From thunderclaps to crying children: sound waves have a large variety of physical, physiological, and psychological effects on people. These effects, rather than the actual sound wave, affect acoustic comfort. In room-acoustic design, it is often not enough to measure how to achieve the best possible technical parameters. In addition to this, one should always […]
Psychoacoustics
Listening tests in room acoustics
Last June 24th, Daniel de la Prida defended his PhD thesis [1] at the Technical University of Madrid (Spain). His research focused on the assessment of the subjective perception both in architectural and environmental acoustics. In the following, a summary of Daniel de la Prida’s research (mostly focused on room acoustics) is given. All the […]
Seeing sound: Psychoacoustics of work and play – Learning sessions in the time of Covid-19
The global Covid-19 pandemic has profoundly affected the way we live and work. Connection is both far more challenging due to social distancing measures, and also far easier because of the connectivity that is provided through the internet and digital platforms. Everywhere one looks, there is another previously face-to-face activity that has been moved online […]
Report looking at the implications of open learning spaces, acoustics and teacher personality
Background to the report Despite resistance to open plan classrooms in many countries, the movement towards innovative learning environments continues in parts of Europe, especially Scandinavia, Australia and New Zealand. Their definition (ILEs), is an ongoing discussion in itself and their success is dependent on many aspects. However, understanding the changes in pedagogic approaches, including […]
Body language and psychoacoustic @ EFMC 2016
European Facility Management Conference, Milano 2016 Had the pleasure presenting about “Planning for Psychoacoustic – how to resolve office noise distraction” together with Nigel Oseland at EFMC 2016 in Milano last week. “Enhancing the People and Business” was the theme of the conference- which our method presented is just in line with. Our DARE principal in combination with […]
Evidence-based design in an Intensive Care unit
Evidence-based design in Finland The EVICURES project at Seinäjoki Central Hospital (Finland) was the first project to study evidence-based design (EDB) activities in Finland. The target of the project was to develop a new user-friendly design model for intensive care units (ICU) and to design a new ICU according to this model. A final report […]
The importance of acoustics in designing spaces for people with dementia
The sound environment of a building plays an important role for those with dementia. We have been working to understand the extent for some time with various different bodies. Including commissioning a literature review with Salford University of existing research in this field to help assess the impact of noise on people with dementia. What […]
Soundscapes – I think that acoustics are a bit overrated!
Soundscapes: Safe and Sound Kirsten Van den Bosh spoke under the title ‘Safe and Sound’ at EIAS 2015 and even though she mentioned that it was nearly blasphemy to say “I think that acoustics are a bit overrated!” during an international acoustic conference, she might have a point. Kirsten’s research focuses on soundscapes in special needs […]
Sundbyberg Study, Acoustic measurement reports + Publication
These are the measurement reports on the Sundbyberg study, a cross -over study in an open plan. Sundbyberg_Evaluation of room acoustic parameters in open plan offices ISO 3382-3_141128 Sundbyberg_Measurements of sound pressure level in open plan offices The link to the published paper you will find here.
Healthy Buildings 2015 Europe – “What is Indoor Environment Quality without acoustics?”
“Stepping beyond traditional boundaries, (re)creating healthy buildings”, was the slogan or motto of the recently organised Healthy Buildings 2015 Europe. http://hb2015-europe.org/ This conference was organized by ISIAQ.nl (http://www.isiaq.nl/v2/isiaq/) and the Eindhoven University of Technology (https://www.tue.nl/en/), under the auspices of ISIAQ International (http://www.isiaq.org/). Experts covered knowledge areas regarding Indoor Environment Quality (IEQ). More than 360 abstracts […]
