Acoustic Remediation of a School Hall

SECTION
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 7.4 – Conversion of a design and technology space to

music accommodation 113
Case study 7.5 – A purpose built music suite 117
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
Case study 7.8 – Acoustic design of building envelope and classrooms at

a new secondary school 139
Case study 7.9 – Acoustically attenuated passive stack ventilation of an extension

to an inner city secondary school 143
Case study 7.10 – An investigation into the acoustic conditions in open-plan

learning spaces in a secondary school 147
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
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Glazed screens
extent of ceiling acoustic treatment
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
In addition to the ceiling treatment,

30 20 20 acoustically diffusing panels were
recommended for the walls to distribute
100
sound evenly around the hall and prevent

flutter echoes. An example of a diffusing
panel is shown in Figure 7.1.4. However,
these panels were omitted due to lack of
funds. As a result of this omission and the
presence of an acoustically absorbent
dimensions in millimetres
ceiling, there is a tendency for sound to
94
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
modified acoustics of the hall was very

favourable and all reported a very
noticeable improvement.
Speech intelligibility was found to be
much improved when addressing both
small and large groups of children, and
noise from physical activities and children
shuffling feet during assembly has been
reduced to acceptable levels.
Communication during physical
education and similar noisy activities is
easier, and accompanied by lower levels of
background noise. approx 1 m
The reverberation time was measured
in the same positions before and after the
95
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).
Measurement results Microphone No masking Mask in room G1 Mask in room G2

The measured classroom mid frequency position
reverberation times (Tmf) are shown in STI Rating STI Rating STI Rating
Table 7.2.1.
1 0.803 Excellent 0.639 Good
The sound level (LAeq,10min) was
2 0.673 Good 0.654 Good 0.642 Good
measured in classroom Y1 when occupied
3 0.761 Excellent 0.691 Good 0.426 Poor
during a typical interactive science lesson,
4 0.739 Good 0.550 Fair
and when unoccupied after the school day
5 0.745 Good 0.555 Fair
had finished. The sound level was also
measured in the unoccupied Yellow team
(Team 4) practical area indicated in
Figure 7.2.1. The measured sound levels Rooms DnT(0.8s),w (dB) Table 7.2.4: Measured
are shown in Table 7.2.2. sound insulation between
It should be noted that although the Y1 to Y4 classrooms
16
level in classroom Y1 was measured after G1 to G2 19
the children had left the school, the G1 to G3 24
corridor adjacent to the room was still G2 to G3 14
occasionally used by those involved in
97
Case Study: An investigation into the acoustic conditions in three
7.2 open-plan primary schools
P.E. Store Quiet/I.T. Quiet/I.T. Quiet/I.T.

Y4 Area Y1 Area Area
Yellow Team Yellow Team Yellow Team Yellow Team Blue Team Blue Team
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
Staff room Green Team Studio 1

Dep. Head Red Team
Team 2 homebase 3
Practical Area
Head
Foyer Red Team

Rec. Store Green Team Green Team Green Team Red Team
Office homebase 1 homebase 2
G3 Quiet/I.T.
Area
G2 Quiet/I.T.
Area
(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
Staff room Green Team
Team 2
Practical Area
1 2
Foyer m
c. Store 5 Green Team
3
Quiet/I.T.
G3 4
G2
Area
(b)
98
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
Remedial work: Absorbent screens hung above rear wall to reception

area. Existing wall was only 2.4 m high and was open above. Noise toilets
from reception area disturbed classes in classrooms 1 and 2. wc
utility
cloaks
duct lobby
clnr.
quiet lobby office
area
quiet
Key: Approximately 1.2 m high rear area
dis'd community
m Artificial mouth used for speech walls of classrooms onto wc room
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
staff room lobby classroom

ta
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
Figure 7.2.2: School 2

7.2.2 School 2 1.2 m high. Some common resource
layout
(pupils aged 3 -7 years) areas, eg the library and the
The school layout is shown in Figure science/technology area, are located in
7.2.2. Classrooms 1 to 3 are for reception the corridor space. It is possible to see
classes and no measurements were over the low wall into the corridor and
conducted in this area, where some directly from one classroom to another in
remedial work had been carried out. the vicinity of these walls. Although the
Originally, the nursery wall onto the height of the walls between classrooms
corridor was only 2.4 m high with a gap increases towards the external wall of a
above. However, the disturbance to classroom, at no point is there a
classrooms 1, 2 and 3 from the high noise continuous barrier from the floor to the
levels resulting from normal nursery ceiling between the classrooms. The gap
activities necessitated the closing off of above the partition wall provides a clear
the nursery area using full height acoustic sound path, see Figure 7.2.3, and could
panels above the existing nursery wall. with forethought have been easily closed
The walls separating the classrooms off. However, it is doubtful if this would
from the corridor area are approximately have made a big difference to the sound
transmission given the low walls onto the
corridor.
Figure 7.2.3: Partition
wall between classrooms. Measurement results
Note the large gap Measurements were conducted in rooms
(>300 mm) above the
glazed head of the partition.
4 to 9.
Because the classrooms were identical
in appearance, the mid-frequency
reverberation time was measured only in
unoccupied classroom 8, and was
0.5 seconds.
STI was measured in classroom 8.
100
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
LAeq,2min (dB) 68.2 69.5 72.8 75.8 81.4 96.1
101
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
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
during these activities were higher than

Table 7.2.11: Average
STI values in unoccupied Room STI Rating would be expected in a formal lesson. For
classrooms. Note: adjacent example, in the numeracy lesson in room
9 0.570 Fair 3, the teacher sat in one corner of the
rooms were occupied
during the measurements 3 (curtains open) 0.689 Good classroom with the children seated close
in Room 9. 3 (curtains closed) 0.693 Good to her. In this lesson the teacher spoke
and the children responded when it was
appropriate.
and 6), which exceed the values specified The level in room 5 was approximately
in Table1.5. These results suggest that 5 dB higher than the level measured
the acoustic problems experienced by staff during the literacy lesson in room 6. This
in the extensions to the original building part of the extension did not have
can largely be attributed to the lack of curtains fitted between the rooms at the
sound absorption and the consequent time of this investigation. In the other
relatively long reverberation times in extension, where curtains were fitted, the
these areas compared with the original levels measured in room 4 (project work)
school building. The original building and room 3 (numeracy lesson) were
had acoustically absorbent ceilings virtually the same. The curtains between
whereas the extension did not. rooms 3 and 4 were drawn so that only a
The results from the measurement of gap of around 300 mm remained
STI show that in unoccupied classroom 3 between the curtain and the wall
speech intelligibility was good with the separating room 3 from 4.
curtains both closed and open. In room A teacher in the school volunteered
9, the speech intelligibility rating was fair. comments on teaching conditions in
Since the reverberation time in room 9 is rooms 1 to 4. She said that she found it
0.5 seconds, this lower rating can be difficult to hear some softly spoken pupils
attributed to noise generated by children due to the high noise levels in the
in the adjacent areas at the time of the classroom and that parents would inform
measurements. her if and when their child had difficulty
The results shown in Table 7.2.12 hearing what was being said in lessons.
show that the curtains reduce the sound The teacher was of the opinion that
transmission between classrooms, in room 2 was worse to teach in than rooms
addition to reducing reverberation times, 1 and 3 because of the low sound
although none of the sound insulation insulation of the walls separating the
values measured meets the specification of rooms and the consequent noise
45 dB in Table 1.2 of Section 1. transmission from rooms 1 and 3.
Table 7.2.9 shows the sound levels Unprompted she described the difficulties
recorded in different rooms whilst lessons experienced when reading the same story
were taking place. Pupils were engaged in to her class as the teacher in the adjacent
project work in room 4 while in rooms 3 room but being a sentence or two behind
and 6, more formal literacy and numeracy or in front of her colleague next door.
lessons were being conducted. The teacher felt that the curtains had
Project work meant that the children improved conditions in the classrooms.
were working in small groups and noise Cupboards had also been placed in the
levels generated by their interaction openings between rooms 1, 2, 3 and 4 in
an attempt to improve sound insulation
between the different teaching areas. In
Table 7.2.12: Measured her opinion, the cupboards had been
sound insulation between Rooms Curtains DnT(0.6s),w (dB)
useful for this purpose.
classrooms
3 to 4 open 10 dB
7.2.4 Summary
3 to 4 closed 15 dB
In all the schools visited, the head
3 to 2 open 21 dB
teachers appeared to approve of the open
3 to 2 closed 28 dB
plan design in their school. Some teachers
104
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
located in a flat roof section. Windows are

