Growing up with parents that are also doctors, Pooja Ganatra – a sustainability and acoustic consultant for Buro Happold – spent much of her youth in hospitals. During this time, she witnessed the challenges poor acoustics imposed on patients and hospital workers first-hand. This inspired her to conduct research on this important subject, which she […]
There’s more to sound absorption than just the acoustics
Deciding which sound absorbing product to choose for a building used to be a fairly simple business. Assessing trade-offs between acoustic performance, design and budget were the primary considerations. But now we know that every product in a building has an additional cost for the indoor and outdoor environment. So it has become imperative that […]
Expert interview with Maria Nelson, interior architect and school teacher: Using acoustics and furniture to create inclusive learning environments
Maria Nelson has many years’ experience working with public tenders for school interiors as an interior architect through her company WHY Inredningsarkitekt. This was her main reason for qualifying as a school teacher in 2022, so that she could combine the fields of interior architecture and education and truly understand how optimal learning environments should […]
Designing quality learning spaces in over 600 schools in New Zealand
As part of their School Property Strategy, New Zealand’s Ministry of Education (MoE) has recently revamped their acoustic standard for education, Designing Quality Learning Spaces (DQLS), and aims to implement it across 3,000 learning spaces in over 600 schools. The initiatives were recently presented at the Internoise 2022 conference by James Whitlock from Marshall Day […]
Finding a comfortable balance for children on the autism spectrum (Internoise 2022)
Children on the autism spectrum (ASD) make up a large contingent of today’s classrooms and are highly affected by the acoustic environment. These children often have comorbidities, particularly hypersensitivities to noise and other environmental factors. They find sounds overwhelming and also do not find it as easy to neurologically habituate to sounds over time [1] […]
Improving the acoustic conditions for children with special listening needs (Adrian James Acoustics, Internoise 2022)
As a veteran acoustician and the principal author of the UK acoustic standard for schools BB93, Adrian James has spent nearly three decades considering and influencing the role sound plays in classrooms. He notes that the Department for Education’s Advice on Standards for School Premises, 2015, for children with special listening needs (accessible here) is […]
Diffuse ceiling ventilation contributes to quieter classrooms at a school in Eslöv, Sweden
At Ekenäs School in Eslöv, Sweden, we compared four classrooms with almost identical acoustic treatments but differing in the type of ventilation system used. We wanted to know if diffuse ceiling ventilation can offer a quieter as well as more comfortable, sustainable and cheaper solution. Background: diffuse ceiling ventilation Diffuse ceiling ventilation allows air […]
Diffuse ventilation: a quieter, more sustainable alternative for the post-pandemic classroom
Schools globally take on a daily responsibility: to provide the very best environment in which students can grow and thrive. And they need to do it equitably; true inclusivity means that no child gets left behind regardless of background or level of ability. But schools also need to think about the greater context. By raising […]
New report shows that European schools neglect their sound environment
A new report finds that far too many European schools neglect their sound environment. Noise harms children’s learning and health and creates inequalities for students with special needs. More schools should regularly measure noise levels and design according to acoustic standards and recommendations in order to provide optimal learning environments, that have the added benefit […]
Design, guidance and induction loops
To create a school environment that works well from an auditory perspective, the acoustics must meet the needs associated with the purpose of the premises. Good acoustics are an investment in teachers’ occupational wellbeing, learning and comfort. “I have teaching spaces that work well for me.“ This is what Heikki Ylhäinen, fifth-grade teacher for a […]
