ACOUSTIC DESIGN IN

BUILDINGS

AKSHAY SINGH AHLAWAT | DIVAKAR JHA | KRITIKA DHU

Direct Sound
Since sound travels in all
directions from the source,
each listener will hear just the
segment if the overall sound
wave that is traveling in a
direct line to his hear (in a
space free from reflecting
surfaces). As the distance from
the source increases, the
sound pressure at the listener's
ear will decrease
proportionately.

Diffusion

Room Acoustics
Shape
Materials
What influences ROOM ACOUSTICS

Volume

Reflect

Room Acoustics
Absorb

SOUND RE-ENFORCEMENT

Room Acoustics
C

A
REVERBERATION

The shape of a space determines the sound path within

the space

Parallel reflective surfaces generates unwanted

reverberation
Reverberation time must match room
function
Pure speech requires short reverberation
time
Symphony blends notes with long
reverberation time
A classification of typical rooms by acoustical
environments
"Dead" : Very Absorptive
"Live: Highly Reflective

Absorbing Materials

Reflecting Materials

Carpet

Masonry

Soft ceiling tile

Wood smooth panels

Rigid foam

Smooth concrete

people

Glass

Live

Auditoriums, theaters
(for music)
Obtain proper reverberation
time to enhance musical quality.
Provide reflective surfaces near
source to reinforce sound;
absorptive surfaces toward rear.

Medium Live

Conference and board rooms

Normal speech must be heard

over distances up to about 35 ft.
Allow middle section of ceiling to
act as a reinforcing soundreflector.
Apply absorbent to periphery of
ceiling or to wall surfaces (not
both). Additional treatment will
contribute little to noise
reduction.

Medium

Cafeterias (school or office)

Reduce overall noise level.
Use highly sound-absorptive ceiling; also
use quiet equipment such as rubberized
dish trays.
Gymnasiums
Instructor must be heard over background
noise
Use acoustical material over entire ceiling
to reduce noise; walls remain untreated
to permit some reflected sound.

Medium Dead
Elementary-grade classrooms
Teacher must be heard distinctly; reduce
noise level produced by children.
Acoustical ceiling essential. Supplementary
acoustical space units on upper rear and
side walls are desirable.
Music rehearsal rooms
Unlike music hall, instructor must hear
individual notes distinctly; minimum
reverberation desired.
Entire ceiling, sidewalls, and wall facing
musicians would be treated; wall behind
musicians may be left sound-reflective for
proper hearing. Room should be located
away from normal use rooms.

Reflective materials

Hard, massive, non-porous

surfaces, such as plaster,
masonry, glass and concrete,
absorb generally less than 5%
of the energy of striking sound
waves and reflect the rest. Such
materials heaver absorption
coefficients of .05 or less.

Absorptive materials

Porous materials such as

acoustical tile, carpets, draperies
and furniture are primarily
absorptive. They permit the
penetration of sound waves and
are capable of absorbing most of
the sound energy. These
materials may have absorption
coefficients approaching

Poor acoustical characteristics in

this lecture room.

Reflective surfaces near the

speaker.

In lecture rooms more than 40 feet long, the rear wall

should be absorptive to prevent echoes.

Background Noise
As a rule, we can tolerate, and even welcome, a certain
amount of continuous sound before it becomes noise. An
"acceptable" level neither disturbs room occupants nor
interferes with the communication of wanted sound.
Recommended category classification and suggested noise
criteria range for steady background noise as heard in various
indoor functional activity areas as indicated in the
Preferred Noise Criterion (PNC)Curves.

Type of Space (and acoustical requirements)

Concert halls, opera houses, and recital halls (for listening to faint musical sounds)
10 to 20 db
Large auditoriums, large drama theaters, and churches (for excellent listening conditions)
Not to exceed 20 db
Broadcast, television, and recording studios (close microphone pickup only)
Not to exceed 25 db

Small auditoriums, small theaters, small churches, musical rehearsal rooms, large meeting and conference rooms (for
good listening), or executive offices and conference rooms for 50 people (no amplification)
Not to exceed 35 db
Bedrooms, sleeping quarters, hospitals, residences, apartments, hotels, motels, etc. (for sleeping resting, relaxing)
25 to 40 db
Private or semiprivate offices, small conference rooms, classrooms, libraries, etc. (for good listening conditions)
30 to 40 db

Type of Space (and acoustical requirements)

Living rooms and similar spaces in dwellings (for conversing or listening to radio and TV)
30 to 40 db
Large offices, reception areas, retail shops and stores, cafeterias, restaurants, etc. (for moderately good listening
conditions)
35 to 45 db
Lobbies, laboratory work spaces, drafting and engineering rooms, general secretarial areas (for fair listening conditions)
40 to 50 db
Light maintenance shops, office and computer equipment rooms, kitchens and laundries (for moderately fair listening
conditions)
45 to 55 db

Levels above PNC-60 are not recommended for any office or communication situation.

Minimize Background Noise Level

- Overall noise levels which may interfere with wanted communication should always be
anticipated and corrected. To provide maximum quiet, typical methods include the following:

1. Elimination of outside noise by sound attenuation in walls,

ceilings, and floor

2. Use of quiet mechanical equipment wherever possible.

3 .Control of remaining noise by absorption -- carpeting, upholstery, and acoustical
treatment placed above and behind audience.
4. Individual handling of unusual noise sources -- for example, isolation of a noisy movie
projector.
5. Electronic amplification of the wanted sound level above the background noise level -usually done as a last resort.

Sound Isolation
The control of intruding sound ideally begins with the initial building concept and
continues to be a consideration through the life of the building.
1.

site selection

2.

building orientation on the site

3.

room orientation within the building

4.

design, detailing, specification

5.

construction

6.

inspection.
Predictable sound attenuation can be achieved by careful attention to detail
during all phases of planning and construction.

Sound Barriers
If the noise source is intense and no natural sound barrier exists, a manmade sound barrier should be considered as part of the design. A solid
fence-type barrier may remove from 10 to 20 db from the noise level. Highfrequency sounds will be reduce more than low frequency sounds. The cost
of an outside barrier may be less than the cost of reducing the sound
transmission in the construction.
This type of sound barrier must completely shield the building from the noise
source. It should be placed as close to the sound source as possible to obtain
the greatest sound-shadow angle. If a fence or wall is used, no louvers or
openings should be permitted.

Absorption
The amount of sound energy dissipated depends on the thickness of the
material, its density (which determines the amount of difficulty that the sound
encounters in traveling through), and it's resiliency (flexibility with the ability
to spring back to its original shape). Mineral wool insulation because of its
porous yet dense character, is highly effective in this application. Sound
attenuation blankets are manufactured with higher density than thermal
insulating blankets to obtain optimum attenuation. Mineral fiber sound
attenuation blankets, placed between the studs in a resilient partition with
resilient channels, retard movement of the air column and convert considerable
sound energy into heat. However, if the diaphragms are directly connected to
rigid studs, the partition will act as a single diaphragm, rendering the wool
ineffective in dissipating sound energy.

Jamshed Bhaba Auditorium

TREATMENT FOR CEILING

TREATMENT FOR ECHO

TREATMENT OF WALL SHAPE