Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Case studies
This section contains ten case studies which illustrate some of the principles of
the acoustic design of schools described in previous sections, and give
examples of solutions to problems of poor acoustics in schools.
7
Page
Case study 7.1 – Remedial work to a multi-purpose hall in a county primary school 93
Case study 7.2 – An investigation into the acoustic conditions in three open-plan
primary schools 97
Case study 7.3 – Remedial work to an open-plan teaching area in a primary school 107
Case study 7.6 – A junior school with resource provision for deaf children 123
Case study 7.7 – An all-age special school for hearing impaired children 129
91
92
Case Study 7.1: Remedial work to a multi-purpose hall
in a county primary school 7.1
The school is situated at a considerable battens and felt. The shallow pitched
distance from the main road running ceiling is formed from tongue and groove
through a large village in a quiet timber boards (119 mm by 19 mm),
residential area. In the early 1990s, it was overlain with 150 mm thermally
extended by adding seven new classbases insulating mineral wool batts. The roof
and a new multi-purpose hall. Activities in void increases from a height of 200 mm
the hall include assemblies, singing, at the eaves to 2 m at the ridge.
concerts and physical education. The hall Large external windows with opening
is of particular interest because it required lights are located in the north east and
remedial measures not long after complet- south east walls with a row of smaller high
ion to alleviate acoustic problems that level opening lights located in the external
were being experienced by teaching staff. wall to the south west, above the
The new hall is adjacent to playing circulation corridor. The circulation
fields and background noise levels around corridor connects the hall to the main
the school are low. Therefore there is building at ground floor level via glazed
little disturbance to occupants of the hall doors in a glazed screen. The corridor
from external noise. also provides a useful acoustic buffer
The hall is built of conventional between the hall and the nearby
masonry cavity walls comprising 100 mm classrooms and offices. External windows
facing brick outerleaf, 50 mm cavity, and and doors are all thermally double glazed.
140 mm blockwork inner leaf with a Internal doors and the glazed screen are
plaster finish. A plan and section of the of 6 mm glass.
hall are shown in Figure 7.1.1. Wall bars and similar apparatus are
The roof has a hipped form and is supported off the two long walls. The
constructed of steel trusses with 100 mm floor is of sprung timber strip to
by 50 mm softwood rafters at 600 mm accommodate physical education, dancing, Figure 7.1.1: Plan and
centres. It is covered with slates on etc. The hall is naturally ventilated. section of the new hall
showing extent of remedial
treatment
N
Ci
r
do
rc
rri
ula
co
tio
n
n
io
co
lat
r
u
rid
rc
or
Ci
Glazed screens
curtains provided
over glazed doors
and windows
wall bars
Section
93
Case Study: Remedial work to a multi-purpose hall
7.1 in a county primary school
The new hall suffered from: below and the resulting multiple
• poor speech intelligibility, particularly reflections were detected as a longer
with small groups of 30 or less reverberation time (RT) near the
• distortion or colouration of speech centreline. This effect caused sounds to
• unusually high background noise appear louder than normal and coloured
noise levels, eg from the shuffling of or distorted.
children’s feet. To rectify these faults, it was proposed
Teachers found that they could that the ceiling should be made
improve speech intelligibility slightly if acoustically absorbent. This would reduce
they slowed down their normal rate of the RT to a level suitable for primary
speech or addressed groups of pupils from school uses and reduce the focusing
a sidewall rather than near the centreline. effect.
In fact, speech from around the centreline Although it provided a solution in this
of the hall appeared louder than normal case, it is not normally advisable for
and sounded coloured or distorted. ceilings to be sound absorbing in rooms
An acoustical assessment showed that where good speech intelligibility is a
speech was most distorted when both requirement. If the size, shape and
speaker and listener were near the geometry of the space are right in the first
centreline. Flutter echoes and enhanced place, then the ceiling should be reflective
reverberation were clearly evident and to sound. The reason for the success of
disturbing. When speaker and listener the ceiling treatment in this case was the
were both near a side wall the conditions overriding need to make a substantial
were less severe although still poor. reduction in RT and the fact that the
The acoustical faults correlated well floor has a timber finish, which provides a
with the teachers’ complaints. The useful reflection path in the absence of a
majority of complaints stemmed from comparable reflection from the ceiling.
excessive reverberation, attributable to the The school wanted to retain the timber
predominantly hard surfaces in the hall. ceiling. Therefore the timber boards were
Both floor and ceiling were hard and taken down and a series of 20 mm by 200
acoustically reflective. Excessive mm slots were cut into them (see Figure
reverberation caused consecutive syllables 7.1.2) to give an open area of
in speech to run into one another, approximately 25%. A mineral fibre
reducing intelligibility. acoustic quilt, 25 mm thick, was laid
This problem was compounded by the directly over the slots in the ceiling void.
shape of the ceiling. It has a shallow pitch The quilt was faced with an acoustically
with hipped ends, similar to an inverted transparent black scrim on the hall side
concave dish. Sound focused by the hard for aesthetic reasons. The existing layer of
reflective ceiling onto the hard floor thermal insulation was replaced over the
acoustic quilt. Figure 7.1.1 indicates the
area of the ceiling that was treated. The
Figure 7.1.2: Detail of acoustic treatment to the timber ceiling is
timber slats used to line considered to be in keeping with the
the hall ceiling
appearance of the hall (see photograph,
Figure 7.1.3).
20
94
Case Study: Remedial work to a multi-purpose hall
in a county primary school 7.1
Figure 7.1.3: The hall ceiling
after acoustic treatment
reverberate around the hall in a horizontal remedial work. Two sets of measurements
plane, particularly when occupancy is high were made; one with the source and
and the floor is obscured. Under certain receiver on the centreline of the hall and
conditions, this manifests itself as the other with the receiver positioned 2 m
distracting flutter echoes between the from a side wall. Measurements were
hard parallel side walls. One teacher made while the space was unoccupied.
reported this effect as a disturbing Curtains were pulled back to their normal
‘ringing’ noise whilst rehearsing music bunched positions either side of internal
and dance with a small group of children and external doors and windows. This
at the south west side of the hall.
Following implementation of remedial
acoustic treatment to the ceiling, the Figure 7.1.4: Example of
response from the teachers to the acoustically diffusing panel
95
Case Study: Remedial work to a multi-purpose hall
7.1 in a county primary school
4
3.8
3.6
3.4
3.2 measured on centreline before treatment
3 measured 2 m from side wall before treatment
2.8
2.6
Reverberation time, s
2.4
2.2
2
1.8
1.6
1.4 Range of mid-frequency
1.2 reverberation time, Tmf, for
1 primary school hall from
Table 1.5
0.8
0.6
spatially averaged RT
0.4 after acoustic treatment
0.2
0
125 250 500 1000 2000 4000
Octave band centre frequency, Hz
Figure 7.1.5: Measured arrangement was considered to produce acoustic absorption will need to be
reverberation time in the the most reverberant condition likely to accommodated in the ceiling. Ideally,
new hall before and after
be encountered during every day small absorbent and reflective surfaces should
implementation of acoustic
measures group activities. be more or less evenly distributed on
Before remedial work, the measured both walls and ceiling. This case study,
Tmf was 2.8 seconds on the centreline but where modification of the existing ceiling
fell to 2.5 seconds along the side of the was complicated and costly, highlights the
hall. Figure 7.1.5 shows the measured RT importance of considering the acoustic
curves as a function of frequency. The requirements at the design stage.
Tmf after treatment is generally within
the range for a primary school hall, which
should be between 0.8 and 1.2 seconds.
Concerts and musical activities take
place in less reverberant conditions than
before, with substantial reductions in
colourations and distortions. These
conditions have been found to be
satisfactory. The introduction of acoustic
absorption into the ceiling of the new hall
has been successful in providing acoustic
conditions which are suited to primary
school uses.
It is clear from this study that the
acoustics of a hall are of fundamental
importance in the effective functioning of
this key space in a primary school. In
many halls, hard wall and floor finishes
will be necessary and the required
96
Case Study 7.2: An investigation into the acoustic conditions in three
open-plan primary schools 7.2
An investigation of the acoustic
Mid-frequency Table 7.2.1: Classroom
conditions in three recently built open mid-frequency
Room reverberation time (s)
plan primary schools was carried out. reverberation times
Sound insulation between classrooms and Y1 0.4
reverberation times and sound levels in G1 0.4
unoccupied classrooms were measured. G2 0.4
The effect of noise from adjacent areas
on speech intelligibility within the
learning bases was assessed. The Speech Classroom Y1 Classroom Y1 Practical area
Transmission Index (STI) was measured occupied unoccupied unoccupied
in the classrooms using Maximum Length
Sequence (MLS) analysis equipment as LAeq,10min (dB) 62.7 42.4 54.2
described in BS EN 60268-16. In each
case an artificial mouth, positioned where
the teacher usually stood during lessons,
was used to produce a reference signal after school activities. The sound level in Table 7.2.2: Sound
which was received by a microphone at the unoccupied practical area was measured levels in Yellow team area
different positions within the room. with lessons being conducted in all the
Speech intelligibility was rated using the adjacent teaching rooms.
measured STI values. As the school was in use, 10 minutes
was the longest practical time period for
7.2.1 School 1 the measurements of indoor noise levels.
(pupils aged 5 -11 years) The speech transmission index (STI)
The layout of the school is shown in was measured at 5 positions in the
Figure 7.2.1(a). The walls are full height unoccupied room G3 with and without
between the classrooms and the corridors, masking noise being generated in rooms
with teaching areas accessed via open G1 and G2. The position of the artificial
arches from the corridors The two mouth and the 5 microphone positions
teaching areas on each side of the are shown in Figure 7.2.1. The masking
corridors are open plan, being separated noise had the same level as was measured Table 7.2.3: Average STI
only by a quiet/IT area. Measurements during the science lesson in classroom Y1 values in unoccupied room
were conducted in the Yellow and Green and was shaped to give similar levels, in G3 with and without
masking sound in rooms
team areas indicated. The layout of the the third octave frequency bands between G1 and G2
Green team area with measurement 50 Hz and 5 kHz, as those measured.
positions is shown in Figure 7.2.1(b).
