Education   Born in 1977, Thomas Wulfrank studied Engineering at the University of Ghent, obtaining his Master's degree (burgerlijk ingenieur) in July 2000 with Great Distinction. His curriculum included a one-year guest program at the Department of Acoustic Technology, Technical University of Denmark (DTU Lyngby). His Master's thesis dealt with auralisation techniques (ambisonics) and auditory virtual reality in the context of architectural acoustics. During the academic year 2000-2001, Thomas Wulfrank undertook further studies at IRCAM in Paris where he completed the multidisciplinary Master of Science program “DEA ATIAM”, consisting of pre-doctoral courses in acoustics and signal processing applicable to music, and a research project on auditory masking in Steve McAdams' psycho-acoustics team.

In addition to his scientific education, Thomas studied classical music (solfège and piano) at several music academies in Flanders in the period 1985-1992. His piano tutors included Johan Machielsen and Gunther Broucke. From 1993-1999, he took regular private classes with Filip Martens. He also played the Hammond organ in his brothers' student band. At present, Thomas sings in a classical choir in the Brussels area.

Professional Experience   Attracted by its skilfulness and dynamism, Thomas Wulfrank joined Kahle Acoustics in January 2006. Since, he has done major contributions to the final design and construction supervision of Rafael Viñoly’s new Curve theatre, Leicester, UK; and worked on the original design of Terry Pawson's Musiktheater, Linz, Austria and the original design of Neutelings-Riedijk's Kolizej project, Ljubljana.

Currently, he is project manager for the renovation/transformation of the 16th Century Kraakhuis at De Bijloke in Ghent, Belgium; for the future Northern Lights Cathedral in Alta, Norway, and the future 1200 seat Concert Hall and 1600 seat Opera Theatre — under construction — in Weifang, China. He is also tightly involved in the design of the future Grand Theatre in Wuxi, China, with Pekka Salminen Architects — under construction —, as well as the new Performing Arts Centre in Jinan, China, comprising a 1600-seat opera house and a 1500-seat concert hall, and collaborates on the Stavanger Concert Hall — under construction — and Philharmonie de Paris projects.

As an associate of Kahle Acoustics, Thomas' additional responsibilities include office management and team coordination, as well as involvement with the business administration and IT systems.

From January 2002 to November 2005, Thomas Wulfrank worked at Arup Acoustics UK — first as an assistant and later as a consultant — on the acoustic design of performing arts and cultural buildings. Major project contributions include the renovation of the famous 550-seat Wigmore Hall, London; 3xNielsen's new 1000-seat Alsion Concert Hall, Søderborg, Denmark; Manchester University's new 350-seat Cosmo-Rhodewald hall, Allies and Morrison's renovation of the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, London. He was also intensely involved with the acoustic modelling of the new Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff, UK; Snøhetta's new Opera House, Oslo, Norway, and Henning Larsen's new Opera House, Copenhagen, Denmark.

Thomas' technical specialist areas are acoustic measurement and modelling techniques, including computer and physical scale models. He has a particular interest in the acoustics of curved surfaces and acoustic optimisation of architectural design.

Language Skills   Thomas' native tongue is Dutch. He is also fluent in English and French, and speaks some Danish and German.