thermally double glazed and openable.
Internal walls are generally constructed
of either 100 mm or 140 mm
lightweight blockwork. Surface finishes Base 6
are generally hard and reflective except
for the floor which is covered in a short
pile carpet. The walls are plastered and
have an emulsion paint finish. The ceiling
in the open-plan teaching areas is Group Room
constructed of 12.5 mm plasterboard
with a painted skim finish.
The general features to note about the
layout of the open-plan teaching areas are:
Base 5
• All four teaching spaces are
incorporated in an open-plan arrangement.
• The physical separation between
classbases 4 and 5, and between classbases
6 and 7 is minimal which implies
negligible acoustic separation. A small Base 4
improvement in acoustic separation may Services
be gained by strategic positioning of tall
items of furniture, eg bookcases, between
adjacent classbases.
• The physical separation between
classbases 5 and 6 is only partial and is
formed by the projection of the group
room on one side and book shelving on
107
Case Study: Remedial work to an open-plan teaching area
7.3 in a primary school
main complaints. Firstly, when teaching in

a classbase, they could clearly hear
teaching activities in other classbases, even
the most distant ones, and they found this
very disturbing and disruptive. Some
teachers perceived this as a ‘funnelling’ of
sound from one end of the open-plan
teaching area to the other. Conditions
were worst during normal table activities
Base 7
when a comparatively active and excited
class returned to an adjacent classbase
from a PE lesson.
Secondly, noise levels within a classbase
during teaching activities were excessively
Tall book shelves
high and adversely affected concentration
Base 6 and working ability.
Remedial measures were designed to
Glazed partitions improve the acoustic separation between
and doors
Extended
classbases in order to reduce difficulties
with acoustic seals
Group Room arising from mutual disturbance, and to
reduce the build-up of noise levels during
classroom activities to promote an
Base 5 improved teaching environment.
The acoustic separation between
Tall book shelves classbases was increased by installing a full
height double-leaf glazed partition
between the group room and bookshelves
as shown in Figure 7.3.2. The glazing is
Base 4
6 mm thick and doors have perimeter and
threshold acoustic seals. This construction
extends the size of the group room and
forms an effective acoustic barrier
between the two pairs of bases 4 and 5,
and 6 and 7.
To provide further acoustic separation
between the individual bases 4 and 5, and
6 and 7, several tall bookcases were
positioned along the dividing line
(a)
between these classbases. The acoustical
separation provided by this type of partial
barrier is, of course, considerably less
Figure 7.3.2: Arrangment effective than that provided by a full
of open-plan teaching
height partition.
spaces following
modifications
(a) floor plan Noise control
(b) new glazed partition Noise levels during class were high
extending the group room because surfaces were hard and
acoustically reflective with the exception
of the carpeted floor. Acoustic absorption
was added to reduce these noise levels.
The ceiling was the most suitable area for
(b) treatment and acoustic tiles were applied
over the whole of the ceiling in the open-
plan teaching area. The precise absorption
108
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
Octave band centre frequency (Hz) Table 7.3.1: Typical

63 125 250 500 1k 2k 4k 8k measured activity noise
levels in an open-plan
Sound pressure level (dB) 56 60 65 69 68 62 57 54 classbase before remedial
treatment
109
7.3 in a primary school
propagation paths that were investigated: By comparing the two figures, it is

• from base 4 to base 5 with line of evident that the reduction in sound level
sight with distance between bases 4 and 5 is
• from base 4 to base 5 via an indirect very modest compared with the large
path reduction between bases 5 and 6 (ie
• from base 5 to base 6 via the across the partition). This is clearly
partitioning formed by extending the reflected by the subjective impressions of
group room. teachers who are disturbed by noise from
Figure 7.3.3: Sound The results for the three paths are an adjacent classbase on the same side of
propagation paths shown in Figures 7.3.4 (a) and (b). the partition but are not disturbed by
investigated classbases beyond the partition.
The erection of a physical barrier across
the middle of the open-plan teaching area
was clearly effective in improving
conditions. It is important to note the
constructional simplicity of this barrier
and its acoustical effectiveness in reducing
sound transmission. This was achieved by
using two partitions with a large air cavity
in between (the extended group room). A
single partition would have needed to be
substantially heavier with more elaborate
Base 7
acoustical detailing.
The new partition did not solve all the
problems of sound transmission since
R3
classbases 4 and 5, and classbases 6 and 7
were still open to each other and some
Base 6 mutual disturbance is still occurring. This
has been reduced by partial barriers but
can not be effectively eliminated without
a complete barrier.
Extended The acoustic ceiling treatment is
Group Room beneficial in reducing noise levels but did
not result in a dramatic effect since the
R1 classbases were already carpeted and
furnished.
Base 5
S3 Conclusions
R2 The effect of mutual disturbance in open-
plan teaching areas is clearly illustrated in
this case study and relatively simple
Base 4 remedial measures have been shown to
work moderately well.
Before embarking on the design of an
open-plan teaching area, serious
S1
consideration should be given as to
S2 whether the advantages of the open-plan
arrangement outweigh the serious
inherent acoustic disadvantages.
KEY
S1 S2 S3 Source positions
R1 R2 R3 Receiver positions
110
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
Slightly greater reduction

between classbases for an
40 obstructed speaker-listener path
Base 4 Base 5
20
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Distance from teaching position, m
100 (b) with full height double

buffer zone partition
between
spaces
80
Sound pressure level,dB
Significant reduction across the

60
glazed partitions either side
of the buffer zone
(or group room)
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
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
rear and side 53%

1.4
ENSEMBLE ROOM
1.2 bunched 5%
one wall 14%
1.0
GROUP ROOM
bunched 5%
0.8
one wall 28%
0.6
0.4
Key
0.2 Classroom
Ensemble room
0 Group room
10 20 30 40 50
Percentage of wall
covered by drapes
gain. In a new building, an alternative 0.5 kg/m2 at 200% gather, providing

solution may be to incorporate a fixed acoustic variability and control. The
sunshade or ‘brise soleil’ at the eaves soffit. curtain track is ceiling mounted along
Internal doors into the music three sides of the room providing
classroom, the adjacent D&T space and maximum flexibility allowing curtains to
the ensemble room were upgraded to be positioned to suit the configuration of
heavy solid core doors with double seals the musical activity. This is useful in a
all round including threshold seals. Doors school where one classroom serves a
to the two group rooms have vision number of functions.
panels for supervision with 10 mm glass. Curtains are also provided in group
Acoustically double-glazed observation rooms. In the ensemble room, they are
windows are formed in the partition walls positioned at the south-east end of the
to the ensemble room and one of the space, screening the doorway or bunched
group rooms. in the corner as required.
On completion, acoustic measurements
Fixtures and finishes were taken in the music classroom,
The existing plasterboard ceiling finish ensemble room and a group room (all
was retained; the existing wood block when unoccupied). Resulting mid-
floor to the main space was also retained frequency reverberation times are depicted
and carpeted for acoustic reasons. The in Figure 7.4.3. This graph shows that
ensemble room floor has a basic underlay measured values are in accordance with
and corded carpet, so that the finish is Table 1.5 of Section 1, and demonstrates
not too acoustically absorptive. the potential of providing acoustic
Wall finishes in the main space are variability using drapes.
supplemented by heavy drapes of at least In the 65 m2 classroom it can be seen
115
7.4 to music accommodation
that curtains can be very effective in