97
Case Study: An investigation into the acoustic conditions in three
7.2 open-plan primary schools
Team 4
Practical Area
Yellow Team Yellow Team Studio 3 Blue Team
Second Quiet/I.T.
Hall Y3 Area
Y2 Key Stage 2
Library
Kitchen
Studio 2
Blue Team
Servery P.E.
Store
Team 3
Practical Area Blue Team
Rainbow
Room First
Hall Key Stage 1
Library
G1 H16
(a)
Figure 7.2.1:
School 1 layout Servery P.E.
(a) Whole school Store Key:
(b) Green Team test area m Artificial mouth used for speech
intelligibility test
2 Microphone positions
First
Hall Key Stage 1
Library
G1 H16
Team 2
Practical Area
1 2
Foyer m
c. Store 5 Green Team
3
Quiet/I.T.
G3 4
G2
Area
(b)
98
Case Study: An investigation into the acoustic conditions in three
open-plan primary schools 7.2
The STI measurement results are shown heard clearly in classroom Y1. This was a
in Table 7.2.3. result of her feeling the need to admonish
The results of sound insulation a pupil for holding a conversation from
measurements between classrooms are the open corridor with one of her class
shown in Table 7.2.4. members.
The behaviour of the teachers and
Discussion pupils did not appear to be unusual and
This school was selected for investigation the strong impression was given that the
primarily because it had been reported day of the investigation was a typical
that the school’s open-plan design worked school day.
well. The head gave the impression that The measurements of the Speech
he strongly favoured the open-plan layout Transmission Index (STI) showed that
and stated that he had been closely speech intelligibility was reduced
involved with the design process of the considerably during an interactive science
new school. However, other members of lesson in classroom Y1. This was due to
staff were less enthusiastic. the increased sound level (LAeq,10min)
A team leader in the school stated that during the lesson.
the open-plan design suited the teaching The mid-frequency reverberation time
practices in the school although it had in each of the classrooms was 0.4 seconds,
taken some time to get used to at first. which is acceptable for classrooms for
Other teachers were forthright in their hearing impaired pupils. Because of this,
disapproval of the school’s design and the in the absence of children and teachers,
restrictions that it imposed. the measured STI rating varied between
Of the teachers whose opinions were good and excellent in unoccupied
canvassed, the majority stated that they classroom G3. However, when masking
felt the open-plan design led to problems noise was generated in room G2, the STI
associated with disturbance. Timetabling rating was reduced to poor and fair in
was organised so that the activities in positions 3, 4 and 5. This suggests that,
adjacent teaching areas produced similar when the teacher is speaking to the class
levels of noise in order to avoid from the usual position, pupils sitting
disturbance to pupils involved in quiet closest to room G2 are likely to
activities. experience more difficulty understanding
According to the teachers consulted, the teacher’s words than other pupils in
usually the arrangement was acceptable the classroom due to noise emanating
but problems could be caused if a teacher from room G2. The measurement of STI
unfamiliar to the pupils was taking a class showed that noise generated in G1 had
in an adjacent area. In such circumstances no significant measurable effect on speech
the usual strict enforcement of discipline intelligibility in room G3. This is likely to
on the children could be subverted be due to the stagger between the
leading to disturbance in adjacent areas. entrances to rooms G1 and G2 on
The measured levels in the unoccupied opposite sides of the corridor.
Yellow team practical area and classroom It should be noted that STI is an
Y1 were greater than those specified in objective measurement of speech
Section 1. In the practical area, it can be intelligibility, and cannot quantify
assumed that the measured level was disturbance to pupils. Disturbance may
affected by sound from adjacent occupied depend, for example, on whether pupils
classrooms. For example, it was noted perceive sound generated in adjacent areas
that during measurements in the to be interesting or threatening.
unoccupied practical area one of the
teachers constantly reminded the children
to work quietly by uttering the command
“Shh” at regular intervals. At a different
time, a teacher in classroom Y4 raised her
voice sufficiently for her words to be
99
Case Study: An investigation into the acoustic conditions in three
7.2 open-plan primary schools
nursery wc
s
intelligibility test corridor store
se
store staff
as
room
cl
2 Microphone positions store
classroom
io
n
male t 1
staff room female library
c ep
re classroom
2
group
staff toilets
teaching
mtr workroom food
secretary headteacher
r
ke
office science/
re
ca
wc
kitchen plant studio/ boys stockroom technology 3
medical
store
room music room classroom
library 4
dis'd wc girls
servery
entrance classroom toilets
foyer 2 classroom 5
store
3 classroom 6
junior dining/
studio pe m
classroom 7
chair hall store
classroom
store 8 Partitions between classrooms
9 1 toilets
4
to about 600 mm below ceiling
toilets
with single glazing between
store toilets partition and ceiling
100
Case Study: An investigation into the acoustic conditions in three
open-plan primary schools 7.2
First, measurements were conducted at
Microphone Masking
the positions indicated in Figure 7.2.2,
position level (dB(A)) STI Rating
without any masking noise in adjacent
areas. After this, white noise was 1 0.656 Good
generated as masking sound in room 9 to 2 0.616 Good
represent noise from an occupied 3 0.640 Good
classroom and STI was measured in 4 0.588 Fair
positions 3 and 4 in room 8. Masking 3 60 0.459 Fair
levels of 60 dB(A) and 70 dB(A) were 3 70 0.263 Bad
used. White noise was used as masking 4 60 0.541 Fair
sound because no pupils were in the 4 70 0.430 Poor
school during the measurements.
Therefore, a typical classroom sound
spectrum could not be recorded and used these were alleviated by the addition of Table 7.2.5: Average STI
as the masking signal. The artificial acoustically absorbent panels on the wall values in classroom 8 with
opposite the classrooms. No other adverse and without different levels
mouth was positioned 1m in front of the
of masking noise in
white board on the wall between rooms 8 comments about the acoustics in the classroom 9
and 9. as shown in Figure 7.2.2. school were made by any of the teachers
The average STI values measured are interviewed although one teacher did
shown in Table 7.2.5. describe an unusual situation caused by
Table 7.2.6 shows the measured the lack of acoustic isolation between
airborne sound insulation between classrooms.
classrooms in terms of the weighted
BB93 standardized level difference Table 7.2.6: Measured
(DnT(0.8s),w). Table 7.2.7 shows the Rooms DnT(0.8s),w (dB)
sound insulation between
measured sound levels in the classrooms classrooms
with a sound source in classroom 9. 7 and 8 13
9 and 4 28
Discussion
Brief discussions were held with the head
of the school and a few other teachers The same story was being read to
before and after measurements began. pupils in adjacent classrooms at the same
The head stated that she liked the open time. The teacher said that she became
plan design since it meant that pupils aware that her colleague in the adjacent
were accustomed to seeing her and she classroom was one or two words ahead of
could enter classrooms without causing her in the story. She described the
undue disturbance. situation as being “like hearing an echo”
When the school was first used, and attempted to speed up her reading in
problems with high noise levels had been order to synchronise the delivery to both
experienced in the reception class area but classes.
The design of the school means that
acoustic isolation between classrooms and
the area outside the classrooms would be
expected to be low. The results of the
measurements taken bear this out. 13 dB
DnT(0.6s),w between classrooms 7 and 8
Table 7.2.7: Sound levels
is a very low level of sound insulation. in classrooms 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Indeed, 28 dB DnT(0.6s),w between and 9 with sound source in
classroom 9 and classroom 4 (which are classroom 9
Classroom 4 5 6 7 8 9
101
Case Study: An investigation into the acoustic conditions in three
7.2 open-plan primary schools
not adjacent, see Figure 7.2.2) is better screened from classroom 9 than
significantly lower than the 45 dB position 3 where there was an almost
between adjacent classrooms required in uninterrupted path between the two
Table 1.2 of Section 1. rooms owing to the lower dividing
Comparison of STI values in a partition at this point. The measurements
classroom with and without masking show that speech intelligibility in position
noise generated in an adjacent classroom 3 is reduced by masking noise generated
demonstrates that there is a significant in room 9. The masking noise had less
reduction in speech intelligibility due to effect on STI in position 4 than in
the masking noise position 3. However, position 4 had the
The data in Table 7.2.5 show that the lowest STI value of the four measurement
STI values and, consequently, speech positions. This is largely due to the
intelligibility were reduced in the two artificial mouth being directed into the
positions used for the measurements classroom perpendicularly from the wall.
when masking noise was generated in the Directing the artificial mouth towards
Figure 7.2.4: School 3
layout showing recently adjacent classroom and when the level of position 4 would have increased the STI
added extensions the noise was increased. Position 4 was value at this position. Thus, unless the
Recently added
extensions m
8 3
7 5 4
Curtains 2
to this extension Curtains to screen
removed classroom openings
during test
6 1
10
Key:
m Artificial mouth used
for speech
intelligibility test
102
Case Study: An investigation into the acoustic conditions in three
open-plan primary schools 7.2
teacher is looking directly at a child at this
Room Mid-frequency Table 7.2.8: Classroom
position, the speed intelligibility will only mid-frequency
be ‘fair’. reverberation time (s)
reverberation times
Since the mid-frequency reverberation 9 0.4
time measured in two of the classrooms 6 0.7
was 0.5 seconds problems with speech 5 0.9
intelligibility can be attributed to high 3 0.6
ambient noise levels in the classrooms. 4 0.6
Because the sound insulation between the
rooms is so low, it is likely that noise
generated in adjacent areas will contribute Room Lesson type LAeq,3min (dB) Table 7.2.9: Sound levels
to the overall sound levels in the rooms. in occupied classrooms
5 Project work 74.9
7.2.3 School 3 6 Literacy 69.7
(pupils aged 4 -8 years) 4 Project work 69.3
This is a recently built school which has 3 Numeracy 69.8
been extended. The extensions 10 Project work 66.2
accommodating rooms 1 to 8 are shown 9 Room empty 56.2
in Figure 7.2.4. Measurements were
conducted in the original school building
with children present and in the
extensions both with and without the better as a group
children present. • she felt that open-plan design allowed
more flexibility
Measurement results • she felt that organising pupils in
Table 7.2.8 shows mid frequency common teaching areas was “more
reverberation times measured in the natural”, especially for those joining
classrooms. Tables 7.2.9 and 7.2.10 show the reception class.
measured sound levels in occupied and However, prior to this investigation, the
unoccupied classrooms respectively. head had contacted her local education
The results from the measurements in authority due to problems encountered in
Schools 1 and 2 demonstrate that STI the extensions to the school containing
values are reduced by noise from adjacent rooms 1 to 4 and 5 to 8. Here, difficulties
areas and that those positions closest to had been encountered which resulted in
the noise are likely to be most affected. ‘acoustic curtains’ being fitted to separate
Therefore, STI was measured in only one the classrooms from the communal areas
position in two classrooms. In room 3, 4 and 5. When the measurements were
STI was measured with the curtains made, the curtains were temporarily
between rooms 3 and 4 open and closed. removed from rooms 6 to 8.
