BUILDING SERVICES IV ACOUSTICS & NOISE CONTROL - 18 ARC 7.

3
MODULE 3 – ACOUSTICAL DESIGN
 18 ARC 7.3 BS IV

The polar coordinate graph plots contours of sound levels for

speech.
The contour shapes show the directional characteristics of speech
at low frequencies (< 500 Hz - to represent vowels which contribute
to the tone of an individual’s speech) &
At high frequencies (>4000Hz) to represent consonants , which
strongly influence the intelligibility of the sibilants)
0 deg - direction of the speaker
180deg - direction behind the speaker
● Sound levels at low frequencies are diminished very little at
the sides (90 deg orientation) and moderately at the rear
(8dB lower)
● Sound levels at high frequencies are diminished by 6dB at the
sides (90 deg orientation) and by 20dB at the [Link] the rear
of the speaker the consonants can be completely inaudible.
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OPEN-AIR GREEK THEATRES

Constructed about 2000 years ago and suitable for

drama and instrumental recitals by small groups.
● Had good listening conditions.
● Greek theatres were located on steep
hillsides in quiet rural locations.
● Seating layouts were semicircular so that
audience were as close to the stage to reduce
energy loss by distance.
● The tiers had a steep rise (>20 deg) to provide
good sight lines, permit reflected sound
energy from the orchestra floor and reduce
attenuation caused by the seated audience.
● Unoccupied seats (backs or risers sloped ● Actors wore masks with exaggerated expressions
backwards by about 10 deg also scattered and reinforced their voices with conical
sound to adjacent areas. megaphones built in to the mouths of the masks.
● Orchestra is horse-shoe shaped ● Modern OAT should be designed to achieve low
noise intrusion.
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● Hard surfaced overhang for

sound reflections towards
audience
● Skene- sound reflecting
surfaced scene building for
performers
● Proskenion - raised acting
area, later known as
proscenium
● Orchestra - semicircular sound
reflecting performing area
● Semicircular seating to place
audience close to performers
● Sloped tiered seating to
provide good sight lines and
low audience attenuation

Note :An enclosure is required to achieve the reverberation and fullness of tone needed for modern
symphonic music and opera.
 18 ARC 7.3 BS IV

OPEN-AIR ROMAN THEATRES

● Roman theatres are man made and free standing
buildings.
● Built on solid man made foundation and have solid walls
to enclose the audience, although they were open air.
● Orchestra is semicircular
● The vaults and arch systems supports its seats.
● The Roman theatres have 2-3 floors of the stage
backdrop.
● Roman theatres are quite spectacular
● It is quite common for the stage building to be multi-
storey. Columns, protrusions and ostentatious sculptures
were quite common in Roman theaters.
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Sound levels outdoor - decrease as per

the inverse square law and audience
attenuation.

An overhead sound reflecting panel

or ceiling can provide reflected
sound to reinforce the direct sound.
 18 ARC 7.3 BS IV

Sound reflecting enclosure near

the sound source - greatly
improves the listening conditions
by reflecting sound energy
towards the audience.
 18 ARC 7.3 BS IV

ACOUSTIC DESIGN OF AUDITORIUM AND THEATRES

The sources of noise to be considered for design of Auditorium & Theatre are
● Outdoor noise from walls, roofs, fenestrations
● Noise from any other hall in the same building
● Noise from foyer, service rooms, and other ancillary rooms like rehearsal rooms
● Noise from air conditioning system and cross transmission of other noise through AC and ventilation ducts
● Impact generated noise like rain on metal roofs etc

IMPORTANT DESIGN CRITERIA FOR THEATRES AND AUDITORIUM

● The siting of these buildings should be done away from noisy crossroads and transportation hubs.
● The mechanical systems like AC and ventilation should be adequately designed with silencers and
dampers.
● The foyers , other halls (if present in the same building) and ancillary rooms like rehearsal rooms
should all be adequately acoustically treated to ensure noise does not affect the Auditorium.
● Separating walls between 2 different spaces should be adequately acoustically treated.
● Elevators should preferably be isolated from the building so as not to transfer noise and vibration.

Source: NBC 2016

 18 ARC 7.3 BS IV

IMPORTANT DESIGN CRITERIA FOR CINEMAS

● The mechanical systems like AC and ventilation should be adequately designed with silencers and
dampers.
● The foyers & other halls should have acoustically treated separating walls.
● The noise from services should be restricted to less than 30dB. This will provide masking from adjacent
halls.
● However high performance partition wall is till essential.