reducing mid-frequency reverberation
time. Because of the number of variables
combining to affect the reverberation
time in a room including volume, the
weight and location of curtains, surface
finishes and furniture, the results shown
here are indicative only. The graph shows
that the ensemble room at 13 m2 has a
measured RT of 0.7 to 0.8 seconds,
within the range given in Table 1.5 of
0.6 to 1.2 seconds for an ensemble room.
The background noise level in the
unoccupied music classroom measured
whilst adjacent classes were in session was
29 dB LAeq, 1hr. This suggests that the
indoor ambient noise level is less than the
required level of 35 dB LAeq, 30min given
in Table 1.1 of Section 1.
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
from other music rooms by a

recording/
corridor and storage areas. practice room
1 control
• The ensemble room with its room
associated recording/control room is
also separated from other rooms by a
corridor. practice room
2
Music classroom
The geometry of the large music room is
practice room 4/
good, with a rectangular plan shape and a
ensemble room
fairly steeply pitched ceiling, see Figure
7.5.2. The light fittings and recessed roof practice room
lights provide some useful modelling to 3
break up and diffuse the sound.
Two large encased purlins, projecting
down from the plane of the ceiling cause
a minor localised problem. Small sound 0 1 2 3 4 5m
117
Case Study: A purpose built music suite
7.5
Figure 7.5.2: Section
through music room
Electrically operated
rooflight
Possible locations for

acoustic treatment
30°
Sound reflection
1275
2600
10370
975 Sound source
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
Figure 7.5.3: Measured

reverberation time in the 1.6
music room
1.4
1.2
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
63 125 250 500 1000 2000 4000
118
7.5
Figure 7.5.4: Simple
acoustically diffusing
elements
Board angled
10 mm thick full height hardboard on battens
at approx. 5°
ENSEMBLE ROOM PLAN
Practice rooms the practice rooms. Again the distribution

All practice rooms include one pair of of absorption is uneven although the
non-parallel walls which reduces the sound field is rendered more diffuse by
possibility of sound colouration from the installation of the angled panels on
standing waves. one wall, see Figure 7.5.4. Treatment of
The practice room volumes are of the these panels with hessian is not desirable
order of 20 m3 and can accommodate up since it could reduce ‘brilliance’ of the
to 5 pupils working on composition. sound as there is already sufficient high
Ceiling heights are 2.6 m which is lower frequency absorption in the carpet and
than desirable but acceptable. ceiling.
The measured mid-frequency RT in The measured mid-frequency RT was
one of the practice rooms was 0.4 seconds 0.4 seconds with a rise to 0.6 seconds at
with a rise to 0.9 seconds at 125 Hz. This 125 Hz. This is lower than the range given
is at the lower limit recommended for in Table 1.5. A longer mid-frequency RT
practice rooms which results in a ‘dry’ could have been achieved by reducing the
sound but is nevertheless satisfactory. The ceiling absorption. There would then have
moderate rise in bass frequencies is been scope for having acoustic variability
generally a welcome feature giving using curtains.
fullness of tone to certain instruments.
A combination of acoustically reflective Recording/control room
and absorbent finishes has been used. The The control room is also square but
walls are of blockwork with a paint finish, without the benefit of diffusing elements.
the floor is carpeted with short pile carpet This could give rise to standing waves
and the ceiling is treated with acoustic although these were not evident. The
tiles. Although the selection of materials shelving and equipment probably provide
has resulted in acceptable reverberation sufficient diffusion to avoid sound
times, the distribution of absorption is colouration. A facing wall could be
concentrated on the ceiling and floor which treated with absorbing material to assist in
tends to emphasize sound reflections in preventing this.
the horizontal plane; an undesirable effect This room has the same surface finishes
that has been noted by users. This problem as the practice rooms and is generally
could be overcome by redistributing a suitable for music practice and composing
proportion of the absorption onto the as well as monitoring and recording
walls, eg by installing absorbent wall sound from the ensemble room.
panels and replacing some absorbent (Monitoring is normally done in a very
ceiling tiles with reflective ones. dead acoustic although a suitable
compromise has been struck here between
Ensemble room practicing and monitoring).
The ensemble room is square which could There is good visual communication
give rise to strong standing waves and with the ensemble room through an
hence possible colouration. However, one acoustic double-glazed window.
wall has simple angled reflective panels
acting as diffusing elements which work Sound insulation
effectively to counteract this. Surface The measured sound level difference
finishes in this room are the same as in between two practice rooms in octave
119
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
Table 7.5.2: Measured indoor Octave band centre frequency (Hz)

ambient noise levels in
practice room 125 250 500 1k 2k
Measured sound pressure level (dB) 38 33 26 21 25
bands is shown in Table 7.5.1. This musician or teacher is also a function of

equates to a weighted BB93 standardized the indoor ambient noise in the room
level difference of 44 dB DnT(0.8s),w. they are playing/teaching in: the higher
The sound insulation between practice the indoor ambient noise (if relatively
room 2 and the adjacent corridor was steady) the more masking of external
limited by the poor sound insulation of sounds occurs and hence the lower the
the doorset between them. The weighted disturbance from external noise.
BB93 standardized level difference The sound insulation was significantly
between the ensemble room (practice reduced by transmission through
room 4) and practice room 2 was 47 dB doorsets. The installed doors are hollow
DnT(0.8s),w. core with poor seals around the perimeter
and threshold. The two sets of double
Indoor ambient noise doors in the music suite do not have
The indoor ambient noise level was effective seals at the meeting stiles. This is
measured in practice room 3 during a a common problem with double doors
period when people were moving around but can be overcome by careful detailing
the building but no significant musical with rigid fixings at the meeting stiles. It
activity was taking place. The results are might have been better to use unequal
shown in Table 7.5.2. This equates to a paired doors instead of double doors. The
single figure value of approximately small leaf can then usually be bolted shut
30 dB(A). It means that there is little making the seal much more effective than
masking of intrusive noise from adjoining on a normal double door. A wide single
spaces. Therefore, separation of sensitive door is also a possibility.
spaces by storerooms and corridors is Upgrading seals to proper acoustic
particularly important. seals and replacing doors by the solid core
Table 7.5.3 compares the subjective type would improve performance close to
assessments of the acoustic quality of the that required. (Preventing doors from
spaces with the acoustic measurements. squeaking would also be beneficial in
reducing disturbance.)
Discussion A second key issue is the acoustic
One of the key issues relating to acoustics characteristics of each of the different
in music accommodation is sound types of space.
transmission between different rooms The large music room has a very good
which may cause disturbance to music geometry for providing a diffuse sound
practice and teaching. field. The 1.0 seconds Tmf is sufficiently
Clearly, the layout of the building long to provide fullness of tone but short
provides good separation between main enough to maintain clarity which is an
rooms or groups of rooms. The measured important quality in music teaching. The
DnT(0.8s),w from the ensemble room to rise in RT at bass frequencies is beneficial
practice room 2 was 47 dB. in terms of adding ‘warmth’ to the
However, the situation is more acoustic characteristic.
complicated because disturbance to a The music practice rooms also have an
120
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)
Music room Moderately 1.0

reverberant. Diffuse
sound field.
Adequate loudness
Practice room Modest 0.4 44 29