All measurements were conducted with The measurement results given in Table
the artificial mouth positioned where the 7.2.8 show that the reverberation time in
teacher would usually stand, see Figure the original building is shorter than in the
7.2.4, and the receiving microphone was two extensions. They also show that the
positioned 3 m in front of the artificial reverberation times in the rooms with
mouth. The results are shown in Table curtains (rooms 3 and 4) are lower than
7.2.11. those in rooms without curtains (rooms 5
Discussion
The head in this school was strongly in Table 7.2.10: Sound
Room LAeq,3min (dB) levels in unoccupied
favour of the open plan design of the
classrooms
school for the following reasons: 5 35.4
• she felt that the staff worked better as 4 32.8
a team 3 31.8
• she felt that the children worked
103
Case Study: An investigation into the acoustic conditions in three
7.2 open-plan primary schools
104
Case Study: An investigation into the acoustic conditions in three
open-plan primary schools 7.2
shared their head’s enthusiasm for the schools in terms of their acoustic
design but others felt that problems environment. None of the schools met
caused by the transmission of sound the requirements for sound insulation
between rooms were significant. between classrooms contained in Building
The measurement of STI in the schools Bulletin 93. Although reverberation in
demonstrated that speech intelligibility is classrooms was well controlled (apart
reduced by noise generated in adjacent from in the extension in School 3),
rooms. In all the open-plan schools, high ambient sound levels during teaching
ambient noise level was the most periods were too high for the measured
significant cause of low speech STI values to indicate good speech
intelligibility. intelligibility. As a consequence of the
From the few opinions canvassed in the levels in the classrooms, both teachers and
schools it would appear that there are pupils would need to speak more loudly
benefits to adopting an open-plan design. in order to be clearly understood.
These appear to be that the design is In many open plan teaching spaces it is
favourable for team working, that it difficult to achieve clear communication
engenders a feeling of inclusion in the of speech between teacher and students.
school and that it allows for a visually For this reason, careful consideration
attractive environment. However, placing should be given as to whether to include
cupboards in spaces between rooms in open-plan teaching spaces in a school. If
order to increase isolation between them open-plan areas are required then
may detract from the original open-plan rigorous acoustic design is necessary to
design. satisfy the performance standards in
From the results of this survey, it is Section 1.
difficult to justify the use of open-plan
105
106
Case Study 7.3: Remedial work to an open-plan teaching area
in a primary school 7.3
The primary school in Case Study 7.1 the other.
extended its facilities in the early 1990s • The teaching spaces are separated
by adding seven new classbases and a from potentially noise producing and
multi-purpose hall to the existing school. noise sensitive spaces, eg other classrooms
The new classbases were arranged in two and the main hall, by a corridor. This
open-plan areas, of three and four arrangement is advantageous for reducing
classbases respectively. noise disturbance to or from other parts
The teaching area with four classbases, of the school.
numbered 4 to 7 in Figure 7.3.1, is an • Toilets and services provided in the
interesting example of the limitations of corner of each pair of bases are buffered
an open-plan environment. Acoustic from the teaching spaces by lobbied
problems were experienced by the doors.
teaching staff which subsequently led to Teaching staff perceived the open-plan Figure 7.3.1: Plan of
the implementation of remedial measures. teaching area to be difficult to work in open-plan teaching spaces
Visits were made to the school before and because of poor acoustics. They had two before modifications
after the remedial work.
The new extension to the school is of
conventional masonry cavity walls,
comprising 100 mm facing brick
outerleaf, 50 mm cavity and 140 mm
blockwork inner leaf with a plaster finish.
The roof over the teaching area is
made up of a combination of pitched
sections with a tiled exterior and flat roof
Services
constructions with a felt finish. Each pair
of adjacent classbases has a roof light Base 7
107
Case Study: Remedial work to an open-plan teaching area
7.3 in a primary school
108
Case Study: Remedial work to an open-plan teaching area
in a primary school 7.3
coefficient of the ceiling tiles is not installation of the acoustic ceiling and
known, but an absorption coefficient of partitions, noise levels ranged from 64
0.9 over the speech frequency range is dB(A) to 69 dB(A), a reduction of 2 to 3
normally needed to maximise the benefit dB(A) which appears to be a small but
of an acoustic ceiling. As well as controlling significant subjective decrease.
noise within the classbase, the ceiling
treatment helps to reduce the propagation Reverberation time
of sound from one classbase to another. The reverberation time was measured in
The teachers reported an immediate classbases 4 and 5. After remedial
improvement in aural conditions with the treatment, the unoccupied mid-frequency
installation of the partitions. They found value was 0.4 seconds with a rise to
that they were now only disturbed by the 0.7 seconds at 125 Hz. The mid-frequency
classbase immediately adjacent to them. reverberation time, which will undoubtedly
By strategic location of items of tall have dropped with the installation of the
furniture they were able to slightly reduce acoustically absorbent ceiling, is now
this remaining source of disturbance. generally below 0.6 seconds, as required
The acoustic ceiling, installed a few for primary school classrooms in Table 1.5.
months later, was perceived by teachers to
produce a small but significant reduction Sound insulation
in the noise levels during class activities. The sound insulation was measured
between classbases 5 and 6. A value for
Acoustic measurements DnT(0.6s),w of 48 dB was obtained which
The noise levels during class and the meets the requirements between standard
reverberation times of the spaces were classrooms specified in Section 1.
measured. Measurements were also made
to evaluate how well sound propagates Sound propagation
from one classbase to another. The Before the partitioning of the room,
majority of measurements were made simple tests showed that speech could
after the remedial treatment had been easily be understood between extreme
implemented although noise levels during ends of the open-plan area even when
class were also measured before treatment. there was no line of sight. Whilst the
partitioning provided by extending the
Activity noise group room gives good sound separation
The noise levels were measured in the between two pairs of teaching bases, the
four classbases, before and after the acoustic ceiling and physical obstructions,
remedial treatment, during typical table such as tall bookshelves, are the only
activities. Approximately 25 pupils were means of achieving a degree of acoustic
present with 1 or 2 teachers in each separation between the other adjacent
classbase. The octave band frequency bases.
spectrum for all measurements was To measure the sound propagation
consistent in shape and a typical sound with distance across an adjacent pair of
level spectrum for classroom table activity classbases, a broadband sound source was
before treatment is given in Table 7.3.1. used to simulate the radiation of sound
For typical table activities, the from a nominal teaching position and
background noise levels prior to the sound level measurements were made
acoustic modifications ranged from 67 across the classbase and into the adjacent
dB(A) to 71 dB(A). Following the classbase. Figure 7.3.3 illustrates the three
109
Case Study: Remedial work to an open-plan teaching area
7.3 in a primary school
R1 R2 R3 Receiver positions
110
Case Study: Remedial work to an open-plan teaching area
in a primary school 7.3
Figure 7.3.4: Sound
propagation from one
100
classbase to another
buffer zone
between (a) without full height
spaces partition
80 Minimal reduction across the
open buffer zone
Sound pressure level,dB
60
Base 4 Base 5
20
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Distance from teaching position, m
80
Sound pressure level,dB
40
20
Base 5 Base 6
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Distance from teaching position, m
111
112
Case Study 7.4: Conversion of a design and technology space
to music accommodation 7.4
Existing school buildings may have spaces
that are less than ideal and compromises
have to be made during remodelling. A
design and technology (D&T) workshop
was converted into music accommodation
for an 11–16 comprehensive school with
600 pupils on its roll. Figure 7.4.1 shows
plans of the original workshop and the
conversion.
The floor area of the conversion is
96 m2, including an adjacent 13 m2 space
with independent access.
The original workshop was built in
1954 using a prefabricated, reinforced
concrete system of modular design having
concrete roof panels and double skin
walls; there is a wood block floor. The
south-east and north-west facades of the
building were fully glazed from a sill
height of about 1.0 m. The ceiling height were hard, resulting in an unacceptably
in the main space was 3.3 m. The size of long reverberation time of 2 seconds.
the main space was suitable for a music Standing waves and flutter echoes were
Figure 7.4.1:
room but there were some disadvantages likely due to parallel walls and hard
(a) Plan of the original
with the accommodation: surfaces. workshop
• Existing floor and ceiling surfaces • The north-west wall abutted the (b) Plan showing
conversion to music
accommodation
(a) (b)
113
Case Study: Conversion of a design and technology space
7.4 to music accommodation
school playing field. The extent of glazing existing area, it was possible to provide a
was excessive and considered undesirable music room of 65 m2, three group rooms
from a security point of view on a side and a store, see Figure 7.4.1(b).
with potential for intrusion. Performances to an audience or large
• The school playground, a potential scale rehearsals take place in the school
source of noise, is adjacent to the south- hall. The largest group room (or
east wall. ensemble room) is converted from the
• A second design and technology existing store and can be accessed
workshop is adjacent to the space separately, if necessary, to avoid disturbing
(although an entrance lobby and store classes. The dimensions of this space are
provide a buffer between the teaching not ideal as proportions are long and
spaces). narrow but compromise has been
• The building is free-standing and accepted and the wall treatment is
circulation is external which results in an designed to optimise room responses. An
excessive number of entrances. entrance lobby houses coats and bags and
• The reverberation time of the space provides additional sound insulation
was too long for a music room. between the main space and the adjacent
D&T room.
