ACOUSTICAL GUIDELINES:

Classroom

REVERBERATION TIME

Though classrooms, ideally, should have reverberation time (RT) in the range of 0.4-0.6 seconds, but many existing classrooms have one second or more.

There are two (2) ways to reduce the RT of a room:

a) the volume must be decreased -Though decreasing the volume is not al!ays an o"tion, it is a viable alternative for many older classrooms !ith high ceilings. -#n such s"aces, adding a sus"ended ceiling of sound-absorbing tile can significantly im"rove the acoustics by simultaneously decreasing the volume and increasing absor"tion. -$o!ever, adding a sus"ended ceiling often re%uires ne! light fixtures and can interfere !ith tall !indo!s. The case study "resented later sho!s an alternative solution for classrooms !ith high ceilings.

b) the sound absor"tion must be increased - #ncreasing the absor"tion in a room is accom"lished by adding more soft materials, such as fabric-faced glass fiber wall panels, carpet, or acoustical ceiling tiles. - &bsor"tive materials !or' best !hen s"read throughout the room and not concentrated on (ust one !all or the floor or ceiling. -#n many classrooms, a sus"ended ceiling of acoustical ceiling tiles alone !ill decrease reverberation time to the desired range ho!ever, this !ill not address the "roblem of echoes from the !alls. )or are all acoustical ceiling tiles created e%ual. - #n order to absorb both lo!- and high-fre%uency sounds, it is necessary to sus"end the ceiling belo! the structural ceiling. *im"ly adding carpeting to a classroom floor will not significantly reduce reverberation time, es"ecially at lo! fre%uencies, but carpeting will reduce noise resulting from students sliding their chairs or desks on the floor.

UNDESIRABLE REFLECTIONS

+choes interfere !ith s"eech intelligibility. +choes can be controlled using absor"tion and,or diffusion. -hen locating absor"tive materials to reduce reverberation time, consider ho! they might hel" reduce echoes as !ell. -.lacing an absor"tive material on the rear !all of a classroom "revents the teacher/s voice from reflecting bac' to the front of the room. -hile absor"tion is one !ay of minimi0ing reflected energy into the classroom, another a""roach utili0es diffusion. -.lacing a diffusing element on the rear !all of the classroom scatters the sound into many directions, so that the level in any one "articular direction is greatly reduced.

Flutter echo is a "articularly significant "roblem !hen it occurs bet!een the !alls at the front of the room !here the teacher is s"ea'ing. -& sim"le !ay to test !hether flutter echo is a "roblem is to stand near the center of the classroom, bet!een "arallel surfaces, and cla" hands once shar"ly. #f flutter echo exists, a 0inging or ringing sound !ill be heard after the cla" as the sound ra"idly bounces bac' and forth bet!een t!o !alls. Try turning in different directions and cla""ing again to determine !hich !alls are causing the flutter echo. -To eliminate flutter echo bet!een t!o hard, "arallel !alls, cover one or both of them !ith fabric-faced glass fiber "anels or a similar sound-absorbing material. This !or's !ell if the "anels are staggered along the o""osite !alls so that a "anel on one !all faces an untreated surface on the o""osite !all. *"laying t!o !alls at least eight degrees out of "arallel !ill also eliminate flutter echo bet!een them.

USE U! RE !E"TIONS

*o far !e have discussed methods for reducing reflections in classrooms, but in some cases !e !ant to reinforce certain reflections. This is es"ecially true in large classrooms that have short reverberation times. The sound energy of the teacher's voice can be absorbed by the soft ceiling before it reaches students at the back of the room. The teacher/s voice can be spread throughout the room by shaping a sound-reflecting gypsum board ceiling over the front of the room, or by making the center of the ceiling a hard, reflecting surface. These surfaces !ill reflect sound to!ard the rear of the room. #n order to maintain a lo! reverberation time !ith reflectors in the room, it !ill li'ely be necessary to add absorptive materials on the side and rear walls. The need for reflectors de"ends on the teaching methods used. 1or exam"le, reflectors are useful in rooms used mostly for lecturing, but are not needed in rooms used only for small-grou" !or' or as laboratories.