(Tutorial 2) reverberation. Non between
diffuse sound field. practice
Reverberation rooms 2
concentrated in and 3
horizontal plane.
Can hear instruments
playing in adjacent
rooms but just tolerable.
Ensemble room Modest 47

reverberation. between the
Adequate loudness. ensemble
Disturbance from room and
practice rooms only practice
during quiet moments. rooms
Corridor Can clearly hear

piano from practice
room and clarinet
from ensemble room.
appropriate geometry in plan, namely two poor distribution of absorption in practice

non-parallel walls. However, absorption is rooms.
not evenly distributed on the room In summary, the main points to note
surfaces which prevents a sufficiently about the acoustic design of the music
diffuse sound field. block are:
The ensemble room appears to be • location of the building at a distance
much favoured by teachers and musicians from other buildings
alike who feel comfortable with its size. A • separation of large music room and
square plan shape is always problematic in groups of rooms by full height walls,
terms of standing waves although this has corridors and buffer zones
been mitigated by using simple and • selection of a simple rectangular plan
effective diffusing panels. shape for the large music room
The associated control room includes a • selection of non-parallel walls for
well designed acoustic double-glazed practice rooms
viewing window and the two spaces • use of simple angled wall panels to
together form a good quality recording provide sound diffusion in the
suite. The window consists of 2 x 6 mm ensemble room
glass panes with a 100 mm air space. • use of solid, acoustically reflective
materials for walls and ceilings in the
Conclusions large music room to ensure sufficiently
The music block is exemplary in most long reverberation.
respects in terms of its fitness for teaching
and practicing music at secondary school
level. The acoustic design is generally
good but there are some minor
shortcomings such as inappropriate
selection of doorsets and door seals, and
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
ICT Class 6 Class 7 Class 8

Staff Class 4 Class 5
Class 1 Class 2 Class 3
123
7.6 Case Study: A junior school with resource provision for deaf children
Figure 7.6.2: ‘Circle

time’ in Class 4
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
Listening to teacher Listening to teacher but with

during a test noise in corridor
Listening when the Listening to the teacher whilst class

teacher walks around are tidying up and moving around
Listening when overhead Listening to peer LIFE UK scores for Class 4

projector is switched on answer a question
LIFE UK scores for
hearing impaired child
1 - always easy to hear
2 - mostly easy to hear
3 - sometimes difficult to hear
4 - mostly difficult to hear
5 - always difficult to hear
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)
100 Figure 7.6.5: Sound

levels in Class 4 during the
80
day
60
40
20
0
11:30
11:44
11:58
12:12
12:26
12:40
12:54
13:08
13:22
13:36
13:50
14:04
14:18
14:32
14:46
15:00
15:14
15:28
A B C D E
Time
125
70
60
Sound pressure level, dB
50
30
40
125 200 315 500 800 1250 2000 3250 5000
Third-octave band centre frequency, Hz
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.
Room acoustic measures
Ambient noise level

Measured levels with the classroom empty
were in the range 32-36 dB LAeq, but
this was after the end of school so did not
include noise from other areas of the
school. Noise from other areas was not
perceived by the teachers as a problem.
Sound level changes due to use of
soundfield system
Measurements of the sound pressure level although the ceiling and the carpets Figure 7.6.7:
and LAeq did not show changes that provide some absorption, more absorption Reverberation times in
unoccupied Class 4
could be definitely attributed to the use on the walls would reduce or eliminate
of the system. The teacher being the flutter echoes as well as reducing the
measured had, as judged subjectively, an RTs to acceptable levels.
exceptionally powerful voice, and it is
quite possible that she was able to Room acoustics assessment, RPD
monitor the acoustic impact on the class room
and adjust her speaking level accordingly. The measured RTs are shown in Figure
It is worth noting that the system is 7.6.8. As expected for an RPD room, the
not purely an amplification system, it Tmf is lower than the value of 0.4 seconds
exists to distribute the sound from the given in Table 1.5 for classrooms designed
teacher’s voice evenly about the classroom. specifically for use by hearing impaired
Simultaneous acoustic measures would pupils. Furthermore, the RT across the
have been useful to indicate the extent to frequency range is lower than 0.4 seconds
which this was achieved. as recommended in Table 6.1. There are
Subjectively, there was an increase in no apparent flutter echoes or other
Figure 7.6.8:
clarity at mid and high frequencies. The problems and no complaints of acoustic Reverberation times in
increase in clarity does not imply a problems in this room, which would be unoccupied RPD room
pleasant quality of sound and it was felt
that the sound from the speakers was
rather harsh. This could be a function of
the frequency response of the speakers or
the adjustment of the system.
Room acoustics assessment, Class 4

The measured reverberation times (RTs)
are shown in Figure 7.6.7. The Tmf is
above the value specified in Table 1.5. In
addition, detailed analysis of the measured
impulse responses showed flutter echoes
between the parallel, reflective walls.
These were not at such a level as to be
annoying but they probably reduce
speech clarity in the room. The room has
predominantly reflective wall surfaces and Octave band centre frequency, Hz
127
considered to be very well designed teaching purposes outside playtime. The

acoustically. largest space faces away from the
playground. The windows are not double-
Teaching resource base glazed and there is no air conditioning,
The RPD is separated from the main however the setting is very quiet and the
school by a short covered walkway. There rooms are large.
are two rooms and the entrance lobby
outside the rooms is large enough to Strengths of the school
provide a space for small group work. The A review of the school shows that there
larger room shown in Figures 7.6.9 and has been considerable investment in
7.6.10 is used for teaching larger groups. ensuring that the school is one that
The whole building has extensive sound reduces acoustical barriers to learning for
treatment, ensuring that the environment hearing and hearing impaired children
has little reverberation. The building is set alike. The key features are:
Figure 7.6.9: Teaching
resource base
in the playground, but is only used for • carpeting to reduce noise in corridors
and classroom noise caused by movement
• attaching rubber ends to chairs and
tables to reduce movement noise
• maximising lighting, and where
appropriate using blinds, so that children
and teachers are visible but not
silhouetted against the light, thereby
ensuring that lip-reading is effective
• using personal radio systems for the
hearing impaired children to limit the
effects of distance from the teacher
• using a soundfield system, which
provides benefit to the hearing impaired
child directly by increasing the strength
and naturalness of the speech signal, and
indirectly by modifying classroom
behaviour in a positive manner
• making use of expertise in the in-
service training of staff throughout the
school
Figure 7.6.10: Teaching
resource base room layout
• providing an acoustically well-specified
area for supporting those special needs
of hearing impaired children that cannot
Sink be met within the mainstream classroom.
Future developments at the school

The school is about to undergo major
roof repairs. As part of the process the
school will take the opportunity to
upgrade the acoustic treatment within the
7.1 m classrooms, seeking to lower the
reverberation times. This will assist in
reducing noise build up during critical
Audiological learning times of group work and class
and discussion. The lower reverberation times
radio aid will enable the soundfield system to work
spares
Windows more effectively, and possibly enable the
2.8 m high school to use ceiling mounted speaker
7.1 m systems for future installations.
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
Pupils are taught in small groups by a

teacher aided by a classroom assistant.
The teachers wear radio transmitters and
all pupils wear radio hearing aids so that
they can make use of their residual constructions. The dining room and main Figure 7.7.1: Part plan of
hearing. Sign language (accompanied by hall are separated from the nearest primary school showing
speech) is used for teaching. Year 2 and Year 3W
teaching rooms by an area which is used
classrooms
Classes were observed to gain an for activities such as art. Where there are
insight into the use of the school and two adjacent classrooms, storage areas
measurements of background noise, have been created between them to act as
reverberation time and sound insulation a buffer zone. The school is single storey,
were carried out. so impact noise from footfalls and chairs
being moved above is not an issue. The
Location partitions are blockwork; the doors are
The school is located on the outskirts of a timber hollowcore doors with no seals.
city, a considerable distance away from The roof construction is not known, but
the main road, in a residential area. the quiet location means that ingress of
external noise is not problematic. All
Layout and construction classrooms are naturally ventilated.
A part plan of the school showing the The classrooms for Year 2 and Year 3W
classrooms for Year 2 and Year 3W is are adjacent but are separated by store
shown in Figure 7.7.1. Good internal rooms. Both rooms are entered through a
space planning has generally ensured that common area which is used for art and
noise sensitive areas have not been placed craft work, for storing teaching aids and as
immediately adjacent to noise producing an area in which the classroom assistants
areas, thus avoiding the need for high can prepare teaching material. This
performance sound insulating common area is a useful acoustic buffer
129
7.7 Case Study: An all-age special school for hearing impaired children
being located so close together.

