Acoustic Design

Acoustic Design – sensitivity to building purpose

Health and well-being have probably never been as high on the public agenda as they are today. Since the global pandemic everyone is much more aware of mental health and the impact it can have on everybody’s day to day lives. So what has this got to do with acoustic design you might wonder?

Acoustic design is about understanding and being sensitive to the final use of a building. Buildings are not just about bricks and mortar, concrete and wood or metal and tiles. Whilst these may be the materials used to create the structure, internally it has to be suitable for its purpose.

The acoustic consultants at PDA are highly qualified and appreciate the importance of creating the right sound qualities within each room within a building. Working alongside architects and construction managers we ensure that the right environment is created to help those people using the building once it is completed.

Examples of the importance of Acoustic Design

The acoustic consultants at PDA have been fortunate to work on a number of interesting and in some cases quite unusual projects, where acoustic design has been an integral element of the architectural design. Working alongside a firm of architects we helped to create the right acoustic space for a brand new crematorium. Our aim was to make the various rooms and spaces feel uplifting, hopeful and comforting.

Looking at the opposite end of the lifecycle PDA were also proud to be involved with the North West’s first dedicated children’s centre where support and research for neurodevelopment conditions such as autism take place. As you may be aware, sound is often a key stimulus for autistic children so ensuring the acoustic design fitted each particular area for its specific use was very important. This created a number of acoustic challenges as there were large amounts of hard surfaces, ranging from glass to concrete. With curved walls as part of the design our reverberation tests had to be particularly detailed. If you would like to learn more about the details of this project, you can follow this link or take a look at our case studies page.

Acoustic design

You can see from the examples above that acoustic design is about considering the people who will be using the building and their needs. From a technical perspective, acoustic design means consideration in the design and testing for sound insulation, reverberation, internal ambient noise level and room acoustics. In some cases, such as a concert hall, sound needs to travel and in others it is really important that is doesn’t. Although it is not just about the distance the sound can travel but also the quality of that sound. A new building may win design awards for how it looks but if it is not fit for purpose it will soon lose favour, so make sure your new building is as perfect on the inside as it is on the outside.

To test these acoustic related issues, specialised equipment, skills and expertise is required.  The PDA acoustic consultants have all these, so do get in touch to discuss your acoustic design objectives and we will be only too pleased to assist.  You can call us on 01925 759380.