INTERIOR NOISE SOUR"ES

)oise from ad(acent rooms disru"ts the learning "rocess, es"ecially during %uiet reading times or test-ta'ing. . #n general, as the mass of a wall is increased, its noise reduction also increases. $o!ever, a thic', solid !all is usually too ex"ensive and heavy and !astes valuable floor s"ace. Therefore, an effective com"romise is to construct a !all of a layer of heavy material, an airs"ace, and another layer of heavy material. - & ty"ical exam"le !ould be a stud !all having t!o layers of 2,3 inch thic' gy"sum board on each side. -hen constructing such a !all, be sure to overla" the layers of gy"sum board so the (oints on both layers do not line u" and create a ga" that sound can "ass through. &dding glass fiber or mineral fiber insulation to the cavity in the middle of the !all can also reduce noise transmission.

#n terms of noise reduction, a !all is li'e a chain4 it is only as strong as its !ea'est lin'.

(a) 5 layer gy"sum !all board each side (b) 6 layers 7-8, glass fiber insulation, 6 layers 7-8 (c) 6 layers 7-8, 6 sets of studs glass fiber insulation, 6 layers 7-8

-indo!s, doors, small ga"s, crac's, grilles, louvers, etc. can com"letely negate a !all/s effectiveness. -7a"s bet!een !alls and the floor and ceiling should be sealed !ith an acoustical sealant. -Thin or hollo!-core doors !ith large ga"s under them commonly cause sound lea's in other!ise good !alls. Solid doors with tightfitting, sealed frames are best. -Their location also matters. 1or exam"le, it is best not to "air u" doors to ad(acent rooms, as this "rovides a short "ath through !hich sound may travel from one room, through the doors, and into the next room. &lso, classroom doors should not be "laced directly across a hall from one another. *taggering doors across a hall!ay creates a longer, less direct "ath for noise to travel from one room to another.

To be effective, partition walls should extend from the structural floor to the structural ceiling. 9ther!ise, sound from one room can easily "ass through a lay-in acoustical tile ceiling, over the "artition !all, and do!n through the lay-in ceiling of the next room. This is commonly overloo'ed !hen !alls are added during renovations, such as !hen o"en-"lan classrooms are "artitioned. .reventive design can often eliminate the need for thic', ex"ensive !alls. :uring the design "rocess, consider !hich rooms !ill be noisy (mechanical rooms, gymnasiums, cafeterias, music rooms, industrial design sho"s, etc.) and use buffer areas (hall!ays, storage rooms, and restrooms) to se"arate these s"aces from critical listening areas (classrooms, libraries, s"ecial education areas, and offices).

E#TERIOR NOISE SOUR"ES

The noise reduction of exterior !alls is also im"ortant since many noisy and "otentially disru"tive activities go on outside the school. ;ost schools are built !ith bric' or concrete bloc' exterior !alls, !hich are good sound barriers, but !ith inade%uate !indo!s that "ermit considerable sound transmission. To "rovide noise reduction, windows must be well sealed. :ouble-"aned glass "rovides better noise reduction than single-"aned glass (as !ell as better thermal insulation and decreased energy costs). 9ther common sound lea'age cul"rits are !all-mounted unit ventilators that duct directly outside. These units not only transmit exterior noise but generate ample noise themselves they should be avoided whenever possible.

:uring site "lanning, consider external noise sources that could disru"t learning and attem"t to locate classrooms a!ay from such areas. <ommon noise sources include4 aircraft flyovers, busy roads, idling school buses, "laygrounds, "laying fields, exterior mechanical e%ui"ment, dum"sters being em"tied by garbage truc's, la!n mo!ers, and noisy machinery in nearby buildings

SOUN$ REIN OR"EMENT

*ound reinforcement systems, often referred to as soundfield or soundfield 1; systems, are sometimes suggested as relatively inex"ensive solutions for classrooms !ith "oor signal-to-noise ratios. & ty"ical system consists of a !ireless micro"hone !orn by the teacher and one or more louds"ea'ers located at the front of the room, in the ceiling, or along the !alls to distribute the sound to the students. -&m"lifying the teacher/s voice raises the signal-to-noise ratio, !hich im"roves s"eech intelligibility and reduces vocal strain. -This can be useful in a room !ith a moderate amount of mechanical noise that !ould other!ise be difficult or ex"ensive to silence. -$o!ever, such systems also have their limitations. &n overly-reverberant classroom, for exam"le, !ill cause the sound from the louds"ea'ers to build u" and remain unintelligible. -hether or not a sound reinforcement system is used in the classroom, it is vital to em"loy acoustical treatments that reduce reverberation time.