The sound insulation between the Year
1
2 classroom and the common art/craft
area via the Year 2 classroom door, which
0.8 was closed, was also measured.
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
Ambient noise levels during lessons

Figure 7.7.2: Measured zone separating the classrooms from the Measurements of ambient noise were
reverberation time in Year corridor. Despite the fact that the two made during a desk-based lesson in the
3W classroom classrooms have been designed so that Year 2 classroom. A teacher, two classroom
noise from one does not disturb teaching assistants and five children were present.
in the other, classes were being taught Maximum sound levels of 85 dB LAmax
with the doors open between each were measured. The equivalent continuous
classroom and the common area. Noise sound level was 65 dB LAeq. Although
from one classroom was thus clearly there was some noise made by the pupils
audible in the classroom next door. trying to talk, the dominant noise source
was due to the teacher talking to the
Surface finishes classroom assistants. Noise from the Year
In classrooms, surface finishes have been 3W classroom was also audible.
used to control reverberation times. All Measurements of ambient noise were
classrooms have thin carpet on the floors. also made during a physical education
The pitched classroom ceilings are lesson in the main hall. The class
covered in mineral fibre tiles; these extend consisted of a teacher, two assistants and
down to cover the walls at high level approximately 10 children. Noise levels
(from the ceiling down to the height of were very similar to those measured in
the tops of the doors). The walls have a the Year 2 class; namely a maximum
painted plaster finish with hardboard sound level of 84 dB LAmax and an
pinboards dispersed around them. equivalent continuous sound level of
The amount of absorption provided 65 dB LAeq.
ensures that the reverberation time is
sufficiently short to provide good Unocupied noise levels
conditions for speech. Noise levels were measured in the Year 2
The measured unoccupied mid- and Year 3W classrooms during a time
frequency RT in the classroom for Year when the rooms were unoccupied. These
3W was 0.3 seconds with a rise to 0.7 results are shown in Table 7.7.1.
seconds at 125 Hz. The full spectrum is The measured values were 40 dB LAeq
shown in Figure 7.7.2. in the Year 2 classroom and 29 dB LAeq
in the Year 3W classroom. The dominant
Sound insulation noise source in the Year 2 classroom was
Sound insulation measurements were from the fan on a computer. In Year 3W
carried out between the Year 2 and Year there was no computer on, but at high
3W classrooms because these represented frequencies noise from a fluorescent light
a ‘worst case’ sound transmission fitting was dominant.
configuration, no two other classrooms
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
Octave band centre frequency (Hz) Table 7.7.1: Measured

unoccupied noise levels in
63 125 250 500 1k 2k 4k 8k classrooms
Year 2 LAeq (dB) 38 33 44 37 33 29 23 20
Year 3W LAeq (dB) 39 28 22 17 17 17 25 25
131
A special unit in a mainstream Location

secondary school The secondary unit is surrounded on
three sides by open countryside, and is far
The special unit for hearing impaired from any main roads. The unit is at one
pupils is located in a refurbished block of end of the school, so that the potential
the mainstream secondary school and for noise break-out from other classrooms
consists of six teaching classrooms, the is minimised. Background noise levels on
resources area, a speech therapy room and the site are low.
an office for the headteacher of the unit.
When in the special school unit, pupils Layout and construction
are taught in small class groups. Pupils are The special school accommodation is
encouraged to communicate using sign divided between the ground and second
language, lip-reading, speech and residual floors, with mainstream accommodation
hearing with the help of hearing aids. For in between on the first floor. Figure 7.7.3
30% of the time, hearing impaired pupils shows the plan of the ground floor.
are taught in integrated classes in the Unlike the primary school, classrooms
mainstream school. are located immediately adjacent to each
The special school unit forms an other with no non-sensitive buffer zones
interesting comparison with the primary in between. Partitions between adjacent
age part of the same school which is classrooms are studwork and consist of
located in a nearby primary school, and is one layer of 12.5 mm plasterboard and
some 20 years older. one layer of 19 mm plasterboard on each
The unit was visited only four months side of a 48 mm stud. The partition
after it was opened. During the visit, between the headmaster’s office and the
discussions were held with the headmaster speech therapy room is built of staggered
of the hearing impaired unit to obtain his 70 mm studs with two layers of 15 mm
opinions on its acoustics. Measurements plasterboard on each side and mineral
Figure 7.7.3: Ground wool in the cavity. The partitions have
of background noise, reverberation time
floor plan of secondary
and sound insulation were carried out. been built to full height up to structural
school unit for hearing
impaired pupils slab level. The headmaster complained,
however, that there were gaps at the
partition heads which reduced the sound
insulation of the partitions, meaning that
External sound from one classroom could often be
Store heard in the adjacent room. Examination
WC
of the partition heads revealed that pipe
penetrations of the partitions had not
Tea room Classroom 5
always been properly sealed.
In many cases adjacent classrooms have
connecting doors. All the doors in the
special school are single solid core timber
Circulation
Headmaster's doors of 40 - 50 mm thickness with wiper

Office seals acting on a raised timber threshold
Classroom 4
and compression frame seals. External
windows are double-glazed with a deep
Speech Therapy cavity (approximately 200 mm) and are
room openable via a sliding casement
mechanism.
Classroom 3
The party walls between the specialist
school and the adjoining mainstream
Male WC school accommodation are masonry.
(part of mainstream
school building) The first floor mainstream classrooms
have been carpeted to reduce impact
noise transmission to the ground floor
132
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,

unoccupied noise levels in
Leq (dB) 63 125 250 500 1k 2k 4k 8k
Classroom 4 and the
Classroom 4 34 30 29 18 22 13 12 13 speech therapy room
Speech therapy room 28 23 15 12 12 11 11 12
133
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
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
In the primary school for hearing

Figure 7.7.4: Plan of
impaired children there is an audiology audiology facility
facility, which consists of a technician’s
room and an audiometric test room.
The tests carried out in the
audiometric test room are generally
carried out in the ambient acoustic field Secretary
Deputy Store
Circulation
rather than using headphones. Activities Head

range from testing hearing saturation
WC
levels and hearing aid discomfort (during
which high noise levels of up to 90 dB(A) Head Teacher
are generated in the room) to testing for External
courtyard
speech discrimination against background Audiometry
noise, which requires low ambient noise Test Room
levels.
Measurements were carried out of Technician's
indoor ambient noise, sound insulation Room
Staff Room
and reverberation time in the audiology
suite. In addition, a discussion was held
with the audiologist who uses the suite to Circulation
Tea Room Cleaner
obtain his opinion of the suitability of the
acoustics.
135
Surface finishes Acoustic measurements

The audiometric test room is carpeted
and has a mineral fibre suspended ceiling. Reverberation time
Apart from where there are windows or The unoccupied mid frequency
doors, the entire wall area is also lined reverberation time, Tmf, in the
with mineral fibre tiles. Subjectively, the audiometric test room was 0.2 seconds
room is very dead acoustically. with a small rise to 0.3 seconds at 125 Hz.
The RT across the frequency spectrum is
Audiologist’s opinion shown in Figure 7.7.5.
The audiologist finds intrusive noise very
disturbing to his work, particularly when Sound insulation
he is carrying out tests of speech The sound insulation measured between
discrimination against background noise. the technician’s room and the audiometry
This means that the times when he can test room was 36 dB DnT(0.4s),w.
carry out certain measurements are
determined by possible activity in the Unoccupied noise levels
corridor. When there is no activity in the Noise levels were measured in the
corridor, the background noise levels in audiometry test room when the room was
the room are sufficiently low for his tests. unoccupied. The results are shown in
Conversely, when loud noises are Table 7.7.3.
generated in the audiometric test room The noise level corresponds to an A-
(for example when hearing aid discomfort weighted sound pressure level of
is being tested), these can clearly be heard 21 dB LAeq. The dominant noise source
in the corridor, although this does not was water running through the radiator.
cause disturbance to teaching. Voices in the corridor outside were
The audiologist did not express any audible. It should be noted that at high
dissatisfaction with the internal room frequencies the reported octave band
acoustics, but noted that achieving low noise levels in the audiometry test room
[1] ‘Acoustics: Audiology’,
ambient noise levels should be a first were due to electrical noise in the
Health Technical
Memorandom 2045, priority when designing audiology measurement system; actual noise levels
HMSO, 1996. facilities and that good room acoustics would have been lower.
were worthless without sufficiently low
background noise levels or good enough Discussion
sound insulation. Guidance for the acoustic design of
Figure 7.7.5: Measured audiology facilities in hospital audiology
reverberation time in
departments is given in Health Technical
audiometry test room
Memorandum 2045 "Acoustics:
Audiology"[1], but the suite in the school
is used for educational audiology and as
such is provided by the County in which
the school is situated rather than by the
1
Health Service.The guidance includes
maximum permissible ambient sound
0.8 pressure levels in third octave bands and
0.6 reverberation times for audiometric test