The NC levels allowed for auditoriums is 25dBA and for drama theatres and cinemas is around 30dBA
 18 ARC 7.3 BS IV

IS 2526-1963 - CODE OF PRACTICE FOR ACOUSTICAL DESIGN OF AUDITORIUMS AND CONFERENCE

HALLS - acoustic requirements
1. Halls for speech and or drama require optimum clarity which depends on
● Correct reverberation time
● Absence of echo
● Correct loudness level at all parts of the hall
● Low background noise.
2. Halls for music
● Adequate reverberation time for proper blending and fullness of music
● Reverberation time should be higher than that meant for speech only.
3. General purpose halls meant for both speech and music
● Reverberation time to be in between 1. & 2.
4. Cinemas (Sound picture Halls)
● Since a certain amount of reverberation is already present in the recorded sound , the reverberation
time required is less than that required for 3.
5. Open air auditoriums and conference halls.
● Acoustical requirements are similar to 1 above. Additional requirements for open air conditions will
need to be addressed.
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GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN AS PER IS 2526-1963 - CODE OF PRACTICE FOR ACOUSTICAL DESIGN
OF AUDITORIUMS AND CONFERENCE HALLS

Site selection and planning - Site selection is governed by various factor.

● A noise survey is very important.
● Particularly important to locate the auditorium in the site where the extraneous noise levels are
minimum in case the auditorium is not air conditioned.
● For air conditioned auditorium it is necessary to isolate mechanical rooms away from the auditorium
and to ensure that the services noise are below the acceptable levels.
● Cross talk silencers and dampers in the ducts are important

Size and shape

● Size is governed by the capacity of seating
● The floor area of the hall including aisles but excluding stage shall be approx 0.6-0.9 sqm/person
● The height of the hall is determined by its ventilation system, presence or absence of balcony and
the type of performance.
● The average height varies from 6M - 7.5M.
● The volume shall vary between 3.5 - 5.5CUM/person.
● Ceiling may be flat with a slight raise towards the centre of the hall.
 18 ARC 7.3 BS IV

Size and shape

● The most convenient shape of the auditorium with minimal acoustical complications is the fan
shaped hall.
● The side walls should be not more than 100 degrees with the curtain line.
● To ensure clear visibility, the distance of the farthest seat from the curtain line should not normally
exceed 23M
● The size of the stage is determined by the type of performance.
● The rear wall should be either flat of convex in shape.

Public lecture halls - 3.5-4.5 cum/person

Cinemas or theatres 4 - 5 cum/person
Music halls or concert halls 4 - 5.5 cum/person

* The higher values may be adopted only in special cases.

18 ARC 7.3 BS IV
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Stage - the size of the stage depends on the

type of performance the hall has to cater to.
It would be larger for theatres and
comparatively small for cinemas.
● Stage is usually raised by about 75cm
or more.

Rear Wall - should be either flat or convex in shape. The acoustical design shall decide whether to make the wall
splayed or convex corrugations to avoid sound foci and dead spots.

Side walls - if the hall is fan shaped , the side walls can be reflective unless acoustical materials are required for other
considerations. The side walls require minimum attention from acoustical perspective for a fan shaped wall.
If side walls are parallel, then it may be left untreated till 7.5M from the proscenium end and after that the walls may
be treated with sound absorbing materials to cut out echo and flutter echo. Difference between direct path and
reflected path from side walls shall not exceed 15M.
 18 ARC 7.3 BS IV

Roof and ceiling - The requirements of the roof and ceiling for an auditorium are governed by architectural,
engineering and economic considerations.
In large halls - false ceiling is provided below the truss. The portion of the false ceiling near the proscenium is
of reflective material and installed at an inclination to ensure that the sound is reflected towards the rear of
the hall. The remaining ceiling is given acoustical treatment.

Concave shaped ceiling are to be [Link] rear portion of the ceiling are to be treated with absorbing
materials to partly control reverberation and to prevent build up of audience noise.

If the auditorium is near the airport , then suitable precautions are to be taken to make the ceiling
soundproof. A suitable sound proof false ceiling has to be provided below the roof.
 18 ARC 7.3 BS IV

Floor - For better visibility and listening requirements, the successive floor levels have to be raised with the
result that the floor level rises towards the rear.
It is based on the principle that each listener is elevated w.r.t the person immediately in front of him so that
the path of sound is approx 12cm (5.5”) above the head of the person immediately in front of him.
If the seats are staggered it can be reduced to 8 cm(3.5” approx).