The adaptation The sound insulation of the music
Structural alterations were kept to a room was a priority. The key aspects of
minimum in order to constrain costs and the acoustic treatment are shown in
Figure 7.4.2: Plan
maximise available funds for acoustic Figure 7.4.2, and described below.
showing acoustic
treatments treatments and finishes. Within the
Construction
In order to improve security, glazing
to the north-west wall was removed and
Angled panels and shelving the opening was infilled up to two thirds
provide surface modelling
of its height with rendered
Full length
blockwork. Medium density block (1500
drapes kg/m3) was used to give appropriate
sound insulation. The top third of each
panel was thermally and acoustically
double glazed with bottom-hung
Angled panels
openable fanlights.
and shelving
provide surface Angled panels of medium density
modelling to particle board were fixed to studding
help diffuse on the inside face of the north-west
Full length sound
wall of the main space. These help to
drapes can Carpet
be used prevent standing waves between parallel
to floor
to vary increases side walls and can provide much needed
acoustic absorptivity Observation display space. The panels are without
absorbency windows detailed
for good sound
fabric covering since this would
Acoustic insulation compromise the high frequency response.
double glazing Panels are omitted where there are shelves
to increase as these have an equivalent acoustic effect.
sound insulation Angled panels are also used in the group
from playground
rooms.
Secondary acoustic glazing was added
Lobby increases
sound
to the windows to the south-east
insulation Wall at an angle (playground) side, as two sliding panels.
between music to avoid flutter This allows access for maintenance and to
and D & T echoes and open casements or fanlights. Solar
standing waves
Full length reflective film was added to the outside of
drapes the existing fenestration to reduce solar
114
Case Study: Conversion of a design and technology space
to music accommodation 7.4
Mid-frequency value
Figure 7.4.3: Graph
in unconverted space
showing effects of drapes
prior to adaptation
2.0 on reverberation times in
Position of Percentage
classroom, ensemble room
drapes of wall area
and group room
1.8 covered
CLASSROOM
1.6 bunched 10%
rear wall 27%
Mid-frequency reverberation time, s
0.6
0.4
Key
0.2 Classroom
Ensemble room
0 Group room
10 20 30 40 50
Percentage of wall
covered by drapes
115
Case Study: Conversion of a design and technology space
7.4 to music accommodation
116
Case Study 7.5: A purpose built music suite
7.5
The music department at a school with colourations occur when musicians play in
650 pupils between the ages of 11 and 18 the area underneath the main roof beams.
was replaced. The new self-contained It is possible that these are caused by
suite comprises a large music room, three strong reflections from the junction
music practice rooms, an ensemble room between the roof beam and ceiling as
and ancillary accommodation. shown in Figure 7.5.2. Additional
The school is located in a quiet rural localised measurements would be
district with low ambient outdoor noise necessary to investigate this effect. A
levels. The music block is several metres solution in this particular case would be
away from other buildings, which ensures to treat one side of the beam with
that noise egress to other parts of the absorbent material, as indicated.
school is minimised. As a general principle, it is useful to
Figure 7.5.1: Plan of
The building is constructed of masonry incorporate elements into a ceiling to music department
with an external leaf of brickwork, an provide diffusion and hence uniformity in (furnished)
insulated cavity and internal leaf and walls
of blockwork, some of which are
plastered. The density of the blockwork is
not known but ideally it should be the
highest available, ie 2000 kg/m3. The
MUSIC rooflights
tiled roof has an internal sheathing of ROOM
plywood which benefits sound insulation.
A full height blockwork crosswall, up
to the roof soffit, separates the large
music room from the rest of the building.
The music practice rooms also have full
height walls.
Windows are double-glazed and can be
opened. Doors are generally hollow core tt
with basic seals giving around 20 dB Rw
for the doorsets.
The music suite is a good example of
how to control noise transmission coats
Office
between rooms, and thus reduce Entrance
disturbance, by careful planning of the
room layout, see Figure 7.5.1. The key disabled wc
features are:
• The large music room is separated
store
117
Case Study: A purpose built music suite
7.5
Figure 7.5.2: Section
through music room
Electrically operated
rooflight
Sound reflection
1275
2600
10370
the sound field. For effective diffusion, and adequate for teaching.
projections of 0.3 m to 0.5 m are No provision has been made for
necessary. However, such projections varying the acoustics, eg by use of heavy
should be distributed over the whole curtains. This would be desirable but not
ceiling area; a single large projection can essential.
lead to a prominent and potentially The measured mid-frequency
disturbing reflection, as in this case. reverberation time (RT), with 25 children
Surface finishes are generally hard and and 4 adults present, was 1.0 seconds
reflective except for the floor which is with a rise to 1.5 seconds at 125 Hz. The
covered with a short pile carpet. In detail, full RT curve as a function of frequency is
the walls are of plastered blockwork with shown in Figure 7.5.3.
an emulsion paint finish and the ceiling is This RT is within the range for
of plasterboard with a plaster skim finish. ensemble rooms specified in Table 1.5 of
This combination of hard and soft finishes Section 1.
ensures that the reverberation is
sufficiently long for music performance
1.2
Reverberation time, s
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
63 125 250 500 1000 2000 4000
Octave band centre frequency, Hz
118
Case Study: A purpose built music suite
7.5
Figure 7.5.4: Simple
acoustically diffusing
elements
Board angled
10 mm thick full height hardboard on battens
at approx. 5°
119
Case Study: A purpose built music suite
7.5
Table 7.5.1: Measured level Octave band centre frequency (Hz)
difference between two
63 125 250 500 1k 2k 4k
practice rooms
Level difference D (dB) 22 27 34 46 50 52 58
120
Case Study: A purpose built music suite
7.5
Acoustic measurements Table 7.5.3: Comparison of
subjective and objective
Subjective Airborne sound assessments
impressions of Mid-frequency insulation Indoor ambient
the acoustic character reverberation DnT(T noise level
mf,max),w
of the space time, Tmf (s) (dB) LAeq (dB)
121
122
Case Study 7.6: A junior school with resource provision for deaf children 7.6
This case study describes a junior school Accommodation
and hearing impaired unit which provide The school was built in the late 1950s
an inclusive environment for hearing and is set away from the road in a quiet
impaired children who are educated location. The school has been pleasantly
through a natural aural approach. The decorated throughout. Some attention
children attached to the unit all have a has been given to reducing internal noise
‘significant’ hearing loss and abilities that by carpeting classrooms and some
fall within the ‘average’ range. The corridors. Most of the ceilings have some
guiding principle that underlies their degree of acoustic treatment. There are
placement within the school is that they no open-plan classrooms within the junior
should be allowed to make best use of school. It is the intention of the school to
their residual hearing. The children have further improve the acoustics of the
full access to the national curriculum and classrooms and a report on sound
are members of a mainstream class. treatment has been commissioned.
Children also have the use of a specialist There are 8 classrooms of similar size.
teaching resource facility as described In addition there is a dedicated ICT
below. space, a drama room, music room and a
large hall. A library has been established
Characteristics of the school in one of the larger corridors.
The junior school is of average size with Attached to the main building by a
about 230 children aged between 7 and covered walkway is a building formerly
11. Sixteen children are included called the hearing impaired unit, but now
specifically within the resource provision renamed as the RPD (resource provision
for deaf pupils, although this number for the deaf). This has extensive sound
includes children currently attending the treatment and the main teaching room is
infants’ school and is liable to fluctuation situated so that it does not face the
depending on the unpredictable changes playground.
in the size of the hearing impaired This case study focuses on two rooms:
population. the main teaching space in the RPD Figure 7.6.1: School
(marked as RPD on the plan) and a room layout
MAIN ENTRANCE
PLAYGROUND AREA
First Floor
Hall
RPD
Drama
room
123
7.6 Case Study: A junior school with resource provision for deaf children
typical classroom within the school (Class contributions. Figure 7.6.3 shows the
4 on the plan). layout of the room and the positions of
Figure 7.6.2 shows the children all the children during circle time. The
facing each other during circle time. The teacher is wearing a radio transmitter that
hearing impaired child has been placed transmits her voice directly to the child’s
next to the teacher to ensure that she can hearing aids and to a classroom soundfield
Figure 7.6.3: Class 4
layout hear the teacher well and see all amplification system. This will ensure that
the teacher does not have to raise her
voice and distort her speech unhelpfully.
All children benefit and as a consequence
are better able to participate.
Corridor
Acoustic and behavioural measures
L L A number of acoustic and behavioural
measures have been obtained in order to
present an account of the acoustic
environment of the classroom. These
measures include:
Staffroom 6.8 m • listening inventories for education
(LIFE UK, see Section 6.5)
T • sound level during school day
(1 minute average dB(A))
• short term sound level measurements
L L (2 minute runs at 6 time intervals)
Windows • room acoustic measures.
3.3 m high LIFE UK is a protocol for evaluating
7.6 m listening abilities of children. Application
L - loudspeaker of the protocol indicates that the class are
T - teacher able to hear the teacher and each other
- child well most of the time, see Figure 7.6.4.
- hearing impaired child The hearing impaired child has a similar
profile with the exception of several
124
Case Study: A junior school with resource provision for deaf children 7.6
Listening with noise outside classroom
5
Listening during assembly
Listening with no noise outside classroom
4
Listening to peers 3 Listening to the teacher whilst class are
when working in groups tidying up after an activity is finished
2
Listening to teacher 1
Listening to teacher but not being
whilst another adult talks able to see her face
0
critical areas, primarily the child indicates the corridor. The child indicates that she Figure 7.6.4: LIFE UK
that she needs to be able to see the is making satisfactory use of the personal scores for Class 4
teacher’s face in order to understand what radio system and classroom amplification
is being said. This is consistent with the system to overcome many of the potential
benefits offered by lip-reading in less than obstacles to hearing effectively.
ideal listening conditions. This can be Figure 7.6.5 shows a chart obtained
addressed through the teacher modifying using a noise logging dosimeter placed at
her teaching style. Other areas where the the front of the classroom and out of the
hearing impaired child finds greater reach of the children. The chart presents
difficulty include listening to her peers the one minute history of the sound level
answer questions; listening when there is obtained between 11.30 am and 15.28 pm
another adult talking; and listening when during a typical school day. ‘A’ represents
there is intrusive noise, for example from the class quietly engaged in group work.
