The Essex study ran for 5 months during the academic year 2007/8 during which period classrooms were repeatedly modified acoustically. Many objective and subjective measures were obtained and initial findings have been described as ‘very powerful’! Multiple perspectives are always important when considering the impact of the acoustic environment on a system as complicated as […]
research
Take acoustic design more seriously
Acoustic environment in Finnish offices, the summary of questionnaire studies Riikka Helenius, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health The result from a recent office study including 8 Finnish offices were presented. The acoustical conditions of the 8 offices represented typical Finnish offices. Noise and thermal conditions were experienced as the most disturbing work environment factors. The […]
Highly intelligible background speech of 55 dB(A) impairs cognitive performance
Reported live from ICA Madrid Sabine Schlittmeier Sabine Schlittmeier, psychologist at Eichstätt University in Germany, presented her paper called Background speech varying in intelligibility – Effects on coginitive perfromance and perceived disturbance. Sabine presented three experiments, which tested the impact of background speech varying in intelligibility and/or level on basic cognitive functions (verbal short-term memory, […]
Good acoustics with Wall Panels
As a complement to an acoustic ceiling it is sometimes useful to attach absorbing panels to the walls. This could be the case when a disturbing flutter echo is present or expected and gives an unpleasant coloration to the sound. Another situation is when the amount of sound diffusing objects is small, resulting in long […]
Background to the European Standard EN 12354, part 6
In the latest issue of Acta Acoustica united with Acustica, Eddy Gerritsen (TNO) discusses engineering methods for the prediction of reverberation time and sound pressure levels in spaces with non-diffuse conditions. The assumptions and theoretical considerations behind the formulas in EN 12354-6 annex D are clarified. There is definitely a need for engineering models to […]
Room acoustics developments pointed out at Euronoise last week
The Euronoise room acoustics session included 7 lectures last wek in Tampere (Finland). Important developments are taking place in that field. Promising! Highlights from the session – Rooms with ceiling treatment are not diffuse. Traditional, Sabine based relationships between reverberation time and sound pressure level do not apply. New calculations methods are needed, taking into […]
Improved acoustics reduce risks in Healthcare premises
“It seems likely that improved acoustic conditions reduce risks of conflicts and errors.” This is just one of the main messages from the research made in a coronary care unit in Sweden. Acoustics reduce risks The study points out the importance of further research on the possible effects of acoustics in healthcare on staff turnover, […]
AP quotes Ecophon study on acoustics in healthcare
Roger Ulrich, an authority in healthcare design, was recently interviewed on the issue of hospital noise by the news agency AP. Ulrich is a professor of architecture at Texas A&M; University and visiting professor at University College in London. In that interview, he highlights the seriousness of this question by referring to a major study […]
Room acoustics’ influence on sleep
Unwanted sound (noise) has been documented to be a serious problem for hospitalized patients. In some cases, different forms of intensive care noise levels can reach levels that are above what is advisable from a health and safety perspective (work environment perspective). In many hospitals, noise levels are not a threat to healthy people and […]
Reverberation time vs. amount of absorption in DIN 18041
German Standard DIN 18041 “Acoustical quality in small to medium-sized rooms” includes a table called “Guideline values for the free ceiling and wall surface areas to be covered with sound absorbers as a multiple of the room basic area (…)”. The table Download file presents for different room types the amount of sound absorbers to […]
