See the unseen: Designing with acoustics in mind

{"version":"0.3.0","atoms":[],"cards":[],"markups":[["i"],["a",["href","http:\/\/www.usg.com","target","_blank"]],["a",["href","http:\/\/www.usg.com\/vae","target","_blank"]],["em"]],"sections":[[1,"h2",[[0,[],0,"Sound can have a major influence on occupants\u2019 comfort and productivity, yet it often is overlooked or falls victim to budget cuts during the design phase. AIA partner USG explores a new immersive design tool to improve understanding and specification."]]],[1,"p",[]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Airborne sound takes its form as vibrational waves in air, which are generated by virtually everything around us, from people chatting to stereos blasting and vehicle engines roaring; in a sense, we are swimming in sound, and it can have a massive influence on us in ways that we don\u2019t even realize."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Take, for instance, an office environment, a place where tonal noise or loud background sounds can have an impact on productivity. Sound can affect your behavior and your health, and we don\u0027t often realize these things are happening, so we often rationalize it by not necessarily the way it sounds, but by the way it makes us feel in the space. "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"When people are in a noisy room, they often refer to the \u201cbuzz\u201d or the \u201cenergy\u201d within the space, and, often, the goal in a classroom or in an office environment is to reduce those outside distractions and bring the overall noise level down. This is one of the main functions of acoustic building materials, products, and systems; by absorbing sound, they\u0027re reducing the overall noise level in the space, reducing sound propagation over long distances, and reducing reverberation. "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"In this way, acoustics lessen the \u201cbuzz\u201d and decrease the \u201cenergy\u201d of a space while making everything more comfortable. It often goes unnoticed, but there\u0027s a real feeling of comfort when you\u0027re in a well-controlled acoustic environment. This is because when acoustic design is done well, it is usually something that goes unnoticed. If you were to survey select individuals and ask them for their top considerations about the design of a particular room, acoustics won\u0027t even make the list if they are done properly. On the other hand, it is certain to be one of the highest considerations listed as a complaint when done poorly. "]]],[1,"h3",[[0,[],0,"Communicating acoustic data"]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"So much of acoustical performance, especially for ceilings, is defined in data, numbers, and ratings (CAC value, NRC value, etc.). These numerical values can provide a deeper understanding of the quality of acoustical performance, but it doesn\u0027t really mean much to the customer and it\u2019s difficult to make design decisions relying on these factors alone. As a result, acoustics is often overlooked, especially at the beginning of a project, leading to critical acoustic systems and products valued less early in the design process. In cases like this, acoustics are one of the first budget-cut casualties due to value engineering. "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"By the time a project moves into the design development phase, it\u0027s often too little, too late with set budgets and other factors that are more difficult to change. This will almost undoubtedly lead to retrofitting and unseen expenses to correct the acoustics oversight. All things considered, acoustics are very much an unseen element of design and something that affects us as humans in different ways and in different environments. "]]],[1,"h3",[[0,[],0,"The Virtual Acoustics Experience"]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"To communicate the importance of acoustics early in the design phase, a new Virtual Acoustics Experience tool allows designers the freedom to design and specify advanced types of acoustic materials and systems with a greater level of confidence. The VAE offers an immersive experience that gives architects and designers acoustical control by hearing how different ceiling types impact the sound within a space to both see and hear the difference. Architectural acoustics can be complicated, especially when it comes to articulating how your chosen ceilings affect the functionality and comfort of the space you\u2019re designing. The VAE brings the data and ratings of acoustic materials to life as users immerse themselves in a range of representative room types."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"The VAE can demonstrate to users the value acoustical ceilings can add to a project, allowing users to understand the importance of these products and systems and specify them within their designs at the outset of a project. This causes acoustics to become inextricably tied to the larger design and stand a much better chance at surviving budget cuts or value engineering later in the project. "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Knowing that acoustics can easily become a pain point for building occupants, the VAE provides an audio and visual representation of a space in real time. Simply select a pre-rendered space or scene, such as a university auditorium or hotel lobby, and swap out different ceiling applications to hear the difference; this includes ceiling options like tile \u0026 grid and acoustical drywall, or specialty solutions like metal or wood. Once the sound is turned on, the VAE allows users to monitor key indicators of acoustical performance to compare ceiling products. Using a proprietary, physics-based algorithm, the VAE delivers an accurate, three-dimensional sound experience within the rendered space that even allows users to move around the room to hear sources of sound from different vantage points. "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[0],0,"The VAE is now available on "],[0,[1],1,"USG.com"],[0,[],0," and free to access on-demand, no scheduled demos necessary\u2014experience the difference for yourself here: "],[0,[2],1,"www.usg.com\/vae"],[0,[],1,". "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[3],1,"AIA does not sponsor or endorse any enterprise, whether \npublic or private, operated for profit. Further, no AIA officer, \ndirector, committee member, or employee, or any of its component \norganizations in his or her official capacity, is permitted to approve, \nsponsor, endorse, or do anything that may be deemed or construed to be \nan approval, sponsorship, or endorsement of any material of construction\n or any method or manner of handling, using, distributing, or dealing in\n any material or product."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"\n"]]]]}