Sound pressure level, dB(A)
A B C D E
Time
125
7.6 Case Study: A junior school with resource provision for deaf children
70
60
Sound pressure level, dB
50
30
40
125 200 315 500 800 1250 2000 3250 5000
Teacher speaking and instructing kids for "think and write, children quiet.
Analyser positioned back left.
Teacher quiet and children working on task with quiet babble.
Analyser positioned back left.
As above but with children becoming progressively louder as the task progresses.
Analyser positioned back right.
Teacher speaking and the children are quiet. Halfway through recording teacher
stops talking and children start to work with light babble.
Analyser positioned back right.
Some teacher talk close to microphone, mostly children's light babble.
Analyser positioned front left.
As above but with recording interrupted by the lunch bell.
Analyser positioned in mid-front right.
Children get ready to leave. The class is noisy.
Analyser positioned in the middle of the class.
Figure 7.6.6: Frequency ‘B’ is the lunch break. During the period controlled circle time discussion. A
spectra for various marked ‘C’ the class are again engaged in classroom soundfield system is used by
classroom activities
quiet group work; the end of period ‘C’ the class teacher and a personal radio FM
coincides with a break. During the period system is used by the one hearing
marked ‘D’ the sound level gradually rises impaired child who uses a hearing aid.
while the children take part in a carefully Period ‘E’ represents the end of the school
126
Case Study: A junior school with resource provision for deaf children 7.6
day and the sound level rises as children
and adults use the room informally.
Figure 7.6.6 shows the third-octave
band frequency analysis for some of the
classroom activities.
Reverberation time, s
Room acoustic measures
127
7.6 Case Study: A junior school with resource provision for deaf children
128
Case Study 7.7: An all-age special school for hearing impaired children 7.7
This case study describes the acoustics of
an all-age special school for hearing
impaired pupils. The school is located on
two sites. The primary aged pupils attend Circulation
a primary special school for hearing
impaired children and the secondary age
Store
pupils attend a special unit within a
Resources
mainstream secondary school about one Kitchen Room
mile away from the primary school.
The primary school, the secondary
special unit and the audiology room in
the primary school are described
separately.
External
The primary special school Common
Art/Craft Year 2
area
The primary school is a school in which
only severely hearing impaired pupils are
taught. It was founded in 1975 and caters
Store Store
for up to 115 children between the ages
of 3 and 11. The school consists of nine
teaching classrooms and a nursery as well
as a hall, a dining room and more
informal open areas which are used for WCs Year 3W
activities such as art and cookery. There is
also an audiology room which is discussed
in more detail later. Elec. intake
129
7.7 Case Study: An all-age special school for hearing impaired children
0.6
The BB93 standardized weighted
sound level differences, DnT(0.4s),w
0.4 between Year 2 and Year 3W classrooms
0.2 and between Year 2 classroom and the
common art/craft area were as
0
63 125 250 500 1000 2000 4000 follows:
Octave band centre frequency, Hz Year 2 classroom to Year 3W classroom:
DnT(0.4s),w = 53 dB
Year 2 classroom to common area:
DnT(0.4s),w = 18 dB
130
Case Study: An all-age special school for hearing impaired children 7.7
Discussion from one would disturb the other. This
A fundamental issue in the design of was not perceived to be a problem by the
rooms for teaching hearing impaired teaching staff, as the classes were being
children is the level of background noise taught with the doors open. Effective
which should be allowed. Background frame and perimeter seals would improve
noise is amplified by hearing aids and the performance of the doors slightly, but
reduces the signal to noise ratio of the door constructions would need to be
speech, reducing the effectiveness of the changed to incorporate solid cores in
pupils’ residual hearing. order to significantly improve the sound
The quiet location of the primary insulation.
school and the absence of mechanical The control of reverberation time is
ventilation in the building ensures that vital, firstly to ensure that speech is
indoor ambient noise levels in classrooms intelligible and secondly to prevent an
(29 dB LAeq in classrooms without excessive build up of reverberant noise
computers) are low. This is lower than the which can impair speech discrimination.
recommended maximum indoor ambient The measured classroom mid-frequency
noise level for classrooms for teaching reverberation time of 0.3 seconds meets
severely hearing impaired pupils (see the performance standards in Table 1.5.
Table 6.1 of Section 6). It is often recommended that classroom
A potential disadvantage of low ceilings are sound absorptive around the
background noise levels is that there is perimeter but reflective in the centre to
little masking of intrusive noise, so good aid propagation of the teacher’s speech to
sound insulation is essential. The layout the rear of the classroom. In this school,
of the school has been designed to tackle the classrooms were very small and pupils
this by not locating noise-sensitive rooms sit near the teacher because of the small
adjacent to noise-producing rooms. numbers in each class, so sound
The sound insulation between the Year propagation to the back of a large
2 and Year 3W classrooms of 53 dB classroom is not an issue. In larger
DnT(0.4s),w meets the performance classrooms for teaching hearing impaired
standard in Table 1.2. This would be children, however, a central sound
exceeded between other classrooms in the reflective ceiling zone may be
school which are further apart than the advantageous.
Year 2 and Year 3W classrooms. If Key design points to note are:
teaching were to be carried out with the • quiet site location, away from any
doors between rooms shut, there would major noise sources such as roads, railways
be little risk of noise from one classroom and industrial premises
disturbing the class in the adjacent room. • separation of classrooms by buffer
The measured sound insulation of zones such as store rooms, corridors and
18 dB DnT(0.4s),w between the Year 2 lobbies
classroom and the common area is poor • use of carpet and sound absorptive
and implies that the door is a weak sound ceiling tiles in all classrooms to control
insulating element. If a class was being reverberation times.
taught in the Year 2 or Year 3W
classroom while a separate teaching
activity was going on in the common
area, then it is highly likely that noise
131
7.7 Case Study: An all-age special school for hearing impaired children
132
Case Study: An all-age special school for hearing impaired children 7.7
classrooms, although the carpet has only a Unoccupied noise levels
thin pile and does not appear to have Noise levels were measured in classroom 4
underlay beneath it. Floor slabs are of and the speech therapy room during a
concrete. No mechanical ventilation is time when the rooms were unoccupied,
provided. but when there were staff elsewhere in the
building. The noise spectra are shown in
Surface finishes Table 7.7.2.
All the classrooms have thin pile carpets The corresponding indoor ambient
and mineral fibre suspended ceilings. The noise levels are 26 dB LAeq in classroom 4
plasterboard walls have a sound reflective and 19 dB LAeq in the speech therapy
finish. Pinboards on the walls are timber, room. The dominant noise sources in
backed by an airspace and provide some classroom 4 were a faint buzzing noise
control of low frequency reverberation from the radiator and from fluorescent
times. The speech therapy room also has a light fittings. Talking in other classrooms
thin carpet and a suspended mineral fibre in the unit was just audible. The main
tile ceiling. The amount of absorption noise sources in the speech therapy room
provided ensures that the reverberation were a clock ticking and a fluorescent
time is sufficiently short to provide good light fitting buzzing. The headmaster’s
conditions for speech. voice as he talked on the telephone in his
office next door was clearly audible
Reverberation time although the words were not intelligible.
The measured unoccupied mid-frequency It should be noted that at high
RT of classroom 4 was 0.4 seconds with a frequencies the reported octave band
small rise to 0.5 seconds at 125 Hz. noise levels in the speech therapy room
The measured unoccupied mid- were actually due to electrical noise in the
frequency RT of the speech therapy room sound level meter; actual noise levels were
was 0.3 seconds with a flat spectrum probably lower.
down to 125 Hz.
Discussion
Sound insulation Measured noise levels in a typical
Sound insulation measurements were classroom and the speech therapy room
carried out between classrooms 4 and 5 were very low (26 dB LAeq and 19 dB
which are horizontally adjacent. LAeq respectively) and are lower than the
The weighted BB93 standardized level recommended noise levels in Table 6.1.
difference between classrooms 4 and 5 This is appropriate in rooms in which
was 34 dB DnT(0.4s),w . hearing impaired pupils are taught, to
The sound insulation between several ensure good speech signal to noise levels.
other areas was also measured and the There was no unpleasant tonal content in
following weighted BB93 standardized the frequency spectra.
level differences obtained: Very low unoccupied ambient noise
• classroom 5 to mainstream classroom levels mean that any extraneous noise
directly above: DnT(0.8s),w = 48 dB intrusion will be especially audible. The
• headmaster’s office to speech therapy site location and high performance
room: DnT(0.4s),w = 47 dB external windows ensure that noise ingress
• male toilets to speech therapy room: from outside does not cause problems.
