Ecophon Acoustic Bulletin

Watch Simon Smith (Learning Environments Leader) at Sweyne Park School, Rayleigh, Essex. UK. describe the classroom acoustic experiences of the students and teachers during the Essex Study and then their recent experience with a new acoustically optimised classroom.

Listen to the experiences and differences in the acoustic comfort as the students and teachers experience them and note how acoustic conditions which go beyond the minimum acoustic standards are greatly appreciated by teachers and all students.

For more information about the Essex Study and associated films please see the links below:

Click here to read more about the Essex study with the presentation by Audiologist David Canning

Click here to see the BBC SeeHear programme featuring the pupils from Sweyne Park involved with the Essex Study about David Canning's classroom acoustics study for Essex Council

Click here to read more about the early stages of the Essex study

Click here to watch Simon Smith describing the classrooms which were involved with the Essex Study and how the teachers and students experienced them from a teaching and learning perspective.

Posted by Colin Campbell at 3:40 PM
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EURONOISE 2012 (the Ninth European Conference on Noise Control) is coming up soon in Prague, the Czech Republic. Put 10-13 June in your agendas, and meet acousticians from all walks of life and countries. Of course you will also have the opportunity to meet Ecophon staff and listen to their presentations on topics such as;

- Acoustic Design of Open Plan Offices – Subjective judgment (Ricardo Canto Leyton)
- Acoustic requirements and responsible development of materials for sustainable buildings (Alina Dulaurent)
- Classroom acoustics – Simple formulas for estimation of room acoustic parameters (Erling Nilsson)
- Impact of the new French thermal regulation on office indoor environment: combine innovative cooling technology and high acoustic demand. (Yoan Le-Muet)

Moreover, Guus Klamerek will be engaged chairing in the session regarding sport hall acoustics.

Looking forward to see you there!

Posted by Carsten Svensson at 2:15 PM
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The Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) has awarded the prestigious ICU Design Award to the University Medical Center (UMC) Utrecht and the Amsterdam firm of Valtos Architects for their implementation of the Intensive Care Department at UMC Utrecht.

Click the image to watch the video.

Posted by Ricardo Canto Leyton at 1:45 PM
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DAGA 2012 venue

Room acoustic requirements of modern learing spaces

At the DAGA 2012, 19-22nd March in Darmstadt, Germany Holger Brokmann had a speech about modern learing spaces and the acoustic requirements.

Since the 70s there are research schools in germany (f. e. Laborschule Bielefeld) which try out different types of learning and use of school buildings (mostly open, no doors between learning areas). After over 30 years those “new” types of learning are used more and more in all kinds of “normal” schools. The acoustical requirements are different in comparision to a traditional classroom.

For those rooms you do not find - in some European acoustical standards - specific values or detailed acoustic parameters (f.e. in Austria and Germany) other coutries are giving numbers for RT (f.e. Finland) or different parameters like STI, LAeq dB(A) or A/1m² (f. e. England and Wales , Sweden). A deeper look at the more detailed Danish standards and building regulations in comparision with actual measurements from the well-known open space school “Hellerup School” in Copenhagen shows that the acoustic requirements are not easy to fulfill and that an open space learning environment has to deal with something more: The people who are working and living in these buildings. A good building needs also a concept on how to use it (cf. Understanding acoustics in open and semi-open learning spaces; Bridget Shield, Emma Greenland & Robert Conetta; MSc. Claus Møller Petersen Grontmij A/S: Hellerup School – Denmark Acoustic challenges in a 3 storey open-plan school – EIAS 2011).

Therefore more interdisciplinary research has to be done to define the important acoustical parameters which should be used in building regulations and standards.

Click here to watch how the semi-open plan school Berufliche Schulen Witzenhaysen is experienced from an acoustic and learning perspective

For more information contact Holger Brokmann ">Holger Brockmann Concept Developer, Education Permises Germany. Saint-Gobain Ecophon gmbh

Posted by Colin Campbell at 8:38 AM
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