rooms, depending on the audiometric
0.4
tests which will be carried out in the
0.2 rooms. Because the use of each
audiometric facility is specialised, the end
0
63 125 250 500 1000 2000 4000 users of any facility should be consulted
and reference made to HTM 2045[1]
before the acoustic design of a facility is
undertaken.
In this test room the background noise
136
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
aerofoil cover creates up draft of used air in

acoustically attenuated ducts
fixed louvres added after building completion to prevent rain sunlight entering through rooflight heats extract duct
penetration in storm conditions will reduce aerofoil effect to assist air movement by stack effect
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
WEST- EAST STAGGERED SECTION THROUGH CLASSROOMS IN SOUTH WING
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
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
Octave band centre frequency (Hz)
Dn,e (dB) 63 125 250 500 1k 2k 4k 8k Dn,e,w (dB)
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
7.8 at a new secondary school
Internal partitions in insulation was found in some ground

Internal partitioning generally uses two floor rooms where partitions directly abut
layers of 12.5 mm plasterboard each side the precast concrete first floor. The
of metal studs, with quilt in the cavity, conclusion was that variability in
giving a construction width of 200 mm. construction standards, rather than
Laboratory test results for this form of detailing, was the key factor.
construction indicate a sound reduction Generally, staff and pupils at the school
index of 52 dB Rw. Performance on site do not consider noise between spaces to
is usually at least 5 dB less than this. Tests be a problem, and are happy with the
carried out on site show a considerable acoustics.
variation in performance, from 44 dB to Classrooms are provided with acoustic
38 dB Dw. The walls therefore meet the treatment in specific ceiling areas to bring
standard of 38 dB for classrooms given in the mid-frequency reverberation times
Building Bulletin 87, that was required at below 0.8 seconds. At first floor level, this
the time of the design. However some fail is provided at the rear of the rooms, over
to meet the 43 dB Dw design target for the sloping soffit which encloses services
the project, which is lower than the and also helps to reflect daylight from the
present standard given in Table 1.2. rooflights into the back of the room. On
There are a number of causes of the the ground floor, suspended ceilings run
performance loss. On the first floor, along both sides of classrooms to enclose
flanking sound carried through the services and cut off indirect sound paths.
lightweight roof was seen to be a In the centre, the first floor precast
contributory factor, despite the use of concrete floor slab is exposed to absorb
fillers in the profile voids. However, the re-radiated solar radiation and to reinforce
best performance was also recorded in direct speech sound paths.
one of the first floor rooms. A reduction
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
• walls: part brick/block cavity, part

re
et
housing blockwork with a terracotta tile rain

housing
screen and mineral fibre in the cavity
• windows: double glazing incorporating
10 mm and 6.4 mm laminated glass
The site plan shows that the new
extension is adjacent to a heavily polluted • main roof: proprietary double skin steel
roofing system (38 dB Rw)
inner city road. The road is a very busy
two lane highway and is the main source • mansard roof: proprietary roofing
system, supplemented by an internal
of noise in the area.
plasterboard lining with mineral fibre infill
Acoustic design • roof lights: double glazing
incorporating 4 mm glass.
The acoustic design was based on the
Recommendations were given for the
noise limits recommended in Building
attenuation of external noise through the
Bulletin 87(BB87) of 40 dB LAeq,1h in
wind scoop system. It was recognised that
classrooms and not more than 50 dB
new measures to attenuate external noise
LAeq,1h in a gymnasium. These values are
might affect the airflow characteristics and
now superseded by the performance
therefore any suggestions would need to
standards in Section 1 of Building
be confirmed by the manufacturer.
Bulletin 93.
The manufacturer of the wind scoop
system arranged for acoustic tests to be
Noise survey
undertaken in a UKAS test laboratory. A
Noise surveys were carried out on site
number of different internal lining
before and after the completion of the
treatments were tested. The results are
new extension. The aim was to establish
summarised in Table 7.9.1.
the external noise levels and use these
Initial calculations for the classrooms
data to calculate the required sound
indicated that a 5 m length of lined duct
insulation for the building envelope.
would provide sufficient attenuation to
The measured free-field external noise
reduce the internal noise to approximately
level was 70 dB LAeq. The major source
40 dB LAeq. For classrooms on the
of noise was road traffic on the very busy
second floor, the wind scoop ducts were
main road.
not long enough and it was necessary to
The rooms with most exposure to road
increase the attenuation by fitting an
traffic noise are:
additional attenuator. For classrooms on
Ground Floor: Gymnasium
the lower floors the length of the wind
First Floor: Language classrooms 1, 2 and 3
scoop duct was sufficient and no
Second Floor: Mathematics classrooms 2, 3,
additional attenuator was required. The
4 and 5 and ICT rooms 1 and 2.
proposed duct details are summarised in
Table 7.9.2.
143
Case Study: Acoustically attenuated passive stack ventilation of an
7.9 extension to an inner city secondary school
Table 7.9.1: Laboratory Test element Dn,e,w (C;Ctr) (dB)

measurement data for the
airborne sound insulation 620 mm x 620 mm square hole 13 (0;0)
of the wind scoop system Vent, unlined with dampers open 16 (0;0)
Vent, unlined with dampers closed 26 (0;-1)
Vent lined with acoustic tile, dampers open 26 (0;-3)
Vent lined with acoustic tile, dampers closed 35 (-1;-5)
Vent lined with open cell foam, dampers open 26 (0;-3)
Vent lined with open cell foam, dampers closed 35 (-1;-4)
Vent lined with open cell foam, linear ceiling grille fitted 27 (-1;-4)
Table 7.9.2: BB87 BB87 background

background noise levels noise levels
and proposed duct details Classroom Floor LAeq,1hr (dB) Treatment
Mathematics 2, 3, 4 and 5 2 40 Internal acoustic lining plus

500 mm attenuator
ICT 1 and 2 2 40 Internal acoustic lining plus

1800 mm attenuator
Languages 1, 2 and 3 1 40 Internal acoustic lining
Gymnasium Ground 50 Thermal insulation only to

blockwork ducts
Post-completion measurements of predicted values.

