Architectural acoustics (also known as building acoustics) is the science and engineering of achieving a good sound within a building and is a branch of
acoustical engineering
Acoustical engineering (also known as acoustic engineering) is the branch of engineering dealing with sound and vibration. It includes the application of acoustics, the science of sound and vibration, in technology. Acoustical engineers are typical ...
. The first application of modern scientific methods to architectural acoustics was carried out by the American physicist
Wallace Sabine in the
Fogg Museum
The Harvard Art Museums are part of Harvard University and comprise three museums: the Fogg Museum (established in 1895), the Busch-Reisinger Museum (established in 1903), and the Arthur M. Sackler Museum (established in 1985), and four research ...
lecture room. He applied his newfound knowledge to the design of
Symphony Hall, Boston
Symphony Hall is a concert hall located at 301 Massachusetts Avenue in Boston, Massachusetts, opened in 1900. Designed by the architectural firm McKim, Mead and White, it was built for the Boston Symphony Orchestra, which continues to make the h ...
.
Architectural acoustics can be about achieving good
speech intelligibility in a theatre, restaurant or railway station, enhancing the quality of music in a concert hall or recording studio, or suppressing noise to make offices and homes more productive and pleasant places to work and live in. Architectural acoustic design is usually done by acoustic consultants.
Building skin envelope
This science analyzes noise transmission from building exterior envelope to interior and vice versa. The main noise paths are
roofs
A roof ( : roofs or rooves) is the top covering of a building, including all materials and constructions necessary to support it on the walls of the building or on uprights, providing protection against rain, snow, sunlight, extremes of temper ...
,
eaves,
wall
A wall is a structure and a surface that defines an area; carries a load; provides security, shelter, or soundproofing; or, is decorative. There are many kinds of walls, including:
* Walls in buildings that form a fundamental part of the sup ...
s,
window
A window is an opening in a wall, door, roof, or vehicle that allows the exchange of light and may also allow the passage of sound and sometimes air. Modern windows are usually glazed or covered in some other transparent or translucent mat ...
s,
door and penetrations. Sufficient control ensures space functionality and is often required based on building use and local municipal codes. An example would be providing a suitable design for a home which is to be constructed close to a high volume roadway, or under the flight path of a major airport, or of the airport itself.
Inter-space noise control
The science of limiting and/or controlling noise transmission from one building space to another to ensure space functionality and speech privacy. The typical sound paths are ceilings, room partitions, acoustic
ceiling panels (such as wood
dropped ceiling
A dropped ceiling is a secondary ceiling, hung below the main (structural) ceiling. It may also be referred to as a drop ceiling, T-bar ceiling, false ceiling, suspended ceiling, grid ceiling, drop in ceiling, drop out ceiling, or ceiling til ...
panels),
doors,
window
A window is an opening in a wall, door, roof, or vehicle that allows the exchange of light and may also allow the passage of sound and sometimes air. Modern windows are usually glazed or covered in some other transparent or translucent mat ...
s, flanking,
ducting and other penetrations. Technical solutions depend on the source of the noise and the path of
acoustic transmission
Acoustic transmission is the transmission of sounds through and between materials, including air, wall, and musical instruments.
The degree to which sound is transferred between two materials depends on how well their acoustical impedances match. ...
, for example noise by steps or noise by (air, water) flow vibrations. An example would be providing suitable
party wall
A party wall (occasionally parti-wall or parting wall, also known as common wall or as a demising wall) is a dividing partition between two adjoining buildings that is shared by the occupants of each residence or business. Typically, the builder ...
design in an
apartment complex to minimize the mutual disturbance due to noise by residents in adjacent apartments.
Inter-space noise control can take a different form when talking about Acoustics in European football stadiums. One goal in stadium acoustics is to make the crowd as loud as possible and inter-space noise control becomes a factor but in helping reflect noise to create more reverberation and louder decibel level throughout the stadium. Many outdoor soccer stadiums for example have roofs over the fan sections which create more reverberation and echoing which helps raise the general volume in the stadium.
Interior space acoustics
This is the
science
Science is a systematic endeavor that Scientific method, builds and organizes knowledge in the form of Testability, testable explanations and predictions about the universe.
Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earli ...
of controlling a room's
surfaces
A surface, as the term is most generally used, is the outermost or uppermost layer of a physical object or space.
Surface or surfaces may also refer to:
Mathematics
*Surface (mathematics), a generalization of a plane which needs not be flat
* Sur ...
based on sound absorbing and reflecting properties. Excessive
reverberation time
Reverberation (also known as reverb), in acoustics, is a persistence of sound, after a sound is produced. Reverberation is created when a sound or signal is reflected causing numerous reflections to build up and then decay as the sound is abso ...
