ACOUSTIC

Educational buildings
Sound waves generated in a room radiate out to the room’s
boundaries, are reflected and then interact with each other,
much as do ripples in a pond. Visually the effect can be
mesmerizing; aurally the effect is guaranteed to be undesirable.
Keeping this picture in mind lets understand

the nuisance that is noise.

Part of the sound from a teacher passes directly to the ears of his/her pupils. Another part travels to the
rooms surfaces and is reflected, eventually reaching the pupils ears from many directions at close intervals:
this is called reverberant sound.
If there is too much reverberant sound, the pupil is still receiving the reflected sounds of previous syllables
when trying to cope with the direct sound of later syllables. The two then interfere, and speech is difficult to
understand. The amount of reverberation is usually expressed as the reverberation time, which is the time
taken for the sound to die away after its source has stopped. It may vary from half a second in an ordinary
living room to 8 seconds or more in a large assembly hall or gymnasium.

A classroom or teaching space with a long reverberation time of several

seconds will cause syllables to be prolonged so that they overlap and hence
degrade speech intelligibility.
Long reverberation times occur in large rooms with hard wall, floors and
ceiling surfaces. Adding acoustic absorption panels or tiles will reduce the
reverberation time and will improve speech intelligibility.

CLASSIFICATION OF AREAS AS PER NEED OF
SOUND INSULATION
NOISE PRODUCING AREAS
WORKSHOPS , KITCHENS, DINING ROOMS ,
PLAY AREAS, BOILER ROOMS
NOISE PRODUCING AREAS BUT QUIET AT
TIMES
Assembly halls, Lecture halls, Music rooms,
Typing rooms
AVERAGE NOISE PRODUCING
General classrooms, Practical rooms,
Laboratories,
Offices
Solutions to Acoustic Problems in Schools
to meet
Assembly Halls
These spaces are increasingly used in schools
for a wide range of activities and not confined
to just assembly.
Typical solution is to line high level wall
surfaces with ,acoustic panels and if
necessary, add some , acoustic panels on part
of the ceiling.
Reverberation time of 0.8 to 1.2 seconds
is required for assembly halls.
Class room
Proper control of sound in a learning and teaching facility is of critical importance for allowing good aural
communication between teachers and students. The following guidelines should be used:

Room acoustic issues:

When selecting finishes for teaching spaces, a proper balance between sound-absorptive and sound-
reflective materials is necessary to produce an environment that is not overly reverberant (reducing
intelligibility of speech) nor excessively “dry” (results in an unnatural, uncomfortable feeling for most
occupants).
• Typical classrooms and meeting rooms should have a lay-in acoustic tile ceiling with the specified tile
having a minimum Noise Reduction Coefficient (NRC) rating of 0.65.

• Carpet on floors will absorb some sound, but should mainly be considered for control of footfall noise.
• Typical classrooms and meeting rooms should have a lay-in acoustic tile ceiling with the specified tile
having a minimum Noise Reduction Coefficient (NRC) rating of 0.65.

• Carpet on floors will absorb some sound, but should mainly be considered for control of footfall noise.
• Corridors should have the same requirements for the ceiling tile. Carpet is a very effective means of
reducing footfall noise in the corridors, and should be considered when possible.

Reverberation time of less than 0.6 or 0.8

seconds is required for classrooms
Music Rooms
Music rooms present the greatest difficulties when is
comes to dealing with acoustics in schools.
This is because they generate the highest level of
sound and are the most sensitive to noise intrusion to
and from others areas.
Normal acoustic treatment is to install ,acoustic panels
on the walls and , acoustic tiles on the ceilings/walls. If
extra low frequency absorption is required then panels
can be installed in selected areas. ,acoustic door sets
can be used to deal with sound transmission
problems.
Reverberation time of less
than 1.0 second is required
for music classrooms and
less than 0.8 seconds for
small practice /group rooms
Sports Halls
Sports halls are designed with impact
resistant constructions as these spaces will
need to suffer years of long term use. 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 problem is line the walls at high
level, with acoustic wall panels.
Reverberation time of less than 1.5
seconds is required for sports
halls.

