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BUIDLING SERVICES
III B. Arch

HANDBOOK
2013-2014
 References, Class Notes and Tutorials

Students should go through all UOP Syllabus prescribed Reference Books for detailed study and
elaborations of these notes. These notes are in order and relation with given lecture and further
for general reference only.

ICONKEY
Æ Important Reference
Tutorial Questions
Search for more info
Assignment
 Chapter

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Syllabus –University of Pune

OBJECTIVE
• Understanding of design criteria for good hearing conditions in enclosed
and open spaces with relation to spatial characteristics and developing the
ability to apply the same to architectural design.
• Equip students with the knowledge of acoustics and the required technology,
for its application. Integrating these technologies with their architectural
design.
• Evolving understanding in students to choose appropriate systems.
• Integrating passive and active firefighting systems in architectural design
projects.

COURSE OUTLINE
• Introduction to architectural acoustics.
• Acoustical problems in architectural design.
• Criteria for goodhearing conditions in enclosed and open spaces.
• Properties of sound.
• Human ear and its cognizanceto hearing.
• Reverberation; Sabine’s formula for reverberation time.
• Sound absorbing materials, theirproperties and applications.
• Acoustical requirements in an auditorium design.
• Acoustical designs ofrooms for speech, music and recording studio.
• Sound amplification systems.
• Environmental noisecontrol, air‐borne and structure borne noise, control of
mechanical noise and vibrations.
• Transmission of sound, noise reduction.

• Methods of fire‐fighting, rules, regulations and equipment..

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TEACHING PLAN
Unit 1. Acoustics
a. Brief history of architectural acoustics, acoustical problems as outcome of contextual
influences and limitations of materials and technologies.
b. Characteristics of sound.
c. Study of acoustical materials, their classification and application.
d. Acoustical treatment to various enclosed spaces with calculations of the time of
reverberation.
e. Noise control.
f. Sound amplification systems.
g. One live case study.

Unit 2. Fire fighting and fire safety.

a. Causes and spread of fire, combustibility of building materials, structural elements and
their fire resistance.
b. Passive control‐ fire protection in buildings, safety codes, rules and regulations.
c. Active control‐ fire fighting using fixed and portable fire fighting equipment.

SESSIONAL ASSIGNMENT
Assignments shall consists of
a. Calculating the time of reverberation for an enclosed space and designing an acoustical
treatment for the same, to achieve good hearing conditions.
b. Compiling of required information collected from site visits, market surveys and finding
out latest trends and materials for the same.
c. Case study for fire fighting and fire control for an apartment building, with basement
parking.

SESSIONAL ASSESMENT
1. 40% marks will be allotted for compilation of literature, brochures, handbooks,
market surveysetc. .
2. 60% marks shall be allotted for acoustical treatment of an interior space.

ÆRECOMMENDED READING
1. Ernest Tricomi‐ABC of Air conditioning
2. Heating and Air Conditioning of buildings.
3. Smith, Philips and Sweeney‐Environmental Science
4. Doelle Leslie‐Environmental Acoustics
5. Knudsen and Harris‐Acoustical designing in architecture
6. K.A.Siraskar‐Acoustics in building design
7. National Building code.

Reference -University Of Pune, Detail Syllabus for Third Year Bachelor of Architecture
(Third Year B.Arch), (to be implemented from 2010‐11)Faculty Of Engineering, Board of Studies In Architecture

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 Chapter

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Acoustics, Sound and sound properties

OUTLINE
a. Intro to acoustics
b. Historic examples for acoustic consideration
c. Need for Architectural Acoustics
d. Properties Of Sound –
i. Wavelength, Amplitude, Frequency
ii. Velocity, Intensity, Pressure

Listening
• Listening is a basic factor in human communication and likewise an art: One must
listen closely to catch the undertones and meaning of what is being said.
• In contrast to the eyes, one cannot close the ears.
• Thus for an architect, design has to correspond to -what should be heard in clarity
and continuity, and what should be avoided.

