A quiet hum lies over the atrium at the Århus premises of Arkitema, a firm of architects. The atrium is open up to the fourth floor and all floors give free access to large offices. Above the atrium, the architects’ meeting rooms appear suspended like great glass cubes.

Acoustician Richard Ballinger allows himself a satisfied nod. He is pleased with what he hears. Or rather, what he doesn't hear.

"Creating good acoustics in a building such as this presents a challenge," he says.

"The architects wanted hard materials such as glass and smooth concrete, which tend to throw sound back rather than absorb it. The combination of the open offices and the high atrium would easily result in a very poor sound environment."

Acoustical rescue operations

Visit Arkitema and you come away with the impression of a pleasant background hum of activity. When the firm of architects decided to build new offices in the centre of Århus, it was decided at an early stage to involve an acoustician – and this can make all the difference, explains Richard Ballinger.

"Many of the assignments acousticians are involved in can be considered as a sort of 'acoustical rescue operation'. Something has been built and afterwards it is realised that the acoustics are pretty appalling. But by that stage, the project may be impossible to rescue. If, instead, we were involved in the process from the outset, we could advise on the best materials – then the architect would not need to compromise in terms of appearance and in addition would achieve a good acoustical result. It would not necessarily even cost any more in cash terms – only in forethought."

Sound expert

Good acoustics are something which we could certainly do with more of, says Richard Ballinger. As one of COWI's group of acousticians, he is one of only very few people in Denmark to specialise in room and building acoustics.

"Fortunately, awareness of acoustics is growing. Acousticians have also acquired some good tools in recent years, including computer modelling, which can be used to 'listen' to the acoustics of a room or building already at the drawing board stage. It makes the work of ensuring a good acoustic environment both quicker and cheaper."

Simulation on CD

In the case of Arkitema, Richard Ballinger could present the architects with demos of how the sound would be if they opted for hard materials without taking acoustics into consideration.

He also prepared simulations to show the noise level benefits that would result from making some minor additions and alterations to the materials.

Costs some forethought

Working closely with Arkitema, the end result was an extra, decorative wall made from rough wood down one side of the high atrium that serves to conceal the additional acoustic insulation material installed. The construction behind the ceiling panels in the drawing offices was also altered to optimise sound absorption.

Richard Ballinger comments: "Arkitema has come up with some highly attractive architecture combined with a high level of functionality."
 
Published: 19.12.2003