INDOOR NOISE
a) music rooms and play areas
b) shifting of furniture
c) shutting or opening of doors
d) audio visual classes
• lecture given by teacher in the
next class or vibrations and noise
from upper floors
OUTDOOR NOISE
•noise arising from playgrounds, playing fields
and open air swimming baths while teaching is
in progress in the rest of the school.
•deliveries of fuel and stores to boiler house and
kitchens.
• Construction or renovation work being carried
out during class hours.
•External sources which are not under control of
school authorities.

•Workshops for wood and metal works.

•laboratories
•practical work carried out in general
teaching areas
•gymnasium and swimming baths;
•school kitchens and dining spaces
•corridors and other circulation spaces
•plumbing and mechanical services
 Recommendations

Site planning –

•Where outdoor noise nuisance exists from local industry, busy roads, railway, airfields, sports grounds
or other sources beyond the control of the school authority, school building should be as far away as
possible from the sources of noise.
•Rooms should be planned that the minimum amount of glazing is placed on the side facing the
external noise.
•Noises arising from the activities of a school and from the use of the buildings after school hours may
constitute a nuisance to occupants of surrounding property; therefore it is desirable to place
playgrounds, workshops swimming baths, music rooms, assembly halls and gymnasia as far away as
possible from buildings which require a quiet environment.

Internal planning

The following principles should be observed in the detailed planning of educational buildings:

a) Grouping – noisy rooms should be separated from quiet ones, if possible. In general, it is desirable
that rooms should be grouped together in accordance with the classification given later and this
applies on section as well as on plan.
b) Windows and ventilators – windows of noisy and quiet rooms should not open o to the same
courtyard or be near to one another on internal angles. Roof lights and ventilators over noisy rooms
should be avoided, if they are likely to be a source of nuisance to adjacent upper floors.
c) Doors – swing doors into rooms should only be used where no problem of sound transmission
occurs. Sliding partitions should only be used where essential. Reduction of insulation between
rooms and corridors due to doors must be remembered. The type and manner of fitting of doors is
important and necessary care shall be paid in their selection.

If rooms have large glazed panels or ventilation openings facing directly on the circulation areas,
either traffic passing by the rooms should be controlled, or baffled ventilation or double windows
should be used. Fanlights over doors should be fixed and glazed.
Furniture – in all educational buildings, regardless of the character of the floor finish, rubber buffers
should be fitted to the legs of chairs and tables
OBJECTIVE OF DOING ACOUSTICAL TREATMENT IN SCHOOLS:
• Good insulation of external façade to minimise
intrusion of external noise
• For students activities.
• Clear communication of speech between students
and teachers, and between students in study spaces.

TO PROVIDE GOOD LISTENING AND TEACHING

CONDITIONS CLASSROOMS MUST HAVE
• Low background noise
• Short reverberation time
• Good sound insulation between classrooms to
minimise transmission of classroom noise.
• Good insulation of external façade to minimise
intrusion of external noise
NOISE REDUCTION WITHIN STUDY SPACES:
•Sound absorbent materials play a useful part in reducing the built-up or air-
borne noise at source.
• In rooms, such as classrooms, assembly halls and music rooms, a fairly short
reverberation time under occupied conditions is one of the requirements of the
acoustic design.
•The maximum reverberation times permissible for this purpose are usually
short enough to give adequate noise control

•Special attention should be given to noise reduction in schools for

the deaf and schools for the blind. Deaf children are taught by
means of hearing aids, which cannot be used satisfactorily in high
noise levels or in reverberant conditions.
•Blind children depend upon good hearing for understanding
speech and for detecting changes in environment. In both these
types of school, noise levels should be kept low and reverberation
times short.
•Where exterior noise exists outside of a classroom or other sound-
critical space, the windows should be specified as an insulating
assembly with different pane thicknesses, For improved sound
isolation between rooms that produce sound louder than average
speech levels, an additional layer of 5/8 in. (1.6 cm) gypsum is
added
THE RECOMMENDED MINIMUM SOUND INSULATION BETWEEN ROOMS
IN DIFFERENT CLASSES IS 45Db SUBJECT TO THE FOLLOWING:
• In schools or institutes, where noisy activities, such as sheet metal work, plumbing and woodwork are likely to
be practiced extensively in normal hours, workshops should be regarded as a special category requiring more
than 45dB insulation from rooms of any other class.
• Assembly halls and music rooms are special cases in that, as well as producing noise, they also require
protection from it and may need more than 45dB insulation from the rooms if the latter are very noisy

