renderings

acoustical test

Studio 2 is the second of three Studios analysed for my thesis project: “Acoustics in educational spaces”.
What concerned this case study was testing the reverberation time of the room (see diagram on the right), and find a lightweight solution to improve the acoustics.
The existing situation has been tested with professional acoustic microphones and sound generators to record and produce all of the frequencies.
As the test result shows, the reverberation time is of 1.85 sec. in empty room. By the German standard DIN 18041 the reverberation time in classrooms should lie in between 0.5 and 0.7 sec. in occupied rooms.

DESIGN DIAGRAMS

The lightweight construction was formed by a recyclable acoustic tensile membrane attached to an anodised aluminium structure, of different shapes for each classroom. The membrane had the characteristic of trapping 65% of unwanted sound waves to avoid long reverberations. The anodised aluminium structure allowed to shape the membranes in order to gather better acoustics.
By knowing the absorbance coefficient of the acoustic tensile membrane and the reverberation time of the room, I was able to calculate the amount of squared meters of absorbing membrane needed to fulfil the DIN 18041 standard.

**63.02 m2 of acoustic tensile membrane had to be imported in the room**

**A functional structure has been designed**

**Six tensile membrane sails have been attached vertically to the structure**

technical drawings

The design concept of the project was the propagation of the sound, which generated three different classroom’s designs. In the case of Studio 2 the design was of a group-work classroom with implemented storage space for materials and models.
Thanks to the repetition of the acoustic tensile membranes, the group-works were emphasised both spatially and functionally by creating a more private and quite environment .

GROUND FLOOR PLAN

SECTION 3-3

SECTION 4-4

Final result

In the end a proof of design has been generated by using a software developed by the same company that provided the acoustic equipment. The software was able to predict the new reverberation time of the rooms by knowing the existing reverberation time situation and the amount and type of acoustic material to import.
Since the DIN 18041 specify that the reverberation time should lie in between 0.5 and 0.7 seconds in occupied classrooms, the software was also able to import “virtual people” in the rooms, estimating the absorbance coefficient per person.