Building Acoustics

(BCA Compliance)

 
 
 

Creating High Quality Acoustic Amenity

The quality of the internal noise amenity in residential and commercial buildings reflects the value of the building. ATP Consulting Engineers can provide holistic building acoustic services with consideration of the exterior building envelope; partition walls sound insulation specifications; control of reverberation and speech intelligibility by treatment of reflective surfaces; building services noise control; and sound insulation performance testing. 

Building Acoustics - Design

At the design stage, ATP Consulting Engineers provides the following services:

  • Review of overall building envelope with consideration of the proposed construction materials and their suitability for the acoustics of the development site (without high sound insulation rating of the building envelope, the interior acoustic design is futile);

  • Establishment of internal noise criteria applicable to the residential, commercial, educational, health, community or entertainment building under design;

  • Design specifications for construction of the partition walls and floors to ensure compliance with the project design criteria either based on compliance with BCA or based on project specific higher rating of sound insulation;

  • Acoustic design specifications of residential, commercial, educational and industrial building aiming for Green Star rating;

  • Modelling of sound propagation and transmission in enclosed spaces to optimise interior acoustic amenity;

  • Calculation of reverberation time in internal spaces of residential, commercial, educational, health, community or entertainment buildings;

  • Design of sound reverberation treatments with consideration of use of the internal spaces, occupancy rates, room geometry and design objectives;

  • Review of sound insulation performance of proposed materials, particularly with consideration of alternative materials and construction techniques and with consideration of imported prefabricated partition wall components;

  • Provision of well structured acoustic design specification report in a format that can be readily incorporated into the detailed design drawings for the proposed building or can be submitted as an appendix for reference during construction; and

  • Form 15 RPEQ Design Certification.

ATP Consulting Engineers are always available to respond to any questions, enquiries or problems encountered at detailed design or during construction and can provide 'troubleshooting' advice on other projects.

Building Acoustics - Testing

A well designed building, with recognition of importance of sound transmission insulation, requires relatively limited post-construction testing for compliance with the design objectives. However in case of inadequate sound insulation or on projects involving building conversion or retrofitting, an extensive range of sound insulation testing may be required. Post-construction, ATP Consulting Engineers provides the following services:

  • Sound transmission testing through partition walls and floors using in-house noise measurement equipment;

  • Impact sound testing through partition walls and floors;

  • Reverberation time measurement and investigation of acoustic performance of interior spaces;

  • Holistic review of the buildings considered for retrofit to determine the acoustic performance of the building envelope components;

  • Testing of the sound transmission through existing walls and floors to determine sound insulation rating in case of atypical construction;

  • Investigation of sound transmission through partition walls and floors (including impact sound testing) as part of noise complaint investigations;

  • Pre-purchase acoustic investigations and advise; and

  • Form 16 RPEQ Certification after completion of acoustic testing for airborne and impact sound transmission.

ATP Consulting Engineers are available to respond to any questions, enquiries or problems encountered on retrofit projects or if noise transmission is a concern in high-rise residential or commercial buildings.