SCHOOL
Why Good Acoustics in School are Important?
For those who spend the majority of their days in school environments, acoustics matter. Research shows that quieter classrooms improve academic performance, reduce stress for teachers, and better student behavior. A good classroom experience leads to increased productivity. And, it creates a better quality of life and improved sense of well-being for teachers and students alike.
There is no purpose of the school even if they sell the best curriculum in the world or provide the best teachers unless the children are able to hear clearly. We can never stop the children from making sound rather we can only provide a quality sound environment.
Thus each area in the school require different solution based on the size and purpose of the room which our acoustic specialist will be able to guide you.
CLASSROOM
If we had to classify the rooms based on the purpose like the sound quality and understanding speech in a classroom environment is obviously something of importance. Most classrooms have solid concrete block wall construction interspersed hard surfaces such as blackboards and windows with a tiled floor. This provides the ideal space for echo and excessive reverberation. Acousstop fabric wall panels absorb reflected sound thus reducing the echo inside the room and the lecture being transmitted is not lost in the ambient noise. woodwool ceiling tiles increases the intelligibility to the point where hearing and learning become easy. Some times each classroom are separated by gypsum partitions which cases sound leakage. And we recommend Acousstop Silence which helps to soundproof the classrooms.
CORRIDORS
Corridors are the area where noise level reaches more than 65dB which leads to more number of reflected sound waves and more echo. One of the most effective methods to reduce the echo is to treat both walls and ceiling with absorption panels. Accousstop wall panels are more effective which has a high NRC can be applied on to the wall and acousstop woodwool panels can be used for ceiling.
AUDITORIUM
The general nature of auditorium with tall ceilings, wide shapes, and multiple hard surfaces tends to create difficult listening environments. Sound waves bounce off of hard, reflective surfaces and create long reverberation and echo throughout the room. Thus to create an enjoyable listening atmosphere with clear, intelligible sound, install Acousstop Panels or baffles, or a combination of the two will make a noticeable difference in speech intelligibility and sound quality. Our panels and baffles are available in a unique range of fabric colors, wooden finishes and materials to suit your needs. Also need to consider door area through which sound leakage happens and we suggest our acoustic wooden door which have high dB value.
SPORTS HALL
Sports halls are designed as these spaces are required for long term use. The floors are usually timber sprung, the walls are painted block work and the ceilings are plasterboard or profiled steel cladding. All these hard surfaces combine to produce an ‘echo chamber’ in the building. This makes conveying instructions to pupils very difficult as speech is unintelligible. Solution to this problems can be eliminated with Fabric /wooden panels and acoustic baffles.
CANTEEN
Canteen are designed to take a lot of punishment and all the surfaces are hard and cleanable. Floors are normally ceramic tiles or vinyl or timber. The walls are mainly plastered and painted. The ceilings are a mixture of surfaces such as plasterboard, timber boarding, metal profiled decking and other surfaces. Compared to other spaces like classrooms, drama halls etc, children entering dining rooms feel free to let off ’steam’ as they feel they are in a less formal area. It is a time for them to relax and play and joke with their friends during their lunch break. Hence dining rooms tend to be very noisy and the clatter of cutlery and screeching of chairs is very noticeable as well as the general verbal noise from the children. It is important in these spaces that acoustic absorbers are kept at high level, well away from reach by hands etc. Acousstop fabric panels with wide ranges of colors are ideal for these areas. In some situations, Acousstop baffles will be suitable.
MUSIC ROOMS
These spaces are increasingly used in schools for a wide range of activities and not confined to just assembly. Typical uses are drama, meetings hall, sports use, audio/ visual presentations etc. These normally have hard sound reflective surfaces and suffer badly from poor acoustics. Floors are normally wooden or vinyl. Walls are normally plastered or timber clad and ceilings are concrete/plasterboard or timber boarded. Typical solution is to line high level wall surfaces with Acousstop Fabric and Foam panels. If necessary, add some foam panels on part of the ceiling. For soundproofing the room our silence are recommend for the walls and ceiling. Also Acousstop wooden door provide great dB value to prevent leakage of sound.
SWIMMING POOLS
Pools are very reflective to sound due to tiled walls and floors. The walls are also generally part ceramic tiled and part windows. The ceiling is normally concrete, or profiled steel cladding. One of the largest sound reflective areas in the swimming pool is the water itself which reflects 99% of the sound which hits it. The fun environment of swimming pools encourages children to shout and scream as they enjoy their swimming sessions. With all the sound reflective surfaces, the sound is amplified to high levels which makes instructions very difficult to hear. Even more importantly warning shouts for safety can go unheard. Therefore good acoustics in swimming pools is critical and but often ignored in the past. Practical solutions to soak up the reverberant noise levels are to apply Acousstop baffles for ceiling and Acousstop woodwool panels for walls.