indoor ambient noise levels The measured results in the
Following completion of the building, Gymnasium, Languages 1, Mathematics 2
measurements of the indoor ambient and Mathematics 3 were found to meet
noise levels were carried out at a number the design limits. The failure to meet the
of different locations in each room and internal noise limit in Languages 3, ICT 1
averaged. Simultaneous measurements and ICT 2 can be explained by the factors
were taken of the free-field external noise noted in the comments column, that is,
level which was 70.6 dB LAeq,5h and excessive noise transmission via unsealed
Table 7.9.3: Comparison within 1 dB of the level measured prior to window frames and the noise from
between the BB87
development. The measurement results computer fans in the operational ICT
background noise levels,
calculated and measured are summarised in Table 7.9.3 where they rooms.
indoor ambient noise levels are compared with the design targets and Internal noise measurements were also
BB87 background
noise levels Calculated Measured
Room LAeq,1h (dB) LAeq,1h (dB) LAeq,1h (dB) Comments
Gym 50 45 42 Significant flanking transmission around

escape door
Languages 1 40 37 38
Languages 3 40 40 43 Some window frames not yet sealed
Mathematics 2 40 39 38
ICT 1 40 42 44 Computer noise present
ICT 2 40 33 42 Computer noise present
144
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
7.9 extension to an inner city secondary school
The proposed system takes full

advantage of the prevailing site
conditions. Fresh air is both drawn in
Prevailing Wind Exhaust air
and exhausted at the highest level. Wind
speeds at 15 m above the ground will be
higher than at street level due to fewer
obstructions by surrounding buildings.
Anti bird mesh Acoustic lining fitted to The quality of the air also generally
internal dividers,
capping and trunk improves with increasing distance from
the source of pollution, which in this
case is road traffic. Heavy pollutants from
vehicle exhausts tend to remain at street
level particularly in conditions of high
atmospheric pressure.
The ventilation strategy also allows for
Motorised volume night time cooling of the building.
control damper Eggcrate Studies have shown that air quality by
ceiling diffuser
main roads improves at night due to
lower traffic flows. At the end of each day
stale air left in the building can be fully
replaced and then warmed, depending on
the season, ready for the next morning.
Figure 7.9.3: Section has been carefully sized according to the
through ventilation stack volume of the space to be ventilated, the (ii) Rooms for specialist activities
shows stack operation and (Changing rooms, toilets, shower areas
number of people who will normally
acoustic treatment and science laboratories)
occupy each space and any potential
source of additional heat, for example Natural ventilation is not suitable for
solar gain or computers. The performance certain parts of the building. Therefore
of each terminal has been modelled for a limited mechanical intake and extract are
variety of wind speeds to ensure that used in areas which require a high rate of
adequate fresh air can be provided. ventilation, for example in changing
Each terminal is individually controlled rooms where high levels of water vapour
by dampers set in the ends of the duct to and body odours need to be removed.
modify the ventilation rate according to The mechanical system extracts air at low
the actual conditions in each room. level, with a simple heat recovery
During summer time the control is based apparatus used to reclaim heat, and
on room temperature because higher replacement air is filtered to remove
ventilation rates are required to keep the airborne particles.
rooms within acceptable comfort levels. The science laboratory requires specific
With passive stacks, temperature extract ventilation to fume cupboards.
differences within the room and the This is achieved by mechanical extract
length of the ducts will result in improved ventilation systems that exhaust away
extract. During the winter the quantity of from the other roof terminals, with make-
fresh air needs to be minimized, reducing up air being naturally induced via a wind
heat losses via exhaust air, hence there is scoop and opening window lights.
control by an air quality sensor. This case study demonstrates that free-
A manual override allows users to have field external noise levels can be reduced
control of the system depending on their by approximately 30 dB inside naturally
experience of room conditions. All ventilated classrooms using a sound
windows are openable to allow additional attenuated passive stack ventilation
Figure 7.9.4: Three of fresh air to be introduced, for example, system.
the roof teminals, during
during changeover of lessons when
construction
indoor ambient noise levels are less
critical.
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
teaching particular subjects such as

Mathematics or English. All the learning
bases are subdivided into smaller areas so
that different lessons or activities can take
Figure 7.10.1: Site
layout
LEARNING BASE 1 (English) Figure 7.10.2: Open plan

learning base 1
SCREENS
AREA C
AREA B
LOCKERS
SCREEN
SCREENS
Overhead
video AREA A
projector
Soft seating
PCs area
AREA D
Corridor
LOCKERS
PCs Class/launch presentation

Teacher's Teacher's
PC space office
Whiteboard
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
ILC1 3 Glass partition

LB2 2
3 ST7
LB3 Business Studies ST Future 2
1 Main
LB4 Humanities 15 Finance Office 2 19 CONF
Entrance ST3
LB5 Mathematics 2
6 t RA
ST3 ST6
ILC Independent Learning Centre s
4 s t 5
TS Technology Store ST2 ST5
A1–3 Art 7 7
T1–4 Technology 7 ST1
E Electronics Drama/Assembly
t
RA Resource Area Hall Plant
RA1 Sixth Form ICT Resource 8 t
7
Future
Conf Conference Room
layout
Gymnasium Swimming Pool

ST Study Room/Genral Teaching
RE Religious Education 8 t Music
3 Drama
PA Performing Arts t
LAB Science Laboratory

VS Video Studio
Figure 7.10.3: School
s Stairs
t Toilets Ground floor First floor
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
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
7.10 learning spaces in a secondary school
110 LAFmax
100 LA10
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.
base 1 – sound pressure
levels in area C
Learning base 1 Between 08.30 and 11.00 the teacher

The open plan layout of learning base 1 is and students occupied area A. During this
shown in Figure 7.10.2. Figure 7.10.4 time the difference between LAeq,30min
shows students working in area A of in areas A and C was between 7 and 10
learning base 1. dB (see Figure 7.10.7). The
measurements thus demonstrate that
Sound pressure levels there is a maximum of 10 dB attenuation
Figures 7.10.5 and 7.10.6 show graphs of of airborne sound between areas A and C.
the continuous sound pressure levels Therefore, if another class were present in
measured in areas A and C. Figure 7.10.7 area C carrying out a quiet activity such
shows the difference in LAeq,30min as private reading, the students in area C
between area A and area C of learning would be able to clearly hear the activity
base 1 (area A – area C). noise emanating from area A. These
It was intended that observations made measurements indicate that if the airborne
during the measurements would allow sound insulation were measured between
analysis of individual events that cause areas A and C then it would not meet the
disturbance. This aim proved not to be minimum performance standard for
possible. For example, when a telephone airborne sound insulation of 45 dB
rang in learning base 1 there was no DnT(0.8s),w required between general
observed reaction from the students. The teaching areas.
telephone in the room was used to inform Between 11.00 and 13.00 the level in
teachers that the students could go for area C was sometimes higher than in area
lunch and appeared to be viewed as A. The reason for this is not known
nothing unusual by the students. because area C was unoccupied, but
150
12
10 base 1 – difference in
8 sound pressure levels
(area A - area C), dB(A)
Difference in LAeq,30min
between area A and area C

6
4
2
0
–2
–4
–6
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
could be due to sound generated from Speech intelligibility

the playground outside. For the speech intelligibility measurements,
When all areas in the learning base the STI was measured in area C of
were occupied between 14.00 and 16.00, learning base 1.
LAeq,30min increased to levels between STI was measured at two microphone
65 and 70 dB. To gauge the effect of this positions with an artificial mouth used to
increase in LAeq,30min on speech transmit the measurement signal. Six
intelligibility, it is instructive to consider measurements were made at each
the required signal to noise ratio in a microphone position. The artificial mouth
classroom which is generally taken to be a was sited by the white board in a position
minimum of 15 dB, or, ideally, 20 to 25 dB that was used by the teacher when
when hearing impaired children are being addressing the class and referring to
taught. In these noise levels, a teacher’s information on the white board. The
voice would have to be raised to a level of signal level at a point 1 m in front of the
at least 80 to 85 dB in order to be heard artificial mouth was adjusted until a level
by the students. It is unlikely that a of 68 dB(A) was measured. The positions
teacher would be able to shout at a of the artificial mouth and the
sufficiently high level to communicate microphones are shown on Figure 7.10.8.
with hearing impaired students. Thus, STI measurements were made when
based upon measured sound pressure the space was empty. Masking sound from
levels, the open-plan space is inadequate a loudspeaker was used to simulate
in terms of speech intelligibility. occupied conditions with groups of
The measurements that indicate approximately 12 students in each class
inadequate signal to noise ratios were base. In the afternoon when all the areas
corroborated by the fact that staff of learning base 1 were occupied,
reported difficulties in listening to measured levels in the learning base were
students in the open-plan setting. In between 65 and 70 dB LAeq,30min (see
addition, some students also reported that Figures 7.10.5 and 7.10.6). Case Study
it was difficult to hear the teachers when 7.2 indicates that there is little point in
they spoke quietly. measuring speech intelligibility at such
high masking sound levels because the
Reverberation time speech intelligibility is likely to be ‘Bad’,
The mid-frequency reverberation time in ‘Poor’ or ‘Fair’ with low signal to noise
learning base 1 was 0.6 seconds, which ratios where the signal (speech) level is
meets the performance standards in similar to the noise level.
Table 1.5. To assess the effect of sound
151
sound level was adjusted until 54 dB