• Circulation spaces may vary from a long and frequented corridor to a small private lobby and it is therefore
very difficult to give precise recommendations to cover them.
• Corridor walls from classrooms, laboratories, and meeting rooms should be a minimum of a single layer of
(1.6 cm) gypsum board on each side of a metal stud. The comments listed above for the walls between adjacent
rooms also apply for these walls. For further improvements in sound isolation (e.g., for rooms located off of
high-traffic corridors), the construction listed for walls separating adjacent classrooms may be used.
• Doors should typically not be located between two
classrooms or other sound-critical spaces. Also
avoid facing two doors directly across from each
other in a corridor. Where noise from a corridor is a
concern, doors should be a minimum construction of
solid-core wood or hollow metal with applied
acoustical door seals and sweeps to control sound
leakage around the perimeter of the doors. Ideally,
the seals and sweeps should be manufactured
specifically for control of sound.
 Conclusion
Requirements for good acoustics in classrooms
ACOUSTICAL TREATMENT IN A CLASSROOM OF IIM-AHEMDABAD

REAR WALL IS
ACOUSTICALLY
TREATED,ABSO-
RBENT IS
COMPOSITE
TYPE WITH
WOODEN
PANNELS WITH
WOOD WOOL
INSIDE

SLIDING PANNELS PROVIDED ON THE SIDE WALLS TO CLOSE THE

OPENINGS AS WELL AS THEY ARE HELPING IN MAINTAINING OPTIMUM
RT OF THE ROOM AS THEY ARE COVERED WITH ABSORBENT
 REAR WALL WITH
PROPER ACOUSTICAL
TREATMENT

WOODEN FURNITURE WITH

FURNIHING ON THE
CHAIRS.TABLE BOTTOM
CONTAIN METALLIC SHEET WITH
HOLES IN IT
AUDIO
VISUAL
SYSTEM
ETCOTA Center, Miami Dade Florida State University's new College of Medicine
Community College, Miami, FL WhisperWall Acoustic Wall Panels
Drywall Partition Framing, Metal Ceilings,
Sprayed on Sound Control System,
Wood Floor, Marble and Granite Tile,
Ceramic Tile, VCT an Carpet, Operable
Walls, Metal Column Covers, Noise
Reduction, Painting
Design criteria.
Specify ceiling, walls and floor treatment as required to meet the reverberation
control.

Sound insulting window to block street and environmental noises.

For general classrooms with no fixed lecture position and ceiling less than 3mt.
Place most if not all absorbing material on ceiling. An increasing amount
material will have to be on walls.

For lecture classrooms, it is best to upper wall and ceiling with sound
absorbing.

Carpeting can be helpful for resisting chair and foot sound.

Stagger room entrance along corridors to reduce direct sound transmission

through openings.

Use mounted light fixtures to provide maximum area for acoustic treatment.
In lecture halls, use sound reflecting material over the side walls, back
wall should sound absorbing or tilted orientation and chairs which is
sound absorbing.

For classrooms with fixed or predominant teacher position, don't place

sound absorbing materials just above and in front of teacher .

Corridors should generally have total surface area of sound absorbing

materials on the ceiling and walls not less than 50%of floor area and 75%
overall.
Acoustical materials.
There are 3 types of materials on the basis of surface.

1. Ceiling treatment
2. Wall treatment
3. Floor treatment
Installed on the ceiling,
acoustical foam reduces the
Ceiling treatment. echo effect in a classroom

Acoustic board mineral Fiber glass acoustic Acoustical foam boards

fiber board installation
 wall treatment.

•Echo absorber acoustic baffles •Echo absorber acoustic baffles

•Fiber glass acoustic installation •Acoustic melamine foam

Floor treatment.

Rubber sheet Cork tiles

Natural cotton fiber acoustic insulator Carpet tiles