We proudly share a new podcast interview with Shane Cryer, our Concept Developer for Educational Environments which is hosted by Simon Gosling, CSO at Quiet Mark, the global award programme associated with the UK Noise Abatement Society. This podcast is part of a series uniquely exploring the vital role acoustics plays in the future of […]
Education
How close are we to understanding how buildings affect our emotion?
Having met Isabella Bower while she was a research associate with the research team LEaRN we have been following her own research about how buildings affect our emotion. So we asked her to share insights from her research examining how design characteristics of buildings modulate neural networks involved in emotion regulation. Isabella’s work explores what […]
Multipurpose spaces function much better for their activities after acoustic improvements
The Municipal Music School of Pinto, in Madrid was in need of improving the acoustics of its facilities in order to further motivate its students and offer teachers a healthier work environment. More specifically, a multipurpose room as well as the entrance hall were treated with “Class A” absorbing acoustic solutions acoustic solutions. The latter […]
Collaboration with education guru, Prof. Stephen Heppell to refurbish a Victorian Primary School.
Victorian schools (Queen Victoria: 1837 – 1901) in Britain originate from the 1870 Elementary Education Act , which made primary school education compulsory. This required the quick construction of a large number of schools, in both large, industrialised cities to leafy green villages. However, unlike the quick build, off-site schools of the 1970’s, Victorian schools […]
Improving access to listening in mainstream schools – Reasonable adjustments for acoustic design
Improving Access to Listening in Mainstream Schools There is now a student with special hearing or communication needs (SHCN) for every classroom in the UK. With more than 70% of lessons given vocally by our teachers, the opportunity to hear clearly and understand (even with cochlear implants) is one of the most important activities within […]
The impact of noise in education – a research summary
This new research summary is now available and lifts out evidence from a variety of research studies around the world. These studies address a broad range of important aspects which need to be considered in learning environments. It is based on a recent extensive literature review by Professor Emerita Bridget Shield made for Ecophon. We […]
Language students in Slovakia now appreciate the importance of good acoustics
Improved language lessons at Bilingual Grammar School in Žilina Slovakia. Before the acoustic improvements, students had to cope with poor speech intelligibility and excessive reverberation during their language lessons. It was not only the students who complained about the poor acoustics, but also teachers were angry about the environment because they had to strain their […]
You can never start thinking about sound too early!
Guest post by Fiona Young, Studio Director at Hayball Architects Studies have shown that elevated sound levels can impact on learning ability. and stress levels. of students and their teachers. A recent study. on educators’ and architects’ perceptions of the affordances of learning environments for deep learning indicated that both professions recognise overly noisy spaces […]
Changing acoustics means changing everything
ICA 2019 in Aachen gave an opportunity to present results of interesting questionnaire survey done in large primary school in Poland which focused on a correlation between room acoustics and changes in the communication, behaviour and wellbeing of students and teachers. The survey took place in modern school building, completed in 2012 which according to […]
Is it really possible to predict the room acoustic values in a non-diffuse room?
We made acoustic measurements as part of a remodelling of our training area at our head offices during the different phases of the acoustic treatment in the refurbishment. This is outlined in a previous Acoustic Bulletin post which highlighted the need for wall absorbers to remove the flutter echos, thus reducing the reverberation time and […]
