated in the existing racks. The result was a significant improvement in intelligibility. The system has been in use since it was installed.