LAeq was measured in the same position
2.20m 2.20m
as that used to measure the level of the
0.82m AM M1 4.45m
teacher speaking. When masking sound
was generated simultaneously in areas A
2.60m and B, the same shaped sound signal was
fed to the loudspeakers in each area and
5.40m M2 the level adjusted until 57 dB LAeq was
measured at a position midway between
areas A and B.
Measured STI data are shown in Tables
Movable partitions
7.10.1 and 7.10.2.
From the tables it can be seen that the
Figure 7.10.8: Learning transmission from adjacent areas on speech intelligibility was ‘Good’ at
base 1 – artificial mouth speech intelligibility in area C, microphone positions M1 and M2 when
position (AM) and measurements were conducted with and there was no masking sound. Hence,
microphone positions M1
without masking sound generated in the when the other areas in the learning base
and M2 in area C
learning base. Two masking conditions are not occupied, the speech intelligibility
were used: 1) masking sound in area A; is acceptable. When there was masking
2) masking sound simultaneously in areas sound in area A or areas A and B (ie with
A and B. The masking sound was either one or two of the other teaching
produced from a loudspeaker using a areas simulated as being occupied),
white noise signal shaped to the sound speech intelligibility was ‘Good’ at
spectrum recorded whilst the teacher microphone position M1 but ‘Fair’ at
addressed her students during a tutorial microphone position M2. The reason for
session with the sixth form students. The the reduction in speech intelligibility at
spectrum was measured at a distance of microphone position M2 is because it is
approximately 5 m from the teacher, the closer than position M1 to the other
level at that point being 54 dB teaching areas, where masking sound was
LAeq,30min. When masking sound was generated. Therefore, when other areas in
generated in area A only, the masking the learning base are occupied, the speech
intelligibility between the teacher and
Table 7.10.1: Learning No masking Masking sound Masking sound in

base 1 – measured STI sound in area A areas A and B
values at microphone
position M1, with and STI STI STI
without masking sound
Average 0.702 0.666 0.644
Standard deviation 0.041 0.054 0.048
Rating Good Good Good
Table 7.10.2: Learning No masking Masking sound Masking sound in

base 1 – measured STI sound in area A areas A and B
values at microphone
position M2, with and STI STI STI
without masking sound
Average 0.655 0.569 0.571
Standard deviation 0.037 0.031 0.084
Rating Good Fair Fair
152
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
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
areas. The levels in these areas are Art area

significantly higher than would be
expected in classrooms due to the Sound pressure levels
machinery noise. During the period of The art area on the first floor is shown in
highest noise, 76 dB LAeq,30min, the Figure 7.10.3. During the measurements
signal to noise ratio would result in it was occupied by Year 7 students and
inadequate speech intelligibility for a teaching staff. The room was divided by
teacher talking to a group of students. partitions into three areas, indicated as
A1, A2 and A3.
Reverberation times Measurements were taken in areas A1
The mid-frequency reverberation time in and A2, which held between 20 and 25
the workshop was 1.2 seconds, which students. Throughout the day, activities
does not meet the performance standards undertaken in the art area did not appear
in Table 1.5. to change significantly. Noise sources
The mid-frequency reverberation time included hairdryers which were used to
in the technology area was 0.8 seconds, dry items of art work. Figures 7.10.11
which does not meet the performance and 7.10.12 show graphs of the sound
standards in Table 1.5. pressure levels recorded in areas A1 and
A mid-frequency reverberation time of A2 respectively. For most of the day the
1.2 seconds in the workshop combined noise level varies from 65 to 75 dB
with levels greater than 70 dB LAeq,30min LAeq,30min. Thus, for a teacher talking to
will provide inadequate speech a group of students in the art area, the
intelligibility. However, in rooms where signal to noise ratio would be inadequate
Figure 7.10.10: students use machine tools such as lathes, for good speech intelligibility.
Technology area sound
good speech intelligibility is essential for
pressure levels
safety.
100 LAFmax
90 LA10
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 Approximately 20 9.20 Students 10.35 Students 13.00 No 14.05 Approximately 25

students in the room. break for using computers. machines being students in the room.
Engaged in group work breakfast Discussions used apart from Using computers,
and using computers. between students computers discussions being held
Teacher had to raise and a small routing and a small routing
voice to address machine being machine being used.
students from his desk. used.
154
110 LAFmax
100 LA10
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
Reverberation time Language teaching rooms (study

The mid-frequency reverberation time in areas 1 and 5)
the art area was 0.9 seconds, which does These rooms were enclosed classrooms
not meet the performance standards in that were originally intended to be sixth
Table 1.5 for an art room. form study rooms. However, they were
subsequently designated as language
teaching rooms owing to the difficulties
110 LAFmax
100 LA10
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
110 LAFmax
100 LA10
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
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
each study area was 0.5 seconds, which
meets the performance standards in
Table 1.5.
Airborne sound insulation

The measured airborne sound insulation
between study area 1 and study area 2 is
40 dB DnT(0.8s),w, which does not meet
the performance standards in Table 1.2.
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

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SECTION

Case study 7.4 – Conversion of a design and technology space to

Case study 7.5 – A purpose built music suite 117

Case study 7.8 – Acoustic design of building envelope and classrooms at

Case study 7.9 – Acoustically attenuated passive stack ventilation of an extension

Case study 7.10 – An investigation into the acoustic conditions in open-plan

extent of ceiling acoustic treatment

In addition to the ceiling treatment,

sound evenly around the hall and prevent

modified acoustics of the hall was very

Measurement results Microphone No masking Mask in room G1 Mask in room G2

P.E. Store Quiet/I.T. Quiet/I.T. Quiet/I.T.

Staff room Green Team Studio 1

Foyer Red Team

Staff room Green Team

Remedial work: Absorbent screens hung above rear wall to reception

m Artificial mouth used for speech walls of classrooms onto wc room

staff room lobby classroom

Figure 7.2.2: School 2

LAeq,2min (dB) 68.2 69.5 72.8 75.8 81.4 96.1

during these activities were higher than

located in a flat roof section. Windows are

main complaints. Firstly, when teaching in

Octave band centre frequency (Hz) Table 7.3.1: Typical

propagation paths that were investigated: By comparing the two figures, it is

Slightly greater reduction

100 (b) with full height double

Significant reduction across the

rear and side 53%

gain. In a new building, an alternative 0.5 kg/m2 at 200% gather, providing

that curtains can be very effective in

from other music rooms by a

Possible locations for

975 Sound source

Figure 7.5.3: Measured

ENSEMBLE ROOM PLAN

Practice rooms the practice rooms. Again the distribution

Table 7.5.2: Measured indoor Octave band centre frequency (Hz)

bands is shown in Table 7.5.1. This musician or teacher is also a function of

Music room Moderately 1.0

Practice room Modest 0.4 44 29

Ensemble room Modest 47

Corridor Can clearly hear

appropriate geometry in plan, namely two poor distribution of absorption in practice

ICT Class 6 Class 7 Class 8

Figure 7.6.2: ‘Circle

Listening to teacher Listening to teacher but with

Listening when the Listening to the teacher whilst class

Listening when overhead Listening to peer LIFE UK scores for Class 4

100 Figure 7.6.5: Sound

Third-octave band centre frequency, Hz

Ambient noise level

Room acoustics assessment, Class 4

considered to be very well designed teaching purposes outside playtime. The

Future developments at the school

Pupils are taught in small groups by a

being located so close together.

Ambient noise levels during lessons

Octave band centre frequency (Hz) Table 7.7.1: Measured

Year 2 LAeq (dB) 38 33 44 37 33 29 23 20

Year 3W LAeq (dB) 39 28 22 17 17 17 25 25

A special unit in a mainstream Location

Headmaster's doors of 40 - 50 mm thickness with wiper