DnT(0.4s),w = 52 dB The teaching staff have, however,
133
7.7 Case Study: An all-age special school for hearing impaired children
complained about the sound transmission disturbed by noise from the speech
between horizontally adjacent rooms. The therapy room and whilst in the
sound insulation appears to be of a lower unoccupied room the headmaster’s voice
standard than they had expected in a new was audible but not intelligible. This level
purpose-built unit. These subjective of privacy means that although the
comments are borne out by the results of headmaster’s conversations would remain
the objective sound insulation confidential, intrusive noise may disturb
measurements. The DnT(0.4s),w of 34 dB the concentration of both the headmaster
measured between classrooms 4 and 5 is and of users of the speech therapy room.
lower than that required for classrooms in A higher standard of studwork wall
mainstream schools. Where background construction between rooms may have
noise levels are low, hearing impaired been considered to be impracticable in
pupils cannot discriminate between the special school design. An alternative
intrusive noise and speech as easily as solution would have been to locate non-
pupils with full hearing, and a higher sensitive acoustic buffer zones, such as
standard of sound insulation is needed. A storage areas, between the headmaster’s
minimum DnT(0.4s),w value of 50 dB is office and other noise producing rooms.
required, see Table 1.2. A value of 48 dB DnT(0.4s),w was
Measurements showed that the sound measured from one of the ground floor
insulation performance of the partition classrooms for hearing impaired pupils to
did not rise at high frequencies as would the mainstream classroom directly above
normally be expected. This confirms the it on the first floor. This is an appropriate
existence of small gaps which were found standard of sound insulation for the
at the partition heads. Notwithstanding mainstream classroom and no complaints
this, the mid frequency level difference have been made by the teaching staff.
across the partition is poor (between 30 Visual inspection of the doorsets
dB and 35 dB). This indicates that the confirmed that they were of suitable
studwork partition selected was not of a quality and likely to meet the 30 dB Rw
sufficiently high performance. A partition sound insulation specification for doorsets
with staggered studs, increased in Table 1.3.
plasterboard thicknesses and mineral wool Reverberation times in the classrooms
in the cavity would provide a higher are well controlled due to the provision of
standard of sound insulation. The overall acoustic absorption on the floors and
sound insulation performance between ceilings. The mid-frequency RT of
adjacent classrooms is, however, 0.4 seconds meets the performance
ultimately limited by the communicating standards in Table 1.5. The wooden wall
door. Although the doors are of a very panels help to control the RT at low
high standard (this is discussed further frequencies, on which hearing impaired
below) they are still a weak sound people often rely for information. The
insulation element. Whilst this may not be teaching staff judged the classroom
a serious problem between classrooms acoustics to be satisfactory.
and the corridor, the presence of doors The RT in the speech therapy room is
between classrooms is inconsistent with also well controlled due to the carpet and
the requirement for a high standard of mineral fibre suspended ceiling. The mid-
sound insulation. Connecting doors are frequency value of 0.3 seconds meets the
not recommended. performance standards in Table 1.5.
The sound insulation measured
between the headmaster’s office and the Conclusions
speech therapy room was 47 dB The acoustic design of the special school
DnT(0.4s),w . This is below the unit is good, in terms of room acoustics
performance standard in Table 1.2 for and unoccupied noise levels, although
sound insulation between an office and a there are some deficiencies in the sound
speech therapy room. The headmaster insulation provided by the party wall
had complained that he was sometimes constructions.
134
Case Study: An all-age special school for hearing impaired children 7.7
Key points to note are: Layout and construction
• The site is in a quiet location, away The location of the audiology suite within
from any major noise sources such as the primary school is shown in Figure
roads, railways and industrial premises. 7.7.4. The audiometric test room is
• Communicating doors between entered directly from the corridor. The
adjacent classrooms limit the sound test room also has an external wall and a
insulation that can be achieved and are window onto an enclosed courtyard.
inconsistent with the need for low levels The walls of the audiometric test room
of intrusive noise. are a single skin of 100 mm thick
• Partitions are full height, but poor blockwork of an unknown density. The
workmanship has resulted in small gaps at single leaf doors into the technician’s
partition heads. room and the corridor are a hollowcore
• Sound transmission problems between timber construction with no frame or
the headmaster’s office and the speech threshold seals. Noise from the corridor
therapy room could have been avoided by was clearly audible in the test room.
better space planning. There is a fixed double glazed window
• Use of carpet and sound absorptive between the test room and the
ceiling tiles in all classrooms and the technician’s room which incorporates a
speech therapy room helps to control deep acoustic cavity between the panes of
mid-frequency reverberation times. glass. The external window which looks
• Wooden pinboards backed by an onto the courtyard is single glazed and is
airspace help to control low frequency openable.
reverberation times. The roof construction is not known,
• First floor classrooms are carpeted but the quiet site location means that
which reduces impact noise transmission. ingress of external noise is not
However, there was no underlay which problematic. There is no mechanical
would have reduced the impact ventilation system.
transmission further.
Audiology room
135
7.7 Case Study: An all-age special school for hearing impaired children
136
Case Study: An all-age special school for hearing impaired children 7.7
Octave band centre frequency (Hz) Table 7.7.3: Measured
noise levels in audiometry
Leq (dB) 63 125 250 500 1k 2k 4k 8k
test room, unoccupied
Audiometry test room 35 24 21 17 12 10 11 13
levels are sufficiently low for the site measurements. Thus the reverberation
audiologist to carry out his tests. The time in the test room has been well
background noise spectrum does not controlled by the selection of surface
contain any unpleasant tones, due to the finishes. Recommendations are also made
quiet nature of the school site. for reverberation times in third octave
The limited sound insulation afforded bands from 31.5 Hz to 100 Hz. Due to
by the single leaf masonry wall and the the small size of the test room,
poor quality single door mean that reverberation times could not be
intrusive noise levels in the test room are measured accurately at these low
high when there is activity in the corridor. frequencies.
The high intrusive noise levels disrupt the
audiologist’s work. An appropriate sound Conclusions
insulation performance for the wall Although background noise levels are low
between the test room and the corridor and the reverberation time is well
would be very dependent on the specific controlled, the poor sound insulation
requirements of the audiologist and the means that the test room is unsatisfactory
school, but it is likely that a double leaf for its purpose.
masonry wall construction plastered on Key points to note are:
both sides (each leaf at least 415 kg/m2 • The site is in a quiet location, away
including plaster) would be the minimum from any major noise sources such as
required. The door from the corridor into roads, railways and industrial premises, so
the test room is a weak sound insulation background noise levels are low.
element and would limit the performance • The audiometric test room is poorly
of any upgraded wall construction. The located adjacent to a noisy corridor.
best solution would be to allow entry to • The 100 mm blockwork wall between
the test room only via the staff room and the test room and the corridor is
technician’s room. Failing this, a lobbied insufficient in controlling noise intrusion.
door arrangement would be required. • The single door between the test room
HTM 2045 recommends that and the corridor is a weak sound
reverberation times at all frequencies insulation element.
between 125 Hz and 4 kHz are between • The reverberation time is well
0.2 seconds and 0.25 seconds in controlled by the use of carpet, a mineral
audiology test rooms. The measured fibre tile suspended ceiling system and
reverberation times are generally within mineral fibre tiles on all the walls.
this range, given the accuracy of the on-
137
138
Case Study7.8: Acoustic design of building envelope and classrooms
at a new secondary school 7.8
N
50 dB
55-60 dB Church
SCHOOL
traf
f
ic
Pub
55-60 dB
60-65 dB
aircraft take-off
and landing
traffic
and lig Airport runway
ht railw
ay to
south east
Figure 7.8.1 shows a site plan, based Standard products such as attenuated Figure 7.8.1: Site plan
on the site survey carried out at the start trickle ventilators inserted into window showing external noise
levels, LAeq
of the project. The high external noise openings, as are often used in housing,
levels are generated by low-flying aircraft would not have achieved the required air
and traffic on nearby busy roads. One flow rates. Alternative purpose designed
option would have been to acoustically systems were therefore required.
seal the building envelope and Classrooms are naturally ventilated by
mechanically ventilate the building. means of inlet vents under the external
However, this was too expensive for the windows and passive stacks located at high
available budget. The design team also level at the rear of the rooms, adjacent to
wished to reduce lifetime costs and opted the central corridors. The inlet louvres
for a naturally ventilated building which duct air into the classrooms via grilles just
would maintain the same internal noise inside the perimeter convector grilles.
levels. These inlet grilles are controlled by
Being an inclusive school, the design classroom users by easy to operate
had to accommodate pupils and other openable flaps covering the grilles.
members of the community with hearing Both inlets and outlets are acoustically
problems. The target for background insulated to prevent the entry of external
noise was set at 35 dB(A). At the same noise.
time the design had to provide fresh air at Depending on the prevailing weather,
a rate of up to 8 litres per second for each wind driven or temperature driven
of the usual number of occupants. This ventilation provides sufficient fresh air.
equates to approximately 4.5 air changes • The more windy the weather, the
per hour in both ground and first floor greater the pressure difference across the
classrooms. building envelope and the greater the air
139
Case Study: Acoustic design of building envelope and classrooms
7.8 at a new secondary school
midday
DIRECTION OF PREVAILING WIND
summer sun
early or
late sun profiled metal deck roof
acoustically filled above
partition walls
used air out
louvres closed at night in winter sunlight controlled by
open in summer adjustable rooflight louvre blinds
fresh air in air heated by radiators in winter Manually operated fresh air vents.
through rises and mixes with cool fresh air In winter - some fresh air vents closed
acoustically entering through vents during daytime to reduce heat loss
attenuated and all closed at night.
openings exposed thermal mass In summer - open at night
for night ventilation
downstands acoustically
exposed thermal mass lined fresh air in
heat retained in concrete floor slab used air out through
re-emitted at night by convection and wind-assistance acoustically
night ventilation in summer louvres closed at night in winter attenuated
prevents daytime overheating open in summer openings
Figure 7.8.2: Schematic movement in the ducts. duct over the first floor corridor which
diagram of ventilation • The temperature difference when the then rises to the outlet at roof level. The
paths through two storey passive stack effect is enhanced by
internal spaces are warmer than outside,
section of building
as in winter, drives the stack effect providing roof glazing over the combined
ventilation causing air to rise up the section of duct which is painted black and
central ducts. encased over a drop ceiling area in the
• The central ducts which leave the back corridor. Solar gain raises the air
Figure 7.8.3: Ground of the classrooms join into a combined temperatures in the top section of
floor air vents ductwork causing the air to rise. This is
particularly effective in hot weather.
• An aerofoil is positioned at the duct
outlet to enhance the wind driven stack
2 layers Ventilation flap
of self-extinguishing effect. The problem of wind blown rain in
fire retardent
nylon mesh
storm conditions led to modification of
Linear grill
Overhanging sill to the aerofoils to incorporate louvres
prevent direct passage beneath the aerofoil sections. This will
of sound Fixed divider
probably have made the aerofoils on their
Insect mesh
own considerably less effective.
Acoustic infill glued to Radiator
aluminium casing • The windows are openable and are
designed to increase the maximum
80 mm cavity insulation possible ventilation rate so that when the
wind and stack driving forces are small
there will still be adequate ventilation,
although this will obviously let in some
ambient noise.
Ground level
The ventilation system is completely
under the control of the occupants in
individual spaces, who can open and close
flaps over the inlets below the windows
140
Case Study: Acoustic design of building envelope and classrooms
at a new secondary school 7.8
and high level adjustable louvres at the
back of the classrooms, controlled by a
short pole.
