ACOUSTICS
Acoustic Comfort
Acoustics is almost never considered as part of a construction budget plan, and yet acoustics within a home is part of the overall comfort of a home.
You can have the most beautiful living spaces where form is very well considered and beautifully executed, but the comfort of the room is diminished because human voices, and background music, echo to level that makes the space uncomfortable. As we age, our hearing diminishes, and the use of audio aids become more prevalent. These devices are very sensitive to background noise, making it difficult for the wearer to isolate individual conversations within the group. Loud echoing noise makes the space difficult to have large groups of people to entertain in.
The recommended noise level for indoor residences is less than or equal to 45 dB21
Acoustic Design
Consideration of acoustic dampening within the home environment, never mind cafes, restaurants and office environments, is not generally considered at the design stage. It’s the last thing we think about, until the volume of space is physically formed and then it can be too late to amend, or we think, no, the soft furnishings will reduce that echo.
That can help but it should only be part of the approach to noise reduction.
We encourage you to visit spaces that consider acoustics, the Christchurch Library; Turanga, Christchurch Town Hall, or a cinema, and consider the quiet comfort of the space. Then visit your local mall, or a noisy bar and you will begin to see what acoustic comfort can be. We all watch the ‘Grand Design’ type programs, so start noticing the ambient noise that is part of the spaces that are shown and you will begin to see that the difference in the type of room and the interior design of those rooms that makes the difference.
Today we are bombarded with audio from all around us. It can come from outside the home, road traffic, aircraft overhead, lawnmowers etc. and within. We will have multiple media devices used with the same space as a norm. The TV can be on, people gaming, and on tablets, all fighting to be heard. These noises compete with each other and bounce off all the hard interior surfaces, creating indoor noise pollution for the occupants.
Noise from outside the home can be reduced with a multiple layer strategy. Consider the type of cladding you wish to use. The denser the cladding the greater resistance to noise transfer. Aerated concrete panels and brick resist noise better than thin corrugate. Rigid air barriers, 140mm framing with 140mm of insulation all add up to help with noise reduction, but of course the weak link in all of this are the windows. Double glazing helps reduce external noise, triple glazing is better and acoustic glass in the frames helps but if your views overlook a busy road, there will have to be a compromise.
There are various devices designed to reduce acoustic pollution within the home. The residential market is limited but the commercial choice is extensive and limited only by your budget.
There can be ceiling panels or tiles.
21Williams LK, Langley RL (2000). Environmental Health Secrets. Philadelphia: Elsevier Health Sciences. ISBN978-1-56053-408-2
These ceiling panels can be plywood, plasterboard, 3D shapes or fabric. Gib Quiet Line is a very effective sound attenuation product where hard flooring is used. They can be attractive fabric panels, integrated into the interior design. The use of curtains, not only for windows but also to cover large shelves, partition doors etc can help with noise reduction in a room.
If we are encouraged to have smaller, healthier, energy efficient and sustainable homes then acoustics must become part of the design conversation at concept stage. Once you have experienced a home environment that has considered acoustics as part of the design aesthetics you will want to integrate it into your new home.
In an acoustically quiet home, location of services and noise is something that should be considered as part of the design process.
Recommended Healthy Home guidelines for Acoustic Design are set out in the table below:
