Acoustic Design Archives - Page 2 of 3

Posted by IT MACH

RHS Hyde Hall, Cullinan Studio

29th January 2018Acoustic Design

RHS Garden Hyde Hall is a public display garden run by the Royal Horticultural Society in the English county of Essex, east of London, the largest RHS Garden comprising 360 acres. The venue also includes several buildings, and the new to be completed Hilltop Restaurant and Activity Barn will help to create an enticing destination for visitors to RHS Garden Hyde Hall.

To describe the creativity and structure of the scheme, Architects Cullinan Studio says “the design for the Hilltop Restaurant and Activity Barn is characterised by a rigorous and repetitive structural language – a splayed, glue-laminated timber portal frame will march along the loft Restaurant and Activity spaces, intersecting at a delicate nodel point at the apex. The nodel point will simultaneously brace the structure whilst supporting the long cantilevered gables at the southern ends”. MACH Acoustics is delighted to be supporting with acoustics consultancy. The project is attractive and will no doubt delight many visitors for years to come.

Posted by IT MACH

Steiner School scoops first prize at the ANC Awards

29th January 2018Acoustic Design, Awards

Last nights’ ANC Awards ceremony saw MACH Acoustics win first prize in the Best Sound Insulation category for the Steiner School. Josh Childs worked on the project and is pictured receiving his well deserved award.

Working with architects Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios and Kier as contractor this project was a great team effort. The Steiner School is part refurbishement part new build development which is built using CLT. As CLT is a relatively new construction material, the acoustic information available is limited. To ensure that the proposed performance targets were achieved Josh carried out reviews of laboratory and on site data of various CLT buildings, which was used to calibrate the sound insulation models for each space.

Posted by IT MACH

ANC Awards 2016: MACH makes it to the shortlist

29th January 2018Acoustic Design, Awards

MACH is delighted to be shortlisted by the ANC awards again this year – this time for our work on the Steiner Academy, Frome. Working with architects, Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, the main challenge was accommodating a large amount of external CLT in the design, which is known for poor sound insulation.

MACH Acoustics’ Josh Childs is due to talk about his awards entry on the Steiner Academy in a presentation at the conference before the awards ceremony on the 29^th June.

The Steiner Academy is in good company on the shortlist: also in the running for an award is the impressive Swansea University Great Hall – designed by Dr Demetri Porphyrios and incorporates lecture theatres, concert and conference auditoria. This project is at the heart of the community and will serve students, locals and tourists alike. Environmental vibration Consultant Bickerdike Allen Partners also made it to the shortlist for their work with the British Museum. This world renound museum has continued to evolve and impress and still provides opportunities for impressive engineering – Lord Foster’s Queen Elizabeth II Great Court glass roof which opened in 2000 remains truly in a class of its’ own.

The 2016 Awards Ceremony takes place in the evening of the 29^th June in Brimingham.

Posted by IT MACH

University of Bath, Integrated Design Conference

29th January 2018Acoustic Design, Talks/ Conferences

From 30^th June to 1^st July Bath University will hold the Integrated Design Conference. This will bring architecture, engineering and construction industries together and will focus on the theme “Building our Future”. This forms part of Bath Universities’ 50^th birthday anniversary celebrations, and recognises that in the 60’s, the combined Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering was very much founded on a philosophy of integrated design. During this conference, delegates will be able to enjoy debates and see developments in integrated design – taking account of the past 50 years, bearing witness to the present and also looking to the future.

Speakers will take part from both commercial and academic backgrounds, and the schedule is packed with provoking and challenging topics. MACH Acoustics’ Ze Nunes will speak on Thursday 30^thJune in the 4-5pm lecture slot. Ze will present with Future of Windows: The Visualisation of Sound and the acoustics performance of open windows. His presentation will explain how heavy duty beautiful maths and engineering combine and translate – using some smart software and proper problem solving.

Posted by IT MACH

New suite of CPDs available – transfering knowledge for better design solutions

29th January 2018Acoustic Design, CPDs

Posted by IT MACH

Bristol Grammar School – new Performing Arts Centre inspires students

29th January 2018Acoustic Design, Talks/ Conferences

Following on from MACH Acoustics’ involvement with Bristol Grammar Schools Performing Arts Centre, Max Reynolds was invited to speak at a workshop at the school featuring this interesting project . The workshop saw participation from students, parents and industry professionals alike and the collaboration made it a special event – how inspiring for the 6^thformers to hear first hand about how their very own performing arts centre came to being!

Note from this image the challenges of noise pollution coming from numerous sources

And from this image, the plan of the site and the orientation of the building

The new design of the space was the main theme, and their careers talk drew on these translatable life skills – encompassing all disciplines used in the construction industry. Max went on to give some insights into his own career as an acoustic consultant and no doubt in a few years to come MACH Acoustics will be able to gain from the new generation of enthused acousticians and engineers.

Posted by IT MACH

Redevelopment of Bristol’s Colston Hall

29th January 2018Acoustic Design, Acoustic Flanking, Acoustic Testing, Music Spaces

The Colston Hall in Bristol is to be redeveloped – providing the funding is in place the transformation will start in 2017 – the hall’s 150th year – and could take two years. The redevelopment will include remodelling the auditorium, its balcony, roof and an overhaul of the smaller Lantern venue. It will also restore the iconic Victorian frontage and open up the building’s cellars for the first time in 100 years where educational workshops take place. The call for bids to enter this competition came earlier this year, and MACH Acoustics was pleased to spend some time in this great venue gathering ideas to propose for acoustic consultancy.