Ground floor vents (Figure 7.8.3) and 2 layers Ventilation flap
first floor vents (Figure 7.8.4) are of of self-extinguishing
fire retardent
different design. These proprietary/ nylon mesh Linear grill
purpose designed external vents on the
window walls are acoustically insulated. Fixed divider
The airborne sound insulation of Acoustic infill
prototype ground floor and first floor
Radiator
ventilators was tested in the laboratory.
The resulting element-normalized level
differences in octave bands and the Insect mesh
resulting Dn,e,w values are shown in
Table 7.8.1. As a result of these tests, the
ground floor vent design was modified to
improve its performance. This included
the addition of an overhanging sill and Sound reducing and
insulating aluminium faced
extended internal nibs of sound absorbing composite panel
material. The final design, shown in
Figure 7.8.3, appears as effective
acoustically after installation as the first
floor vents. • 120 mm (compressed to 110 mm) Figure 7.8.4: First floor
The passive stacks are acoustically lined thermal insulation air vents
which prevents cross-talk between • 30 mm acoustic insulation
classrooms which share the same • vapour control layer
discharge ductwork. Four classrooms are • 0.9 mm gauge polyester powder
ventilated via one final extract duct. coated steel (internal support decking).
Air flow tests were carried out in There is no void within the roof except
typical classrooms. These showed that on between the profiles of the support
a typical spring day, with a moderate wind decking. The profile voids are filled at
(10-15 kph), with all the vent flaps and partition lines with inserts of acoustically
louvres open, air entered at between 0.8 absorbent material.
and 1.6 m/s depending on location There is some flanking transmission
within the building, and left through the through the continuous profiled steel roof
high level louvres at between 0.3 and 0.7 construction, which reduces the sound
m/s, again depending on location. This insulation between rooms.
corresponds to a fresh air rate of 5.3 air
changes per hour. Concrete floor
At first floor level, the floor finish on the
Metal deck roof precast concrete floor is a steel mesh
The roof structure, from outside in, is as reinforced sand/cement screed on 50 mm Table 7.8.1: Element-
follows: normalized level
thick acoustic mineral wool board, which
differences for prototype
• 0.9 mm gauge stucco embossed prevents the transmission of impact sound ground floor and first floor
aluminium external covering to the ground floor rooms below. vents
Ground floor vent 28.0 21.6 22.5 25.8 40.8 57.9 54.0 53.9 33
First floor vent 24.5 19.6 22.2 28.4 42.2 50.8 53.4 53.0 34
141
Case Study: Acoustic design of building envelope and classrooms
7.8 at a new secondary school
142
Case Study7.9: Acoustically attenuated passive stack ventilation of an
extension to an inner city secondary school 7.9
Sound insulation of the building
Busy
envelope
road
The noise levels to which various parts of
Commercial
the building envelope would be exposed
Ne
exte w were calculated by extrapolation from the
nsion
baseline noise measurements according to
ch
Chur
Exist
ing s
choo
the Calculation of Road Traffic Noise.
et
l
Design calculations of internal noise levels
stre Commercial were made on an iterative basis to
Side
housing
determine required acoustic specification
of the windows, the roof and the wind
scoop system so that background noise
housing
levels given as guidance in BB87 would
Qu
not be exceeded.
iet
The building envelope comprised:
st
143
Case Study: Acoustically attenuated passive stack ventilation of an
7.9 extension to an inner city secondary school
BB87 background
noise levels Calculated Measured
Room LAeq,1h (dB) LAeq,1h (dB) LAeq,1h (dB) Comments
144
Case Study: Acoustically attenuated passive stack ventilation of an
extension to an inner city secondary school 7.9
fresh air from
exhausted air prevailing westerly
opposite to wind
prevailing wind extra cooling
in summer
time
acoustic lining
in all ducts
classroom classroom
stair well
classroom
exhust
air
Fan assisted
sports hall
fresh
air
w.c.'s
carried out with the ventilation system The acoustic consultant suggested that Figure 7.9.1: Section
open and closed. The results did not attenuated ventilators should also be fitted through new extension
display any significant change in level nor in Mathematics classroom 1, the shows stack ventilation in
operation
was there any significant variation in the Mathematics office and the staff room as
sound pressure level around the room. opening the windows in these rooms
would result in noise levels exceeding the
Ventilation design BB87 guidance of 40 dB LAeq,1hr .
The close proximity of the road meant Taking into account the characteristics
that open windows could not be used for of the new building and site conditions,
ventilation because road traffic noise adequate ventilation has been achieved as
would cause problems and airborne described below.
pollutants emitted by the heavy road
traffic could be carried into the building (i) Teaching areas (Classrooms, ICT
through low level open windows. Rooms, Science Laboratory and
The rooms exposed to traffic noise are Gymnasium)
therefore ventilated using a wind scoop All new teaching spaces are naturally
system with the exception of a manager’s ventilated by a wind scoop type system
office which is provided with a noise- through terminals mounted at roof level.
attenuated ventilator unit. This type of The roof terminals are designed to be
unit was originally developed to comply omni-directional allowing the intake of
with the requirements of the Noise fresh air regardless of the prevailing wind
Insulation Regulations 1975. The unit direction. Each terminal is divided into
either comprises a variable speed powered equal quadrants; two are positively
ventilator which is designed to be pressurized by the wind to create a fresh
installed in the building façade and a air intake, the remaining two on the
permanent air vent, or it may be a single leeward side are negatively pressured
unit which combines both. There are allowing stale air to be exhausted.
normally two speed settings and the Air is ducted from the terminals either
Regulations set limits on noise directly into the second floor rooms or Fugure 7.9.2: The roof
transmission through the units and the down to the ceiling of the first floor terminals, viewed from
self noise of the fan. classrooms and gymnasium. Each terminal inside during construction
145
Case Study: Acoustically attenuated passive stack ventilation of an
7.9 extension to an inner city secondary school
146
Case Study: An investigation into the acoustic conditions in open-plan
learning spaces in a secondary school 7.10
An investigation was carried out into the
acoustic conditions in open plan learning
spaces in a secondary school, construction
of which was completed in 1991. Figure HARD
CAR PARK
PLAY
7.10.1 shows the site. The ground and AREA
CAR
first floor plans can be seen in Figure
PARK
7.10.3.
The curriculum model divides the day
into 3 hour subject modules. Team
teaching is fundamental to the curriculum
and to facilitate this, there are several
relatively large open plan learning bases,
as shown in Figure 7.10.2, that typically
hold around seventy students.
0 50m ARK
Some of the learning bases are used for CAR P
AREA C
AREA B
LOCKERS
SCREEN
SCREENS
Overhead
video AREA A
projector
Soft seating
PCs area
AREA D
Corridor
LOCKERS
ENTRANCE ENTRANCE
TO Corridor
BUILDING
Cloakroom Toilets
147
Key
148
1 Reception
2 Office
7.10
3 Store LB2 LB4
4 Meeting room 3
5 Medical inspection 2 2
6 Principal
7 Music practice
8 Changing room LB3 LB5 ILC2
LB1
9 Science prep. s 12 11
s s s
10 Darkroom 2 2 2 A3 2
11 Kiln T4
T1 ST ST
12 Heat bay t t t t 14
18 18 A1 A2
13 Technicians base/materials ST ST
t T3 t t t 13
14 Hospitality suite 17
15 Training kitchen 20 T2 10 2 ST
LAB E 16 12
16 Sound Laboratory TS RA1 9 PA RA3
Dining RA2 6
17 Music Tech. Servery Careers 9 3 17 9
18 Cloakroom 21
19 Foyer Shop LAB
Kitchen LAB ILC3 LAB LAB LAB
20 Wash-up 15 LAB LAB LAB 5 3 9 7 8 9
p 9 4
21 Greenhouse 3 14 s ST9 s
Library
s
s
(LB - Learning Bases) VS ST8
ST16 Low screens RE
LB1 English 2
learning spaces in a secondary school
s Stairs
t Toilets Ground floor First floor
Case Study: An investigation into the acoustic conditions in open-plan
learning spaces in a secondary school 7.10
place at the same time. Typically, moveable
screens or lockers are used to separate the
different areas within a learning base.
Acoustic measurements
Measurements of sound pressure level,
reverberation time, speech intelligibility
and airborne sound insulation were made
in the school to assess the acoustic
environment. These measurements were
made in learning base 1 (English learning
base), the art area, the workshop and
technology areas, and language teaching
rooms (study area 1 and study area 5). was measured according to BS EN Figure 7.10.4: Students
Sound pressure levels were measured 60268-16 to assess speech intelligibility. in area A of learning base 1
over 30 minute periods (starting on the Airborne sound insulation was
hour or half-hour) during the school day measured between adjacent language
to determine LAeq,30min, LA90,30min, teaching classrooms. These classrooms
LA10,30min, LAFmax and LAFmin. were enclosed rooms and did not form
Observations of classroom activity were part of the open plan teaching space.
noted in order to attribute measured In addition to the acoustic
levels to specific activities and events. measurements, teaching staff completed a
In the open plan area of learning base questionnaire about the effect of the
Figure 7.10.5: Learning
1, the Speech Transmission Index (STI) school layout on their work. base 1 – sound pressure
levels in area A
100 LAFmax
90 LA10
Sound pressure level, dB(A)
LAeq
80 LA90
LAFmin
70
60
50
40
30
8:30 –
9:00 –
9:30 –
10:00 –
10:30 –
11:00 –
11:30 –
12:00 –
12:30 –
13:00 –
13:30 –
14:00 –
14:30 –
15:00 –
15:30 –
16:00 –
Time
8.30 – 10.15 Discussion 10.20 – 13.00 Similar At 13.40 approximately 70 Year 10 pupils occupied all
between teacher and activity as early morning areas of the learning base with roughly equal numbers
around 12 sixth form with 1 teacher and around in areas A, B and C, and remained there until 16.00. At
students in area A 12 students least two of the groups were involved in activities
requiring speech during the whole of this period. For
most of the time, one of the three groups was involved
Students return from Area unoccupied in an activity such as reading or private study that did
short break at 10.20 at 13.00 not require communication with others. Area D was
used occasionally by up to three students working with
computers.