As an empirical rule the angle of elevation of an inclined floor in an auditorium should not be less than 8
degrees.
 18 ARC 7.3 BS IV

SEATING ARRANGEMENTS IN AN AUDITORIUM

Continental seating - theater Radial seating - minimise the Parallel seating - theater seating
seating with no center aisle and space between audience and with multiple aisle , which
with room enough between performers. accommodates 14-16 seats per
rows to allow easy passage. row.
 18 ARC 7.3 BS IV

Sightlines are drawn to converge at a

point on stage called the APS (arrival
point of sight).
Audiences should be able to see and
hear clearly to perceive the
performance.

Dimension of
B- 40” for continental
seating
- 36” for radial and parallel
Every row vision
 18 ARC 7.3 BS IV

Laterally staggered seating layouts can

achieve satisfactory every-other-row
vision for back to back seat dimensions
B of 40” for continental and 36” for
radial and parallel aisle seating.

Non staggered seating layouts cannot

achieve satisfactory conditions for every
other row vision.

Staggering of seats -
displacement of seats by half seat Every other row vision
pitch in every successive row
 18 ARC 7.3 BS IV

Seating

● Seats arranged in concentric arcs of circles - centre located as much behind the centre of the curtain
line as its (curtain line) distance from the auditorium rear wall.
● Angle subtended with the horizontal at the front most observer by highest object should not exceed
30°.
● Based on this the front row is at 3.6M for drama and 4.5 M for cinema purpose.
● Minm distance of front row is determined by the highest point to be seen on stage. Stage is usually
raised by about 75cm or more.
● Width of the seats is around 45cm - 56cm
● Back to back of seats in successive rows is approx 85cm - 106cm.
● Seats should be staggered.
● Upholstered seats shall be provided. It helps in sound attenuation even when the occupancy is less.

Reverberation time

Reverberation time to be calculated as per Sabine’s Formula

 18 ARC 7.3 BS IV

Balcony
● Balcony is provided to accommodate a larger capacity of
audience and to reduce the distance of the rear wall
from the stage..
● It’s projection into the hall should not be more than
twice the free height of the opening of the balcony
recess.

● Elevation of balcony seats should be such that

line of sight of the balcony seats is not inclined
more than 30 degrees to the horizontal.

Motion picture theatres have D < 2H

Concert Hall and opera D < H
 18 ARC 7.3 BS IV

Distribution of acoustic material

Reflecting surfaces to be designed to aid sound distribution.

Areas causing objectionable reflections to be treated with sound absorbent materials
These areas are
● the rear wall
● The balcony parapet
● Any other areas which may reflect sound back to the stage
● Concave areas
● Other areas which will contribute to indirect sound arriving at any point in the hall later than 50ms after
the direct sound.

In an auditorium most of the absorption is provided by the audience specially in the high frequency range
than in the low or middle frequency range.
Adequate sound absorption materials are to be provided for low and medium frequency sound waves.
 18 ARC 7.3 BS IV

Sound amplification system

A loudness of speech level of about 60-70dB - required for comfortable listening and good intelligibility,
provided ambient noise levels are within acceptable limits.
This level can be obtained in a volume which does not exceed 1400 cu.m (approx 500 pax capacity)
Maximum distance of speaker to listener is 23M

Where background noise is high - sound amplification system is required.

 18 ARC 7.3 BS IV

Path difference = reflected path - direct path

 18 ARC 7.3 BS IV

OPEN AIR THEATRES - DESIGN GUIDELINES

● Prevailing noise condition - , 45dB

● Wind velocities naturally experienced at site -
, 16km/h
● Backstage wall - to be made reflective and
broken into convex shapes (90 - 180 cm
width) surfaces.
● Depth of stage as per the purpose, however if
it exceeds 6M, it is necessary to treat the
backstage wall acoustically.

