Acoustic Design of Schools
Why is good acoustic design in schools important?
Proper acoustic design in a school is perhaps something that will only be noticed when it is done badly. A typical school day consists of several hours of a teacher conveying new and often challenging information to pupils. Often with less than ideal concentration levels!
Unexpected distractions from outside, from adjacent rooms, or poor room acoustics only add to the difficulty in getting information conveyed effectively. Good acoustic design means pupils can concentrate and hear the voice of the teacher clearly.
Our team of acoustic consultants in London and Manchester are experts in providing design advice tailored to your project.
What are the minimum requirements for acoustics in schools?
Acoustic assessments for schools almost always ultimately consider the criteria set out in Building Bulletin 93 ‘Acoustic design of schools – performance standards’ [BB93]. This is a UK Government document, issued by the Education Funding Agency [EFA]. The document sets out minimum criteria that certain building elements must achieve.
The main considerations can be summarised as follows:
- Sound insulation of separating elements between adjacent rooms
- To ensure noise from one classroom does not affect the classroom next door.
- Ensuring suitable internal ambient noise levels
- To ensure noise from outside (e.g. road traffic, railways etc) and noise from building services (e.g. mechanical ventilation) do not cause a distraction.
- Suitable design of absorption and room layouts
- To ensure rooms are not too reverberant (or ‘echoey’) and spoken information can be heard clearly.
When is an acoustic assessment required?
An acoustic assessment is advisable for all new-build and renovation projects. Therefore ensuring the completed classrooms are suitable for use and provide effective learning environments.
A formal assessment may be a requirement under the following circumstances:
- Under Section E4 of Approved Document E of the Building Regulations
- This applies to primary schools (and nursery uses associated with primary schools), secondary schools (and associated sixth form colleges) and independent sixth form colleges that have been established as schools.
- To achieve credits according to BREEAM
- New-build, non-domestic developments are awarded credits dependent on meeting certain relevant criteria. For schools, the criteria relate back to BB93. Up to 3 credits are achieved under ‘Health and Wellbeing [Hea] 05’, and a further credit can be achieved under ‘Pollution [Pol] 05’, which related to noise emissions from plant installations.
- Employer’s Requirements
- Depending on how a contract for work is drawn up, the ‘Employer’ (usually the end user of the school) may stipulate certain requirements, for example that the requirements of BB93 must be demonstrated to be met prior to handover.
What special considerations are there?
Generally, an acoustic assessment will focus on the design of separating walls and floors, selection of appropriate glazing and ventilation systems, and specification of suitable absorption.
However, site zoning can be equally important, provided acoustics is incorporated into a project suitably early on. For example, certain high noise uses (e.g. music rooms, sports halls) need to be carefully considered in terms of the impact they could have on nearby teaching spaces.
Equally, particularly sensitive rooms (e.g. rooms designed for students with Special Educational Needs (SEN), or quiet study areas) may be more affected by noise from nearby internal or external sources.
What stages to an acoustic assessment are there?
A good acoustic assessment can provide useful information throughout the duration of the project. Therefore ensuring a project runs efficiently and provides a final development that is suitable for its intended use. An idea of the main stages is as follows:
- Feasibility Stage
- Undertaking noise surveys on the proposed site. Which will therefore establish if levels of noise due to the existing surroundings are suitable for a school development.
- Early Design Stage
- Outline reviews to inform the design team what acoustic requirements need to be incorporated into the high-level design, for example in terms of sound insulation requirements between rooms, control of external noise.
- Detailed Design Stage
- Undertaking a detailed review of proposed construction drawings to ensure the proposals are expected to achieve the stated project requirements.
- Construction Stage
- Answering questions as they arise on site, and undertaking site visits to ensure the designs are being correctly implemented.
- Completion Stage
- Acoustic commissioning stage, to demonstrate that the design targets have been met by the completed development.
Why Choose Clement Acoustics for Acoustic Design of Schools?
Quick turnaround time
Helpful team of qualified acoustic engineers
Competitive rates