149
Case Study: An investigation into the acoustic conditions in open-plan
7.10 learning spaces in a secondary school
110 LAFmax
100 LA10
Sound pressure level, dB(A)
LAeq
90 LA90
80 LAFmin
70
60
50
40
30
8:30 –
9:00 –
9:30 –
10:00 –
10:30 –
11:00 –
11:30 –
12:00 –
12:30 –
13:00 –
13:30 –
14:00 –
14:30 –
15:00 –
15:30 –
16:00 –
Time
8.30 – 10.15 Discussion 10.20 – 13.00 Similar At 13.40 approximately 70 Year 10 pupils occupied all
between teacher and activity as early morning areas of the learning base with roughly equal numbers
around 12 sixth form with 1 teacher and around in areas A, B and C, and remained there until 16.00. At
students in area A 12 students least two of the groups were involved in activities
requiring speech during the whole of this period. For
most of the time, one of the three groups was involved
Area unoccupied in an activity such as reading or private study that did
Students return from
at 13.00 not require communication with others. Area D was
short break at 10.20
used occasionally by up to three students working with
computers.
Figure 7.10.6: Learning
base 1 – sound pressure
levels in area C
150
Case Study: An investigation into the acoustic conditions in open-plan
learning spaces in a secondary school 7.10
12
Figure 7.10.7: Learning
10 base 1 – difference in
8 sound pressure levels
(area A - area C), dB(A)
Difference in LAeq,30min
9:00 –
9:30 –
10:00 –
10:30 –
11:00 –
11:30 –
12:00 –
12:30 –
13:00 –
13:30 –
14:00 –
14:30 –
15:00 –
15:30 –
16:00 –
Time
151
Case Study: An investigation into the acoustic conditions in open-plan
7.10 learning spaces in a secondary school
152
Case Study: An investigation into the acoustic conditions in open-plan
learning spaces in a secondary school 7.10
students sitting near microphone position after they had finished a more noisy
M2 is not acceptable. In the afternoon, activity. This was to reduce disturbance to
when all the areas of learning base 1 were the reading of a play in area A.
occupied, measured levels in the learning The school has tried to teach languages
base were between 65 and 70 dB in the open-plan learning bases, however,
LAeq,30min (see Figures 7.10.5 and it had been decided that such lessons can
7.10.6). STI measurements were not only be taught effectively in enclosed
made with this masking sound condition classrooms. It is not known whether this
as the speech intelligibility would be was due to ambient levels being too high
expected to be ‘Bad’, ‘Poor’ or ‘Fair’ due for good speech intelligibility in open-plan
to the low signal (speech) to noise ratio as areas or whether it was due to disturbance
in Case Study 2. from adjacent areas in a learning base. It
The teachers in this school adopted is to be expected that conditions for
strategies to make the best use of their language teaching need to be more closely
surroundings, for example, gathering controlled than for teaching some other
students more closely around them (see subjects. Measuring STI enables speech
Figure 7.10.15) to help overcome intelligibility in rooms to be objectively
problems with speech intelligibility and to assessed. However it does not enable
reduce disturbance to those involved in disturbance to be quantified since this
other activities within the room. It could depend on how distracting the
appeared that co-operation between staff activities are in adjacent areas.
working in the same open-plan area and
careful planning of lessons was an Workshop and technology areas
important aspect in coping with the
speech intelligibility problems in these Sound pressure levels
areas. For example, a teacher in area C Figures 7.10.9 and 7.10.10 show graphs
notified her colleague in area A that her of the continuous sound pressure levels Figure 7.10.9: Workshop
class would be engaged in quiet reading recorded in the workshop and technology area sound pressure levels
110 LAFmax
100 LA10
Sound pressure level, dB(A)
LAeq
90 LA90
80 LAFmin
70
60
50
40
30
8:30 –
9:00 –
9:30 –
10:00 –
10:30 –
11:00 –
11:30 –
12:00 –
12:30 –
13:00 –
13:30 –
14:00 –
14:30 –
15:00 –
15:30 –
16:00 –
Time
8.30 Room occupied by 9.20 Students 10.30 Students 13.00 Students 14.05 Approximately 25
approximately 25 students and break for engaged in engaged in students in the room.
staff. Little practical activity. breakfast practical activities, practical activity Saws and sanding
Students mostly working on a eg sawing wood machines being used.
bench close to the whiteboard.
153
Case Study: An investigation into the acoustic conditions in open-plan
7.10 learning spaces in a secondary school
100 LAFmax
90 LA10
Sound pressure level, dB(A)
LAeq
80 LA90
LAFmin
70
60
50
40
30
8:30 –
9:00 –
9:30 –
10:00 –
10:30 –
11:00 –
11:30 –
12:00 –
12:30 –
13:00 –
13:30 –
14:00 –
14:30 –
15:00 –
15:30 –
16:00 –
Time
154
Case Study: An investigation into the acoustic conditions in open-plan
learning spaces in a secondary school 7.10
110 LAFmax
100 LA10
Sound pressure level, dB(A)
LAeq
90 LA90
80 LAFmin
70
60
50
40
30
8:30 –
9:00 –
9:30 –
10:00 –
10:30 –
11:00 –
11:30 –
12:00 –
12:30 –
13:00 –
13:30 –
14:00 –
14:30 –
15:00 –
15:30 –
16:00 –
Time
Figure 7.10.11:
8.30 Lessons begin and continue 13.00 Students return Art area – sound pressure
until lunchtime after lunch levels in area A1
110 LAFmax
100 LA10
Sound pressure level, dB(A)
LAeq
90 LA90
80 LAFmin
70
60
50
40
30
8:30 –
9:00 –
9:30 –
10:00 –
10:30 –
11:00 –
11:30 –
12:00 –
12:30 –
13:00 –
13:30 –
14:00 –
14:30 –
15:00 –
15:30 –
16:00 –
Time
8.30 Lessons begin and continue 13.00 Students return Figure 7.10.12:
until lunchtime after lunch Art area – sound pressure
levels in area A2
155
Case Study: An investigation into the acoustic conditions in open-plan
7.10 learning spaces in a secondary school
110 LAFmax
100 LA10
Sound pressure level, dB(A)
LAeq
90 LA90
80 LAFmin
70
60
50
40
30
8:30 –
9:00 –
9:30 –
10:00 –
10:30 –
11:00 –
11:30 –
12:00 –
12:30 –
13:00 –
13:30 –
14:00 –
14:30 –
15:00 –
15:30 –
16:00 –
Time
Figure 7.10.13: experienced in teaching two different LA90,30min, indicating that the signal to
Language study area 1 languages (eg German and French) noise ratio could potentially provide
sound pressure levels
simultaneously in different areas of the reasonable speech intelligibility. When the
open plan space. spaces were occupied and students
and/or staff were speaking, there was a
Sound pressure levels greater difference between LAeq,30min
Figures 7.10.13 and 7.10.14 show the and LA90,30min in the enclosed
sound pressure levels recorded in study classrooms than in the fully occupied
areas 1 and 5 respectively. When the open-plan spaces. This indicates that the
classrooms were unoccupied the measured signal to noise ratios are likely to be
levels were less than 50 dB LAeq,30min. higher in the enclosed classrooms than in
When there was speech in the room, the open-plan spaces.
LAeq,30min was typically between 65 and
Figure 7.10.14: 75 dB. In general, LAeq,30min was Reverberation time
Language study area 5
between 15 dB and 20 dB higher than The mid-frequency reverberation time in
sound pressure levels
100 LAFmax
90 LA10
Sound pressure level, dB(A)
LAeq
80 LA90
LAFmin
70
60
50
40
30
8:30 –
9:00 –
9:30 –
10:00 –
10:30 –
11:00 –
11:30 –
12:00 –
12:30 –
13:00 –
13:30 –
14:00 –
14:30 –
15:00 –
15:30 –
16:00 –
Time
156
Case Study: An investigation into the acoustic conditions in open-plan
learning spaces in a secondary school 7.10
each study area was 0.5 seconds, which
meets the performance standards in
Table 1.5.
Summary
Teaching in an open-plan area in a
secondary school requires a different type
of working from teaching in traditional
enclosed classrooms. This is due in part to
the noise levels in open-plan teaching
areas. In this school, both students and When all areas of the learning base Fugure 7.10.15:
teachers in the open-plan areas reported were occupied, measured sound pressure Students in learning base 1
being disturbed by noise, whilst in levels were between 65 and 70 dB gathered around the
teacher in area A
enclosed classrooms very little disturbance LAeq,30min. At these levels, the signal to
was reported. Some of the techniques noise ratios are likely to be less than 10 dB
observed in primary schools in Case and speech intelligibility will be
Study 9.2 were used when it was inadequate. When the teaching areas were
important to ensure that students could occupied and students and/or teachers
hear the teacher during noisy periods. For were speaking, there was a greater
example, students were gathered more difference between LAeq,30min and
closely around their teacher. Also, LA90,30min in the enclosed classrooms
teaching staff in the area co-operated with than in the open-plan spaces. This
each other to minimise disturbance to suggests that the signal to noise ratios are
classes in adjacent areas. generally higher in enclosed classrooms
It is concluded that it is difficult to than in open-plan areas. Hence, speech
justify the use of open-plan areas in intelligibility is likely to be better in
secondary schools in terms of their enclosed classrooms than in fully occupied
acoustic environment. This is a similar open-plan areas.
conclusion to that in Case Study 7.2 for In many open-plan teaching spaces it is
open-plan primary schools. High noise difficult to achieve clear communication
levels in occupied open-plan areas are the of speech between teacher and student,
primary cause of inadequate speech and between students. For this reason,
intelligibility, especially for those students careful consideration should be given as
furthest from the teacher. STI to whether to include open-plan teaching
measurements demonstrated that for spaces in a secondary school. If open-plan
these students, the performance standards areas are required then rigorous acoustic
in Table 1.6 of Section 1 were not met. design is necessary to meet the required
performance standards in Section 1.
157
158