● Ceiling reflector with high reflective surface and positioned at an angle to be fixed over the main
sound originating area - to direct the reflected sound waves towards the rear seats.
● OAT to be positioned such that the wind direction is from the stage towards the audience.
● Sound amplification to be resorted to - if audience is above 600 or back ground noise is 45-
50dB.
● Loudspeaker to give approx 80dB level over entire listening area.
 18 ARC 7.3 BS IV

CONFERENCE HALLS - DESIGN GUIDELINES

● The Conference/Classroom space types are areas
used for formal meeting, training, and
teleconference activities.
● Acoustics of a conference hall to be designed to
ensure proper conditions for listening - person
may speak or listen from any corner of the hall.
● Optimum reverberation time to be chosen - too
long RT affects speech intelligibility and too short
RT prevents buildup of proper level for good
listening
● Sound amplification system should be avoided
as far as possible , if required then low level
loudspeakers or head phones should be provided
for individuals or a group of seats.
● Absorbent materials to be distributed evenly
over the wall surfaces
● Ceilings should not be domed and should not be
higher than 6M.
 18 ARC 7.3 BS IV

INDOOR SPORTS HALL - ACOUSTIC DESIGN GUIDELINES

Appropriate acoustic treatment for indoor sports halls are important considering its large volume.

The following criteria needs to be given importance.

Reverberation time: The hard surfaces required to withstand impact damage within the sports hall tend not
to have good sound absorbency properties and results in sound being repeatedly reflected from the various
surfaces. RT Should be between 1.5 and 2.0 sec at mid-frequency. Ideal for Indoor Sports hall is <1.5 sec.

Sound insulation : The level of sound insulation within the building fabric to prevent distracting sound from
external sources being transmitted into the hall should also be considered. A standard of NR40 (NC curve 40
) would normally be specified.

The problem can be avoided through acoustic design that integrates sound absorbent materials into the
ceiling and/or upper wall levels (above the door lintel).
 18 ARC 7.3 BS IV

HOME THEATRE - ACOUSTIC DESIGN GUIDELINES

Achieving great sound depends on

A well thought out speaker layout
The acoustics should enhance the speaker experience instead of destroying it.

Great acoustical quality can be achieved by controlling reflections.

Rectangular room shape is ideal.
The Golden Ratio (1:1.6:2.6) is actually a perfect way to go, with the first number being the height of the
room and the other two being the length and width.

A dedicated home theater room for movies, sports, and TV will have the most options for acoustic treatments.
This can range from some basic absorptive wall panels spread out on your wall, to a full-blown acoustic
treatment package hidden behind a custom stretched fabric system that covers all of the wall surfaces. In a
perfect world, the acoustic treatments of the room disappear into the aesthetic and allow your carefully
selected home theater equipment to really shine.
 18 ARC 7.3 BS IV

The most well-designed theaters will

find the perfect balance between
absorptive, reflective, and dispersing
panels, strategically placed around the
room.

A good rule of thumb for this method is

to calculate the total surface area of
your two side walls and get acoustic
panels that will fill up about 35-40% of
that area.
 18 ARC 7.3 BS IV

RECORDING STUDIO - ACOUSTIC DESIGN GUIDELINES

● A recording studio is an assembly of equipments, spaces and persons so that a performance in sound
is recorded in a medium to be reproduced later.
● Recording studios - desirable to be acoustically dead with very short reverberation time.
● Enclosure to have sound proofing and highly absorbent sound.
● To avoid low frequency sounds like (traffic noise, aircraft noise etc) the recording enclosure to be
isolated from the main structure with double wall.
● Isolate the recording studio structurally from the main building structure.
● Careful sealing of the enclosure
● Careful design of the HVAC system to minimise background noise.
● Control rooms need to be symmetrical, predictable and accurate, whereas studios should sound good.
● Incase studios have parallel walls , to reduce flutter echoes diffusors are used to reduce or eliminate
the repetitive echoes.
● Suitable Bass traps may be installed to cut out the low frequency sound waves ( <125 Hz)
 18 ARC 7.3 BS IV

OPEN PLAN OFFICE - ACOUSTIC DESIGN GUIDELINES

To achieve acoustical privacy in open plans the following must be provided

● Partial height barriers (> = 5 ft height) between w/s
● Electronic background masking (40-50 dBA)
● Efficient sound absorbing finishes on ceiling, walls and other surfaces.

5 acoustic factors to be considered for open plan design

Speech Effort (dBA)- Low, conversational, raised and loud
Privacy Allowance- Normal & Confidential
Distance from source to listener D - accounts for the attenuation of voice levels with distance
Partial- height barrier - accounts for attenuation provided by partial height barrier. Barrier width should be
at least twice the overall height to prevent flanking around the ends.
Room background noise level (dBA) - represents masking sound available.
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Sound Reinforcement system

A sound reinforcement system is the combination of microphones, signal processors, amplifiers, and
loudspeakers in enclosures all controlled by a mixing console that makes live or pre-recorded sounds louder
and may also distribute those sounds to a larger or more distant audience.