&nother dra!bac' to sound reinforcement systems is that they am"lify only the teacher. *tudents are not am"lified !hen they as' the teacher %uestions or tal' among themselves !hile !or'ing in grou"s. *ome systems "rovide an extra handheld micro"hone that students can "ass around. $o!ever, this is a cumbersome solution that interferes !ith s"ontaneous discussions. &lso, if the micro"hone is not 'e"t close to the "erson s"ea'ing, it !ill "ic' u" as much ambient noise as s"eech, and the *,) !ill not be im"roved. *till another "roblem is that the am"lified sound !ill become noise for ad(acent classrooms. :es"ite these shortcomings, sound reinforcement systems can be cost-effective im"rovements for classrooms !ith high noise levels, and are usually better than no modifications at all.

E#AM%!ES O &OO$ AN$ BA$ "!ASSROOM A"OUSTI"S

1rom an acoustical stand"oint, o"en-"lan classrooms are "erha"s the !orst. -hile they can be advantageous for certain teaching methods or student interaction, they have serious acoustical dra!bac's. -*tudents are easily distracted by acoustical and visual signals that s"ill over from ad(acent classes. &nd if students !ith hearing im"airment or attention deficit disorders have difficulty concentrating on the teacher/s voice in a classroom !ith loud mechanical noise, consider their "light in a classroom !here the bac'ground noise is not random but rather an intelligible signal. -To combat these "roblems, many o"en-"lan classrooms have been divided !ith "artial-height "artitions or o"erable "artitions that slide out li'e curtains. -hile these barriers do hel" students focus by eliminating visual distractions, they "rovide little noise reduction bet!een classrooms.

&nother undesirable design is the classroom !ith a tall "laster or gy"sum board (hard) ceiling, hard !alls and hard tile floor. #n such a classroom, echoes and reverberation tend to destroy speech intelligibility, especially for young children. =nli'e mechanical noise, reverberation cannot be overcome by raising the level of the teacher/s voice. -&n acoustical treatment must be added to increase absor"tion and reduce harmful echoes.

*im"ly including a sound-absorbing lay-in ceiling and thin car"et on the floor !ill usually result in good classroom acoustics and lo! reverberation time. This solution is inex"ensive for ne! construction and is also an affordable !ay to renovate existing classrooms. -1or small to moderate-si0ed classrooms, the lay-in ceiling !ill "rovide an acce"table reverberation time, "rovided that acoustical ceiling tiles !ith an )R< greater than 0.>2 are used. The car"et adds some high-fre%uency absor"tion, but "rimarily serves to reduce self-noise from the students. =nfortunately, this a""roach does nothing to control echoes from the !alls. $o!ever, thoughtful arrangement of furniture such as cabinets and boo'cases can hel" brea' u" large, flat !alls and reduce echoes.

The best design for a lecture-style classroom !ould be to move some of the absorption from the ceiling to the walls and keep the middle of the ceiling hard to reflect the teacher's voice toward the back of the room. -This seemingly com"lex, "artially absor"tive and "artially reflective ceiling can be easily built !ith a standard ceiling grid. *im"ly "lace acoustical ceiling tiles around the "erimeter of the ceiling and gy"sum board "anels in the center of the grid. -To reflect more sound to the bac' of the room, the ceiling can be shaped over the teacher's location at the front of the room. This reflecting surface should be built from a hard material li'e "ly!ood or gy"sum board, and can be "ainted to match the room. -.lacing absor"tive materials on the !alls simultaneously reduces reverberation time and 'ills echoes. 1abric-covered, 6 inch thic' glass fiber "anels are a good choice because they are attractive, fairly rugged, and "rovide some absor"tion at lo! fre%uencies. &dd thin car"eting to the floors, and the result can be an acoustically !onderful classroom, !ith a lo! reverberation time, no echoes, "ro"er distribution of reflections, and lo! self-noise, all achieved !ith common building materials.

<lassroom (a) is a ty"ical undesirable room !ith no sound absorbing material and no useful reflection "atterns. <lassroom (b) is better !ith an acoustical lay-in, sound absorbing ceiling and thin car"eting. <lassroom (c) is a desirable room !ith a sound absorbing !all treatment on three !alls, thin car"et, a slo"ed ceiling reflector at the front, and a ceiling !ith reflecting surfaces in the center and sound absorbing surfaces around the "erimeter.

*ubmitted by4 de 7u0man, ?asmine @ucianne <.

8*&R-A8 EEAL-323

*ubmitted to4 &r. Robert 9. &guilar

Instructor