Optimizing air quality is a major challenge for a lot of public areas in these COVID times. Concert halls are no exception.

Faced with the task of re-opening safely while COVID-19 remains a significant threat to public health, La Philharmonie de Paris turned to Dassault Systèmes to leverage the 3DEXPERIENCE platform’s virtual twin capabilities to simulate airflow and particle dispersal at the 2,400-seat Pierre Boulez Symphonic Hall.

Designed by architect Jean Nouvel and first opened in January 2015, La Philharmonie de Paris is a complex of concert halls, exhibition spaces and rehearsal rooms in Paris. Following the COVID-19 lockdown measures, La Philharmonie had to ensure the safest possible conditions for the return of both the orchestras and spectators. The key would be understanding how air moves within the hall to assess the effectiveness of various public health measures.

With a highly accurate virtual twin of the Pierre Boulez Symphonic Hall – which is equipped with an individual ventilation system beneath each seat – Dassault Systèmes was able to precisely simulate the hall’s airflow at maximum capacity, including investigating the use of facemasks and reducing the ventilation regime. They tested three case scenarios: a contaminated individual coughing without a face mask, with a surgical mask, and with a mask firmly fitted to the face.

As a result of the simulations, La Philharmonie de Paris was able to re-open with confidence that its new protocols would lower the risk of airborne transmission of COVID-19 among its audience members and orchestra. Read the case study for more details and results of the simulations.