Within 1km of the Congress centre the imposing road and rail bridge over the Tagus “Ponte sobre o Tejo”
http://www.acousticbulletin.com/EN/audio/dewplayer.swf?son=http://www.ecolaunch.se/Projects/Internoise10/Soundfile/bridge.mp3&bgcolor=#FFFFFF
Listen to the unique soundfile which characterises the popular area surrounding the bridge.
Colin Campbell spoke with Vitor Rosao Director at Doutorando Environmental Acoustics who explained….
The bridge was originally called “Ponte Salazar” after the former dictator and was completed in 1966, however it was renamed “Ponte de 24 April” after the revolution which diposed Salzar. The bridge transmits a unique tonal noise which varies with the volume and velocity of the vehicles travelling over it. It is clearly audible at the conference 1km away an can be heard inside the centre. Vitor explained that the steel structure, set out in a uniform grid below the the road surface contributes the the unique acoustic hum the delegates experience at the conference which sounds a bit like a large swarm of bees or perhaps outside a World Cup stadium in South Africa with the noise of Vuvuzelas!
Vitor kindly answered some questions which we have been asking many delegates,
We’ve been asking……
1:
What brings you to Inter-noise 2010?
Working with acoustics locally in Portugal
2:
What topic or session is the most interesting so far? Why?
Environmental noise particularly and the EU.CNOSSOS-EU it’s my day to day work
3:
What would you like to see at a future conference?
More local acoustic experiences/features in an entertainment form. For example Fado singers at the conference would be good but acoustic examples which highlight cultural or engineering examples would be very engaging
4:
If you had an unlimited research budget what would you explore/research?
Exploring vertical water fountain acoustic barriers instead of fences in key city centre locations where they can become a tourist attraction as well including feature lighting, colours day/night effects.
Also share the Brasil stadium research about noise levels to let the world realise that the present craze with blowing the Vuvuzelas (large World Cup horns) is a serious problem.
5:
What advice would you give an end user planning a new building to ensure they optimize the acoustic environment?
Consult an acoustic consultant as soon as possible for the best advice
More specific questions:
Education
Are you being asked to design for a specific pedagogic style in classrooms?
No
How would your acoustic design differ if you were asked to take the changes of the pedagogical styles in account ? (Lecture / Group work)
Look at the individual considerations
Office / General
How do you merge concrete core activation and acoustics in your consulting?
No
Do you see the need of a better acoustical descriptor than RT for open plan solutions – if yes, what would / do you use instead?
yes, STI & Early Decay Time
Healthcare
Do room acoustics receive enough attention in hospital design?
Not applicable
What should be done to secure that room acoustic benefits are turned into reality?
Not applicable
Ecophon Acoustic Bulletin
Have you heard of Ecophon’s Acoustic Bulletin?
No
Are you a subscriber?
No
What could AB do to assist your day to day work or future work?
Information about noise on people would be good
Bonus question
Who do you think will win the football World Cup?
Portugal!
