The Blue Acoustics Team recently applied their skills to supply Church acoustics for a site expansion in Harborne, Birmingham.
This project was for the part demolishment and re-construction of a church to create a large reception area and several meeting and multi-purpose rooms. Plans indicated that the rooms were to be used for educational purposes and so BB93 criteria was adopted as the sound design criteria to ensure a suitably peaceful and private environment throughout.
Sound insulation values were established for each partition (walls and floors) as well as reverberation times for each space. A degree of safety was then applied to the criteria to protect against variations in workmanship and material quality, and partitions designed using INSUL9.0. To control the reverb times, ceiling tiles were carefully selected to provide the correct amount of sound absorption in each room.
There was one feature that required special attention, a prayer room on the 1st floor. The room adjoined to the main service hall, separated by a pane of glass. This presented a situation where a noise sensitive space adjoined to a space containing a high noise source, and demanded a high level of sound insulation. For this we recommended Dual Seals highest grade of acoustic glazing.
An additional assessment was carried out to quantify the combined noise impact of all external plant which was to be positioned within a roof top area, approximately 15m from a nearby block of flats. The plant area was to house a number of air handling units, kitchen supply & extract duct and fan assemblies, and air conditioning supply and exhaust ducts.
The combined noise level was calculated based on available sound power data which indicated an adverse impact at the flats. The plant area is overlooked by dwellings on three sides and so an attractive (acoustic) glass and metal perimeter screen was selected for the job.
The team at Blue Acoustics has extensive experience across the full spectrum of noise related consultancy. All staff are trained to MSc level in Applied Acoustics and are members of the Institute of Acoustics, which is considered the industry gold standard for acoustics professionals.
We regularly service clients throughout the UK, in particular Birmingham, Bristol, Exeter, Devon and Somerset. We cover a range of disciplines such as Noise Surveys, Noise at Work Assessments, Industrial Noise Surveys, Residential Noise Surveys, Sound Insulation Testing, Hospital Acoustics, School Acoustics and Office Acoustics.
To book your initial consultation please call us on 0333 444 3403 or drop us an email at info@blueacoustics.co.uk.