J O H N O ' K E E F E
B.A.Sc. M.Sc. P.Eng. FIOA
In his long and, some would say, storied career, John O'Keefe has designed the acoustics of only two or three elementary schools. Not for the lack of desire, it's just the industry standard. The tacit assumption appears to be: who cares, it's only an elementary school. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Studies have shown that the most important ages for a child to learn a language are between 3 and 7. And if a child has trouble understanding the teacher, particularly if he or she is hard of is hard of hearing, that child will be challenged throughout their education. For a child with a typical hearing loss, it's like he or she is standing behind a door outside in the corridor. It's pretty hard to hear the teacher that way. But it doesn't have to be that way. The acoustic design principles that make concert halls and theatres so much better these days can be easily and economically applied to grade school class-rooms.
Mr. O'Keefe is in a position to right that industry wrong. He has over 35 years experience in acoustics, designing the acoustics of some of Canada’s finest performing arts centres. And because he cares. Should you like us to present a discussion to your Board, either in person or through a webinar, please listen to his lecture on the subject or contact us at the e-mail address listed below.
Mr. O’Keefe is the winner of Canada’s highest distinction for any form of engineering, The Schreyer Award, among many other awards. Some of his representative projects include:
Representative Projects
Princess of Wales Theatre, Toronto
Orpheum Theatre Renovation, Vancouver
Queen Elizabeth Theatre Renovation, Vancouver
Four Seasons Centre for Performing Arts, Toronto
Paul Davenport Theatre, University of Western Ontario
Soulpepper/George Brown College Renovation, Toronto
Telus Centre, Royal Conservatory of Music, Toronto
Various projects in the United States, the United Arab Emirates and the Caribbean
Memberships
Fellow of the Institute of Acoustics, UK
Professional Engineers of Ontario
Acoustical Society of America
Canadian Acoustical Association
Education
B.A.Sc., Electrical Engineering, University of Toronto, 1981
M.Sc., Sound and Vibration Studies, Southampton University, 1985
john@okeefeacoustics.com