What do Acoustic consultants do anyway?
Most people we talk to think that acoustic consultants /engineers are only called in for cinemas, performing arts spaces, and recording studios, however, we get involved in a variety of building spaces including offices, conference facilities, hospitals, hotels, universities, airports, houses, courts, retail, sporting venues and industrial, to name some. We find in Architectural Acoustics that all spaces have an ACOUSTIC SIGNATURE shaped by a number of physical parameters which either impedes /detracts from or reinforce/complement the space’s intended function. This is more obvious in the case of a live performance venue or recording studio, but not so much for an open-plan office. How does one achieve an acceptable level of privacy in an open-plan office or an enclosed office for that matter? Are there acoustic standards or engineering best practices to feed into the design? And how does the adjacent plant room, building façade, interior finishes specification, major road nearby, HVAC system, and floor plan layout affect this, and ultimately to what extent might the acoustics affect a company’s productivity and staff morale and retention down the line? This is where we come in. We must treat ACOUSTIC COMFORT with the same importance as lighting, thermal comfort, and indoor air quality.
Picture the excitement of patrons feeling the cinema shake and resonate during an epic explosion during a film! On the other hand, imagine the surprise of an explosion from the adjacent cinema or annoying traffic noise from the highway outside while watching an intimate dialogue in a drama film. Not so great! Is it merely ‘acoustic treatment’ that is required (and it is required for achieving acceptable reverberation criteria inside the space) or is effective sound insulation inherent in the very construction of the cinema complex itself? Noise control is also often needed in the OUTDOOR ENVIRONMENT and in industrial workplaces like factories, and can have consequences if left unchecked. Think of traffic highways close to a newly developed residential complex or estate, a high discharge underground mine extraction fan near a farmstead or town, or perhaps a diesel generator from the retail complex across the road running during ‘loadshedding’ on what would otherwise be a quiet suburban evening! Or might your employees be risking permanent hearing loss because of machinery noise levels? Again, this is where we come in, and fortunately, there are in most cases ways to MITIGATE NOISE to acceptable levels through analysis and engineering design. Even better, environmental noise levels can be predicted by acoustic simulation and abated by engineering methods, design, and other mitigation strategies before a project or procurement even go ahead, saving both time & money by eliminating your risk. These are just some of the many examples of the way acoustics and noise can affect our day-to-day life, and is what we talk about, work enthusiastically on, and find satisfaction in every day as consultants.
If you would like to find out more or to set up a meeting please do contact us.
