As previously announced, specific sessions on Open plan office acoustics respectively Call Centre acoustics took place yesterday 4th July at the European Forum on Effective Solutions for Managing Occupational Noise Risks in Lille (France). The sessions gathered approxilately 80 persons and vivid disussions took place after the presentations. The conclusions presented by the chairmen to […]
True insulation performance between offices – Canadian guidelines
A Canadian guide defines best practice in sustainable, public financed office buildings. In section 2.9.1, named “Flanking and Isolation”, performance criteria and methods are addressed: (…) The integrity of acoustical partitioning can be maintained by: * Extending partitions above the suspended ceiling; * Eliminating holes for ducts, pipes, conduits, cables etc.; * Providing appropriate acoustical […]
Short overview of acoustic building performance standards
More and more, acoustical performance of buildings is described in standards and norms. These are useful documents for expressing requirements and expectations regarding the acoustics. Here is a short overview, gathering standards addressing single building types as well as more general standards (in order of publication). All of them are available in English (original or […]
Room acoustics tool added to Finnish Standard SFS 5907
Annex H is now added to the original version of the Finnish Standard SFS 5907, previously described in Ecophon Acoustic Bulletin and initially published 2004. Annex H is informative and estimates the amount of Class A resp. Class C absorption material needed, as a percentage of the surface area of the space, with respect to […]
European Directive bans excessive reverberant noise
The European Directive on Construction Protection against noise applies to all buildings occupied by people. A specific paragraph addresses Reverberant Noise and how to handle it. Intesting is the use of equivalent absorption area. extract from the Directive below: Protection against excessive reverberant noise “The noise within a room is a function, on the one […]
Designing for Pupils with Special Educational Needs
BB77 is meant to be guidance for school design edited by the British government. It addresses the inclusive aspects of school facilities, meaning their capacity to accommodate pupils with special needs. The draft is a 293 page document, applying to all schools whether “special” or not. Facts and figures – pupils are regarded as having […]
Noise reduction by reducing reverberation time in day-care centres
Noise reduction in day-care centres by reducing reverberation time: Analyses and case studies is a study conducted on behalf of the Canadian IRSST. The aim of the study is to: – examine the effects of acoustic materials and their impact on noise reduction and reverberation time. – give concrete examples of noise reduction obtained through […]
Comprehensive piece of literature on acoustics for educational premises now available in German
“Don’t limit your senses – sound and the learning environment” is now available in an upgraded German version, entitled “Mit allen Sinnen lernen : akustische Ergonomie in. Bildungsstätten”. ISBN 91-974193-4-6 and ISBN 978-91-974193-4-5 “Don’t limit your senses” has been recognised over the years as one of the few comprehensive sources of information on acoustics in […]
Room acoustics developments pointed out at Euronoise last week
The Euronoise room acoustics session included 7 lectures last wek in Tampere (Finland). Important developments are taking place in that field. Promising! Highlights from the session – Rooms with ceiling treatment are not diffuse. Traditional, Sabine based relationships between reverberation time and sound pressure level do not apply. New calculations methods are needed, taking into […]
Increasing awareness of noise levels in educational premises at Euronoise in Tampere
The classroom acoustics session at Euronoise consisted of 9 lectures on the 31st of May. Classroom acoustics was confirmed as a vivid area at the crossroad of room acoustics and occupational health. Highlights from the session – Stress indicators, such as heart activity are powerful to describe the incidence of poor room acoustics on teachers. […]