What is Acoustics?
Sound
● Sound is a physical disturbance set up in an elasto-inertial medium and recognized
by sensation caused in such sensitive organ i.e. ear.
● “Sound is a vibration in an elastic medium. Sound is a relatively simple form of
energy, causing variations in pressure and alternations in direction of molecular
movement within media.”
Acoustics
● The science of sound is called ACOUSTICS and covers all fields of sound
production, sound propagation and sound reception, whether created and
received by human beings or by machines and measuring instruments.

“The purpose of Acoustical control is to create conditions by which people can hear
with comfort, it is necessary to consider not only the principles of sound but to take
into account also the phenomena of hearing.”
F Watson, Acoustics of buildings

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Historic examples
Greek theatre at Epidaurus in Greece, 350 BC, Roman theatre at Aspendos in Turkey, 24
AD, St Paul’s Cathedral, Operas, Open air theater, Whispering galleries etc.
Greek theatre at Epidaurus in Greece, 350 BC
• Semi circular space
• 34 o angle to ground
• Minimum absorption of sound
• Location for Noise cutoff
St Mark’s Church at Venice
• Need for the performance of religious prayers and music in the church
• The huge volume of these buildings creates a great time period for the path of the
sound wave from source to receiver, a large reverberation time.
• The reverberation affects the clarity of sounds.
• Spoken prayers in spaces with these large reverberation times would run together
and become somewhat lyrical. As a result, over time some of the spoken prayers
became chants that are used in services today.

Assignment - Document and study one of the historic examples for acoustic
considerations.

Need of architectural acoustics

● Providing a comfortable environment for user contributes significantly to their
optimum performance.
● Room/Space comfort is a combination of factors that includes day lighting and
electric lighting, indoor environmental quality, temperature, and acoustics
● The assault on ears in the place can come from traffic noise outside, mechanical
equipment in adjacent spaces, and copiers, phones, and voices within the
workspace.
Spaces where Sound matters
Class rooms Office spaces
Hospitals Hotels
Laboratories Residences
Auditoriums/ Theatres for that matter any space which
Conference rooms has to cater human comfort

Sound
• Sound travels undistorted
• Sound travels with some time delay
• Sound from different sources travels independently

Sound is transmitted through gases, plasma, and liquids as longitudinal waves, also called
compression waves. Through solids, however, it can be transmitted as both longitudinal
waves and transverse waves.

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Sound Properties
Wavelength
Units – metres
Symbol - λ
This is the distance between any two repeating points on a sound wave. In other words,
Wavelength is the distance from one crest to another of a wave. Since sound is a
compression wave, the wavelength is the distance between maximum compressions.

Amplitude
Units – metres
Symbol - A
The amplitude of a sound wave is the height of the wave form.
It is also the maximum displacement for each air particle as it vibrates.
The diagram below illustrates the difference between loud and soft sounds. A loud sound
will have higher amplitude than a quiet sound. It also relates to sound pressure measured
in decibels (dB).

Amplitude
Loud

Time
Soft

Amplitude of Sound Waves

Frequency
Units – Hertz (Hz)
Symbol - f
This is the number of cycles of vibration per second.The rate of vibration per unit time
measured in cycles per second, more commonly known as hertz (Hz). The range of normal
perception for young person is 20–20,000 Hz

Velocity
Units – metres per second (m/s)
Symbol - v
The velocity is the distance moved by the sound wave per second in a fixed direction.
Velocity = wavelength x frequency
The sound waveform moves at approximately 344 meters/second, 1130 feet/sec. or 770
miles per hour at room temperature of 20oC (70oF).

Pressure-
Sound pressure p (or acoustic pressure) is the measurement in pascals of the Root Mean
Square (RMS) pressure deviation (from atmospheric pressure) caused by a sound wave
passing through a fixed point. The symbol for pressure is the lower case p.

