J. Christopher Jaffe

J. Christopher Jaffe (1927–2013) is recognized for leadership in architectural-acoustic design.

Work

Jaffe graduated from the School of Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1949 and then went on to graduate studies in theater at Columbia University.^[1][2]

During the course of his work he has consulted on over 250 performance halls, including:^[1]

• Severance Hall in Cleveland, Ohio
• Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth, Texas.
• Concert Hall at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
• Sala Nezahualcóyotl in Mexico City.

In 1958, Jaffe founded Stagecraft Corporation, which later became JaffeHolden Acoustics. The light-weight demountable shells designed by him were the first engineered to use selective transmission of energy into the stage house and stage-house coupling to enhance on-stage and audience-area acoustics. He likewise was among the first to use electroacoustic enhancement systems and is the inventor of the Electronic Reflected-Energy System (ERES). Jaffe left JaffeHolden Acoustics and in 2009 he joined Acentech Studio A, a specialized performing arts consulting group formed by Acentech Incorporated in Cambridge, MA.^[3]

Jaffe has taught acoustics at the Juilliard School, City University of New York, and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where he is founder of the master’s program in architectural acoustics and remains a Visiting Distinguished Professor. In 1993 he received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor for business in 1993.^[2] He was inducted into RPI's Alumni Hall of Fame in 2003.^[1] In 2011 he received the Wallace Clement Sabine Medal from the Acoustical Society of America.

Books authored

• Jaffe, J. Christopher (August 2010). The Acoustics of Performance Halls: Spaces for Music from Carnegie Hall to the Hollywood Bowl. W.W. Norton. ISBN 978-0-393-73255-9. 

References