, which can be calculated, can lead to poor speech intelligibility.
Sound reflections create standing waves that produce natural resonances that can be heard as a pleasant sensation or an annoying one. Reflective surfaces can be angled and coordinated to provide good coverage of sound for a listener in a concert hall or music recital space. To illustrate this concept consider the difference between a modern large office meeting room or lecture theater and a traditional
classroom with all hard surfaces.
Interior building surfaces can be constructed of many different materials and finishes. Ideal acoustical panels are those without a face or finish material that interferes with the acoustical infill or substrate.
Fabric
Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not th ...
covered panels are one way to heighten acoustical absorption.
Perforated metal Perforated metal, also known as perforated sheet, perforated plate, or perforated screen, is sheet metal that has been manually or mechanically stamped or punched using CNC technology or in some cases laser cutting to create different holes sizes, ...
also shows sound absorbing qualities.
Finish material is used to cover over the acoustical substrate. Mineral fiber board, or
Micore, is a commonly used acoustical substrate. Finish materials often consist of fabric, wood or acoustical tile. Fabric can be wrapped around substrates to create what is referred to as a "pre-fabricated panel" and often provides good noise absorption if laid onto a wall.
Prefabricated panels are limited to the size of the substrate ranging from to . Fabric retained in a wall-mounted perimeter track system, is referred to as "on-site acoustical wall panels". This is constructed by framing the perimeter track into shape, infilling the acoustical substrate and then stretching and tucking the fabric into the perimeter frame system. On-site wall panels can be constructed to accommodate door frames, baseboard, or any other intrusion. Large panels (generally, greater than ) can be created on walls and
ceilings with this method. Wood finishes can consist of punched or routed slots and provide a natural look to the interior space, although acoustical absorption may not be great.
There are four ways to improve workplace acoustics and solve workplace sound problems – the ABCDs.
*A = Absorb (via drapes, carpets, ceiling tiles, etc.)
*B = Block (via panels, walls, floors, ceilings and layout)
*C = Cover-up, or Control (background sound levels and spectra) (via masking sound)
*D =
Diffuse
Diffusion is the net movement of anything (for example, atoms, ions, molecules, energy) generally from a region of higher concentration to a region of lower concentration. Diffusion is driven by a gradient in Gibbs free energy or chemical p ...
(cause the sound energy to spread by radiating in many directions)
Mechanical equipment noise
Building services noise control is the science of controlling noise produced by:
*
HVAC (heating, ventilation, air conditioning) systems
*
Elevator
An elevator or lift is a cable-assisted, hydraulic cylinder-assisted, or roller-track assisted machine that vertically transports people or freight between floors, levels, or decks of a building, vessel, or other structure. They a ...
s
*
Electrical generator
In electricity generation, a generator is a device that converts motive power (mechanical energy) or fuel-based power ( chemical energy) into electric power for use in an external circuit. Sources of mechanical energy include steam turbines, g ...
s positioned within or attached to a building
*Any other building service infrastructure component that emits sound.
Inadequate control may lead to elevated
sound levels within the space which can be annoying and reduce speech intelligibility. Typical improvements are
vibration isolation Vibration isolation is the process of isolating an object, such as a piece of equipment, from the source of vibrations.
Vibration is undesirable in many domains, primarily engineered systems and habitable spaces, and methods have been developed to p ...
of mechanical equipment, and
sound attenuators in ductwork.
Sound masking
Sound masking is the inclusion of generated sound (commonly, though inaccurately, referred to as "white noise" or "pink noise") into an environment to mask unwanted sound. It relies on auditory masking. Sound masking is not a form of active noise ...
can also be created by adjusting HVAC noise to a predetermined level.
See also
*
Noise health effects
Noise health effects are the physical and psychological health consequences of regular exposure to consistent elevated sound levels. Noise from traffic, in particular, is considered by the World Health Organization to be one of the worst environm ...
*
Noise mitigation
Noise control or noise mitigation is a set of strategies to reduce noise pollution or to reduce the impact of that noise, whether outdoors or indoors.
Overview
The main areas of noise mitigation or abatement are: transportation noise control, ...
*
Noise Reduction Coefficient
*
Noise regulation
*
Noise, vibration, and harshness
*
Sound transmission class Sound Transmission Class (or STC) is an integer rating of how well a building partition attenuates airborne sound. In the US, it is widely used to rate interior partitions, ceilings, floors, doors, windows and exterior wall configurations. Outs ...
References
Further reading
*
*
*
Thompson, Emily (2002). ''The Soundscape of Modernity: Architectural Acoustics and the Culture of Listening in America, 1900–1933''. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.
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Acoustics
Building engineering
Acoustic problems
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