The amplitude of sound pressure from a point source decreases in the free field (direct
field) proportional to the inverse of the distance from that source. Sound pressure level is
a decibel scale based on a reference sound pressure of 20 µPa (micropascal), calculated in
dB.The measure of sound pressure level (SPL) uses a logarithmic scale.
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 SPL = 20 log10 (p /po)

Where; SPL = Sound Pressure Level (dB)

p = Sound Pressure (Pa)
po = Sound Pressure at the threshold of hearing at 1000 Hz
and is 2 x 10-5 Pa
Pressure = force per unit of area
–Newton's per square meter (N/m2)—called a Pascal (modern unit)
Sound Intensity:
The sound intensity in a specified direction is the amount of sound energy flowing through
a unit area normal to that direction. The sound intensity is normally measured in watt per
square meter (W/m2).

Sound Energy
Sound waves carry energy. It can be measured in Joules/m3.

Pitch
The sensation of a frequency is commonly referred to as the pitch of a sound. A high pitch
sound corresponds to a high frequency sound wave and a low pitch sound corresponds to
a low frequency sound wave. Amazingly, many people, especially those who have been
musically trained, are capable of detecting a difference in frequency between two separate
sounds that is as little as 2 Hz.
The human ear is capable of detecting sound waves with a wide range of frequencies,
ranging between approximately 20 Hz to 20 000 Hz. Any sound with a frequency below
the audible range of hearing (i.e., less than 20 Hz) is known as an infrasound and any
sound with a frequency above the audible range of hearing (i.e., more than 20 000 Hz) is
known as an ultrasound.

Timbre
Timbre or quality is that attribute of auditory sensation in terms of which a
listener can judge that two sounds similarly presented.

Tutorial -
Find out two/ three songs and observe frequencies of sound. Illustrate the same with
some graphics in your journal.

ÆReferences – Acoustics in Building Design, K. A. Siraskar

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 Chapter

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Propagation of Sound

OUTLINE
a. Reflection, Absorption, Diffusion
b. Diffraction, Refraction

Room Acoustics
The room in which we listen to sound has an important influence on what we hear. There
are a variety of methods and criteria for the evaluation and design of an acoustic space.
Acoustic spaces can have a variety of uses which may or may not share common desired
acoustic characteristics.

Sound Propagation in a Room

• Sound waves travel at about 345 meters/second. The sound coming directly from
a source within a large room will generally reach a listener called as direct sound.

• Shortly after the arrival of the direct sound, a series of semi-distinct reflections
from various reflecting surfaces (walls and ceiling) will reach the listener. These
early reflections typically will occur within about 50 - 80 milliseconds.

• The reflections which reach the listener after the early reflections are typically of
lower amplitude and very closely spaced in time. These reflections merge into
what is called the reverberant sound or late reflections.

• If the source emits a continuous sound, the reverberant sound builds up until it
reaches an equilibrium level. When the sound stops, the sound level decreases at a
more or less constant rate until it reaches inaudibility.
• When sound propagated in an enclosed room, three reactions will happen. They
are as follows

Direct Sound and Early Reflections

• Direct sound will decrease by 6 dB for each doubling of propagated distance.
• Our auditory system will determine the direction of a sound source from the
direct sounds reaching the ear.

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 • Early reflections which arrive within about 50 - 80 milliseconds are not heard as
separate from the direct sounds. Rather, they tend to reinforce the direct sound.
For rapidly varying sound, such as speech, the limit is around 50 ms while for
slowly varying music; the limit is closer to 80 ms.

Ref- http://www.music.mcgill.ca/~gary/307/week3/rooms.html

SOUND REFLECTION
The return from surfaces of sound energy not absorbed upon contact with the surfaces.
It depends on
1. Angle of incidence – angle of reflection always equals to angle of incidence
2. Surface absorption coefficient
3. Shape of surface

Shape of reflecting surfaces and respective reflections –

Concave Shape Convex Shape Tilted Flat

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Sound reflection for Flat ceiling and sloped ceiling

Refer Architectural acoustics and illumination, Edkie for further reference.