Max Reynolds says “As part of the Colston Hall bid, MACH Acoustics produced some flythrough animations of the existing and proposed halls. The animations not only included a visualisation but also an auralisation of the spaces to allow the viewer to get a feel for the relative lighting and acoustic characteristics of the two spaces.

Existing Hall as above image

New Hall as proposed

Generating animations like this requires:

· Building an acoustic model of the space and defining an animation path through the model

· Generating impulse responses at set intervals along the animation path

· Convolving these impulse responses together with audio to generate the auralisation through the model

· Enhancing the acoustic model visually and carrying out a similar process to generate the visuals along the animation path

· The audio and video then need to be joined together and the final animation is created

The real power of an auralisation is that it allows us to hear what the space will sound like before it is built. The visualisation is an essential component in giving the viewer some context of what they are listening to. This sort of animation can be used to highlight different configurations and how this impacts the visual and acoustic characteristics of any given space. Producing auralisations like this provides an unrivalled level of clarity and understanding between the acoustician and the client and the rest of the design team of what a space will be like, maximising the chances of end user satisfaction.”

So, as to the result of the competition – did we win? No, but Ze Nunes and the MACH Acoustics team were invited for interview which gave them a good opportunity to meet the architect Levitt Bernstein and the Colston Hall panel. The architect made some complimentary observations, and in terms of being Bristolians the MACH team will be winners yet enjoying the Colston Hall one day in full glory.

Posted by IT MACH

University of Bath – The Edge opens for art for all

29th January 2018Acoustic Design, Music Spaces

University of Bath: The Arts Building, The Edge

Location: Bath, Somerset

Architect: FCBS

Contract Value: £6M
Images supplied curtesy of Madeleine McEwan for FCBStudios

Designed by FCBS Architects, this project included an acoustic uplift in the theatre; with the addition of a new building incorporating recital and rehearsal space; complimented with a full suite of recording and control rooms; drum rooms; and practice areas.

Sound insulation levels were as high as 65 dB in some instances and background noise levels have largely been designed to NR12.

MACH Acoustics was brought in to consider the acoustic quality of the different spaces and 3D acoustic modelling was used as part of our investigations.We were mindful of value engineering from the outset, working closely with the architect throughout the project. To ensure the acoustic specification was met, MACH proposed more cost effective constructions to the design. We also reviewed areas where the acoustic specification did not meet client expectations and came up with solutions to the reverberation problem in the large drama hall and music rooms, continually testing throughout the process.

Now open and enjoying full usage, this building is an asset to the communities of Bath University and non students alike.

Posted by IT MACH

Troubleshooting in Schools CPD – sound education

29th January 2018Acoustic Design, Acoustic Flanking, CPDs

Freshly written, this new CPD was the inspiration of Josh Childs, an expert in the field of education acoustics consultancy. When asked what prompted him to write such a presentation Josh explained that the same issues and problems kept arising and his experience of working on so many schools led him to believe his solutions could also benefit others if explained in advance so shortcomings could be avoided. Josh believes there really are only one or two viable solutions which are cost effective, and this CPD highlights the best practise.

Josh explains “Acoustic design should be considered from junction details all the way to building orientation and layout, so we want to demonstrate the fundamental acoustic principles that you will need to consider throughout the building design.

This CPD will cover the new requirements from the updated BB93 and look at topics such as;

· Getting the most out of your music spaces;

· How to naturally ventilate in noisy areas;

· Gyms and sports halls – common problems and the solutions;

· How to work acoustics within sustainable design (thermal mass, CLT, alternative materials etc);

· Atriums, ‘Streets’ and breakout spaces – creating the right environment;

· Introducing our free online acoustic design tools.”

This CPD gives architects more to think about when approaching designing a school and getting the layout right. For contractors they will benefit from value engineering nuggets. MACH provides a comprehensive review of common acoustic problems that occur within educational buildings and the best methods to solve them.

Posted by IT MACH

London’s Lacon House – pod design at its best

29th January 2018Acoustic Design

Painting a Picture of Sound Insulation

MACH Acoustics have experience of working with a number of constructions, from standard off the shelf lightweight metal stud walls to unusual timber cassette panels to bespoke ideas as part of a decorative effect. Whether it be a new build residential block or a Grade II refurbished building fitted for offices or teaching, MACH always take a detailed design approach to ensure a high level of acoustic performance, whilst achieving a cost effective and carbon neutral design.

The Task at Hand

MACH Acoustics were asked to investigate the level of sound insulation that would be achieved from the introduction of new glazed breakout ‘pods’ and the adjacent atrium at Lacon House in London. The interest laid in the feature design ‘picture frame’, a timber lining around the external glazed walls of each pod. Despite the open feel of these pods, the task was to ensure that noise within the atrium would not be a disturbance in the acoustically sensitive pods used as meeting rooms.

Our Approach

MACH applies a structured approach to these kinds of problems, realising that sound transfer not only comes through the wall or glazing, but also from flanking through junctions with adjacent elements, in this case the feature design picture frame. Simply upgrading the construction of the glazing does not work when the flanking performance is poor, hence by looking at the bigger picture MACH are able to avoid over expensive designs that don’t work and focus on cheaper, high performing solutions through clever considered engineering.

In this case, MACH componentised each possible transmission path to consider the sound reduction through each, zeroing in on the areas that had the most influence on the overall sound insulation. We used our extensive collection of manufacturer test data, on site test data and modelled performances to accurately calculate this.

This approach allowed MACH to tweak details around the frame and glazing until a high level of performance was achieved, keeping the thickness and expense of the glazing to a minimum and achieving an aesthetically pleasing design.

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