"The mass of those assemblies, in terms of the basic structure, is usually set and established by other priorities," Markham says. In most projects, the type of structure and how much it weighs is determined before noise control and sound isolation are considered. But, with one mass at the floor and a second mass at the ceiling, we can, with a lighter structure, block just as much sound." So when you have a steel building, you have a lighter weight building it doesn't weigh as much as that cast-in-place concrete slab. "With a steel building, most of the time, there is a ceiling. "If you have a concrete slab, the sound isolation that you get is from the mass of that concrete slab," Markham explains. And we're able to do it at a lighter weight." And that separation is what allows us to design constructions that block just as much sound as other constructions that are much, much heavier.
There's a mass, and then there's a separation-an insulated separation ideally-and then another mass on the other side. "You build a stud and there's drywall on either side of that stud. "In a metal building, we can design buildings that are more structurally efficient: the walls don't weight as much, and we get the sound isolation benefit from the fact that we have two masses rather than one," Markham explains. One way to help with sound and noise in a metal building, he says, is by putting insulation between the surface of the building and the occupied space inside. "Unlike a really heavy mass building, you don't have the benefit of having an exterior which is not going to be as willing to conduct sound as a metal building is," explains Lucas Hamilton, manager of building science applications at CertainTeed, Malvern, Pa. Metal buildings, which are lighter in weight than a concrete building, for example, have to use different strategies to control sound than mass alone. And within those assemblies, there are three tools designers can use to isolate sound from one space to another: mass, separation and insulation. "Once we have an understanding of the building program, we set goals for noise control and sound isolation."įor metal buildings, Markham says there are specific constructions that help achieve those goals, starting with the walls and floor/ceiling assemblies. "The starting point is what kind of goals are there in terms of communication, on the one hand, and privacy or confidentiality, on the other hand," he explains. Often, this means adding additional layers of drywall to make the walls or ceilings thicker.īenjamin Markham, LEED AP, director, architectural acoustics at Cambridge, Mass.-based Acentech, an acoustical consulting firm, says the nature of the required communication within a space is what dictates the requirements for noise control and sound isolation.
To block sound from travelling to other rooms, a heavier, dense material is required.
To create a space that doesn't echo, you want to absorb the sound waves that bounce around a room, using materials that are light and fluffy. Sound waves reflect off of hard surfaces, such as walls, roofs and floors, which can cause an interior that echoes. Depending on the type of surface it strikes, sound waves are absorbed, reflected or transmitted. When designing rooms or buildings, it's important to take into consideration how sound waves act in a space.
Whether you're in an office building or a hospital room, a classroom or your home, acoustics play a major role in how a building or space functions.
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