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Acoustic Design
of soundproofing materials, slightly separated to
reduce airborne and impact noise transfer.
Design
The combination of design and good
acoustics is often desired but not always easy
to achieve. In open plan areas such as
restaurants, museums, offices and conference
rooms, or rooms with hard floors or little
furniture, the space can become very noisy.
This is because the wall and ceiling surfaces
reflect the sound and allow it to bounce back
into the room hence creating echo and
reverberation. The situation becomes worse
as people begin to raise their voices in order to
be heard.
Acoustic panels can be used as an innovative
solution to improve the acoustical balance in
these situations and are also excellent for
music/recording studios. Music friendly
environments can be created in restaurants
using this type of solution.
Adding porous materials to the room in the
form of artwork panels reduces the level of
reflected sound, thereby dampening the echo
and reverberation in the room and making it
easier to communicate. The problem here,
however, is trying to find an acoustic panel
which is going to carry out its role effectively
but also fit in with the aesthetics of the room
or building. To fulfil this requirement cleverly
disguise acoustic panelling as artwork is
available. This solution to echo and
reverberation is ideal for areas where aesthetics
is high priority, with the ability to also brighten
up an otherwise bare room.
Materials
The acoustic art panels are made from a
highly absorptive semi rigid fibreglass core with
a digitally printed fabric face. The panels can
be directly mounted using silicone adhesive
or fixed with split battens which creates a
he combination of design with an incident like a door slamming or heavy floating effect.
T
and good acoustics is footsteps which then creates vibrations directly The amount of sound energy which is
often desired but not through the walls and floors of a building, and absorbed in a surface is given by its absorption
always easy to achieve. the sound travels from one room to another. coefficient. A surface which absorbs no sound
However acoustic solutions Impact sound can travel through a concrete at all will be an absorption coefficient of 0,
don’t necessarily need to be hidden in floor; from one room to another, even if the wall this would be totally reflective. A surface which
the material of the building in order to in between is a good airborne sound insulator. absorbs all of the sound energy which hits it
be effective, John Sulzman of Artworks The reduction and control of noise within a has an absorption coefficient of 1.00.
Solutions explains. room can be achieved by either increasing Acoustic art minimizes the chaos and
The room in which we hear a sound has a mass or adding layers. By adding mass cacophony of exacerbated sound and noise
large effect on the sound we perceive and that (i.e. weight and density) to a floor or wall will reverb. Decorative wall paneling systems
is why noise pollution in our working ultimately reduce the vibration. So as a general absorb high levels of reflected noise and create
environment is a key issue for building owners. rule of thumb, doubling the mass will give a a quieter, more comfortable environment.
There are two fundamental ways in which 5 decibel reduction in the sound transmitted.
sound moves around the rooms and spaces in Alternatively you can add several layers to the
which you hear them. Firstly, there is airborne construction of a wall, each layer will be made
sound which consists of sound waves moving
around within a space. Here the sound
bounces off walls and floors causing vibrations
within those surfaces which will then transmit to
the other sides of the room. Often the doors,
windows, poorly fitted sockets or cracks in a
wall will drastically reduce its insulation of
airborne sound. To reduce the amount or
loudness of this sound you need to insulate it
with proper soundproofing materials on your
walls, floors or ceilings.
Secondly, there is impact sound that starts
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