A sound reinforcement system is

designed and engineered to make
capture and amplify sound and
deliver it to an audience. The clear
role it has is to distribute sound evenly
to the areas where the listeners are,
while ensuring that sound is not
directed to non-listener areas such as
the walls and ceiling.
 18 ARC 7.3 BS IV

Sound Masking system

Sound masking is the introduction of ambient sound to a space to mask disruptive environmental noise. It is
a growing industry within interior acoustics that has been shown to effectively mask distractive noises and
increase privacy, productivity and well-being for room users.
Sound masking systems are commonly used in open-office spaces to minimize noise distractions, increase
speech privacy and optimize work productivity. Sound masking solutions are also must-haves today for
hospitals, clinics, and therapy offices to protect patient privacy.
By matching the frequencies of human speech, sound masking is specifically engineered to mask
conversations for greater speech privacy and productivity

At its most basic, a sound masking system consists of a series of loudspeakers installed in a grid-like
pattern in the ceiling, as well as a method of controlling those speakers' output. The loudspeakers
distribute an engineered background sound, raising the facility's ambient level in a highly controlled
fashion.
 18 ARC 7.3 BS IV

In office spaces, the background noise

level is generally low. In fact, many offices
are simply too quiet and as a result,
employees unintentionally overhear
private conversations carried around
them and get continuously distracted by
even the faintest noises. This is an
uncomfortable situation that most
employees working in open offices are all
too familiar with.

To address this problem, sound masking systems generate a soft, subtle background ambient sound, similar to airflow, through
specially-designed loudspeakers hidden throughout the space. The workspace's soundscape becomes more uniform, more relaxing,
and noisy distractions are effectively muffled out, providing occupants with a greater sense of sonic privacy and making it much
easier to concentrate on their work.
18 ARC 7.3 BS IV
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Speech Privacy

Speech privacy in enclosed

and open plans depends
on the signal to noise ratio
between the intruding
speech level (signal)and
the steady background
sound (noise).

The acoustical demands usually involve

● Ability to talk without having conversations understood by neighbours
● Freedom from distracting intruding noises (unwanted nearby conversations)
● Allowance for face-to-face conversations (<6’ apart) and telephone conversations to be clearly understood.
 18 ARC 7.3 BS IV

Enclosed rooms - speech intrusions are by common walls, doors, flanking such as ceiling plenums and leaks
such as cracks and holes in the intervening constructions. The paths of sound are direct and flanking.

Open plans - path for speech intrusion is director interrupted by screens or partial height barriers. The paths
of sound are direct diffracted and reflected.

Sound travels by reflections or

diffraction as the case may be.
Speech privacy can be analysed in 3
parts -
● source (speaker),
● path and
● receiver (desiring privacy from
intruding conversations)

Goal of speech privacy is low speech articulation index AI.

 18 ARC 7.3 BS IV

SOUND ATTENUATION IN ENCLOSED SPACE

SOUND ATTENUATION IN OPEN PLAN FACTORS AFFECTING SPEECH PRIVACY IN ENCLOSED SPACES AND OPEN PLANS
18 ARC 7.3 BS IV
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Speech Privacy

Speech privacy is the inability of an unintentional listener to understand another person’s conversation.
People with a lack of speech privacy are overhearing lots of conversations that they shouldn’t be, which
interferes with their internal monologue and makes it difficult to concentrate.

Sound masking systems generate a specially engineered frequency that makes speech unintelligible and
improves workplace privacy. Speech privacy is the inability of an unintentional listener to understand
another person's conversation.

Achieving Speech Privacy

1. Reducing speech level so it is close to background noise levels.

2. Increasing the ambient noise level so it exceeds the speech level.
3. A combination of the two, i.e. increasing the ambient level slightly and reducing the
resultant effect of speech to achieve speech and ambient level parity.
 18 ARC 7.3 BS IV

Difference between Microphone and Loudspeaker

These two audio frequency devices are used together for the sole purpose of providing service to the human being.
➨Microphone converts acoustical sound energy to electrical energy.
➨Loudspeaker converts electrical energy to acoustical sound energy.

● Microphone converts sound to electrical signal

where as loudspeaker converts electrical signal to
sound waves.
● Microphone is used at transmitting end where as
loudspeaker or speaker is used at receiving end.
● Microphone should be close to mouth where as
speaker should be close to ears for better
performance.
● Microphone should be close to speaker whereas
speaker need not to be close from listeners.
● Microphone is smaller in size compare to
loudspeakers or speakers.
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