SOUND ABSORPTION
- Conversion of acoustic energy to heat or another form of energy within the structure of a
sound absorptive material
Sound absorption depends upon Absorption coefficient of the specific material.
• Absorption coefficient- The efficiency of a material’s ability to capture & reduce
sound energy.
• An absorption coefficient of 1.0 is equivalent to an open window.
• 0.5 Coefficient indicates to 50% of sound energy will be absorbed.
• It depends upon –
o Material’s molecular structure
o Frequency of sound- greater the frequency greater the coefficient

SOUND DIFFUSION
Sound reflects off a convex or uneven surface in a even way rather than being limited to a
discrete reflection.
Sound diffusion reduces the problems with first reflections and because the diffusive
materials have an irregular surface, flutter echo is eliminated.
● Absorption can be understood as an “attenuated reflection” and diffusion is just a
“redirected reflection”.
● Diffusion converts sound in lower intensity , in all directions
● Sound diffusers are designed to redirect or disperse sound waves to lessen the number
of standing waves or echoes, resulting in an improved listening environment.
● The use of sound absorbers alone in a room can create a cavernous feeling.
● Combining sound diffusers with sound absorbers improves speech intelligibility as well
as the overall listening environment.

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 Sound Diffraction
- the ability of a sound wave to “flow” around an obstruction or through openings with
little loss of energy.
(-the bending of waves around small* obstacles and the spreading out of waves beyond
small* openings- sharp corners, cracks, openings, patches etc.)

Huygen’s principle for Sound diffraction

Every point of a wave front may be considered the

source of secondary wavelets that spread out in all
directions with a speed equal to the speed of
propagation of the waves.

Sound diffraction for

different conditions of
opening size and
wavelength of sound
wave.

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SOUND REFRACTION

Sound Refraction refers to changes in medium conditions which change the speed of
sound. The speed of sound is faster in warmer air, sound waves bend towards cooler
temperatures. The wind can also cause sound waves to refract. When sound changes
mediums, or enters a different material, it is bent from its original direction. This change in
angle of direction is called refraction.
Refraction is caused by sound entering the new medium at an angle. Because of the angle,
part of the wave enters the new medium first and changes speed. The difference in speeds
causes the wave to bend.
Reference – Materials and respective absorption coefficients

Materials Coefficients

125Hz 250Hz 500Hz 1000Hz 2000Hz 4000Hz

Brick, unglazed .03 .03 .03 .04 .05 .07

Carpet, heavy, on
.02 .06 .14 .37 .60 .65
concrete

Concrete Block, light,

.36 .44 .31 .29 .39 .25
porous

Concrete Block, dense,

.10 .05 .06 .07 .09 .08
painted

wood .15 .11 .10 .07 .06 .07

Large panes of heavy

.18 .06 .04 .03 .02 .02
plate glass

Ordinary window glass .35 .25 .18 .12 .07 .04

Gypsum Board, 1/2-

inch, nailed to 2x4's 16 .29 .10 .05 .04 .07 .09
inches o.c.

Marble or glazed tile .01 .01 .01 .01 .02 .02

Plaster, gypsum, or lime,

smooth finish on tile or .013 .015 .02 .03 .04 .05
brick

Plywood Paneling, 3/8-

.28 .22 .17 .09 .10 .11
inch thick

Water surface, as in a
.008 .008 .013 0.15 .020 0.25
swimming pool

Values below are given in Sabins per square foot of seating area or per unit
http://www.acousticalsurfaces.com/acoustic_IOI/101_13.htm

Tutorial -
Consider for two/ three different materials from above list of materials .Calculate
sound absorption for each material considering a square room, 3m x 4m has to
construct in one of these materials. Which material is giving max sound absorption?
Sketch these conditions in your journal.

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