Did you miss out on the Baltic-Nordic Acoustic Meeting (BNAM 2018 Reykjavik )? Here are the major take-aways from a healthcare acoustics perspective. Harpa Iceland has it! Impressive nature, impressive people – and the impressive Harpa Concert and Conference Centre. Harpa is one of Reykjavik‘s greatest and distinguished landmarks. It is a cultural and social […]
acoustics
Room acoustic descriptors – RT, C50 and Strength/ Gain
Reverberation (RT) time still remains the primary indicator of room acoustic response and RT is also known to be the only demand/descriptor in building regulations for room acoustics in healthcare facilities, schools and day care centres and offices. However, previous work and research for many years has shown that RT alone can be insufficient to […]
Input data – how do we predict room acoustics?
Calculation tools Recently a new acoustic calculation tool has been published. It is based on Air Flow Resistance (AFR) and calculates several room acoustic descriptors. This article aims to explain why calculations based on the Sabine equation are not always the whole truth. Background – Sabine and ISO 3382-1/2 A long tradition of research shows […]
Seven great female acousticians on Twitter
In celebration of International Women’s Day, we’d like to put the spotlight on a handful of all the fabulous female acousticians out there. While it is a male-dominated industry, there are many women contributing to the profession and often working hard to improve the gender balance by encouraging more young women to join. The openness of […]
School acoustics in 5 European countries
How does the view of school acoustics vary between five European countries? Working across several countries, it’s interesting to reflect on the differences we see in terms of the role of acoustics. In some countries the sound environment barely gets a mention in a building process, in others only in certain types of specialist spaces […]
Conference on inclusion and hearing impaired children
So, the iCARE research project (improving Children’s Auditory Rehabilitation) is coming to an end, and I had the privilege to participate in one of the last major milestones, recently executed (November 20-21 in Leuven, Belgium) – namely the iCARE conference. Professor Dr Astrid van Wieringen has been project managing all of us during these years, […]
Snow – the sound of silence in the classroom…..
Västervångskolan, a school in southern Sweden, modified the acoustics and lighting in four classrooms on a trial basis in 2013. The experiment proved so successful that In 2015 the municipality decided that all schools in Landskrona would undergo similar acoustic and lighting upgrades. Class A sound absorbing suspended ceilings were installed, along with bass absorbents […]
Enhancing sound experiences of concert halls
Norwegian Acoustician, Magne Skålevik, is a real sound enthusiast. In this guest post, he tells us a bit more about his research project on concert halls and invites us to visit AKUTEK, an independent site for knowledge on room acoustics and concert halls in particular, founded by Magne himself. What’s in between noise and […]
End of iCare project for hearing impaired kids – what’s next?
The four-year iCARE project, dedicated to improving children’s auditory rehabilitation, is coming to an end this year. We’ve invited the project manager, Professor Dr. Astrid van Wieringen, to share her reflections on the project and what’s up next. The EU promotes the active inclusion and full participation of disabled people in society. However, full, […]
Acoustics to support recovery in Satakunta Hospital
A hospital is a challenging environment in terms of acoustics and to support recovery. There is a constant flow of people moving around the spaces. The rooms themselves feature no shortage of hard surfaces, and a range of different equipment makes the spaces even noisier. The acoustics must also be capable of meeting high hygiene […]
