Acoustic Design & Testing for Education
New school, university and college buildings, extensions and refurbishments
BB93 ‘Acoustics and Schools’ introduced acoustic requirements for schools under The Building Regulations in 2003.
The current version of BB93 was released in 2015 and we can provide survey work, design assistance and testing in compliance with this document.
Requirements of BB93
The latest version of BB93 was released in 2015 and is the document usually adopted quantitative performance standards in schools. The document includes requirements for:
• Indoor ambient noise levels in unoccupied spaces, to include ventilation strategy
• Sound insulation between spaces
• Reverberation time
• Rain Noise and speech intelligibility in open plan teaching areas. The assessment of rain noise is based on laboratory data of the construction and speech intelligibility tests are normally only required where open plan areas are used for conventional teaching rather than individual study.
Our Services for School Projects
We can provide assistance from the first stage of a school project through to final testing before handover to demonstrate compliance.
As part of previous work, we have undertaken feasibility studies where there are several sites being considered for a new school so that the design team have an early indication of the acoustic challenges on any given site.
We can provide design assistance, survey work, meeting attendance and analysis of construction proposals so that the final construction proposals are compliant with the requirements of BB93 while maximising financial viability.
Once construction work is finished, test work is required to demonstrate compliance with BB93 and we can undertake all the tests needed.
Benefits of BB93 Compliance
Aside from the need to comply with BB93, the benefit of good school acoustics is apparent in the whole school environment.
Students are able to hear their teachers clearly, disturbance from outdoor sound is minimised and sound transmission between rooms is adequately controlled. Classes can focus on learning with negative acoustic factors controlled and adequately mitigated.
Most people have had the experience of being in a large room where there is so much reverberation that it is difficult to concentrate and if someone is speaking it can be almost impossible to hear what they are saying. Adding the right amount of room absorption can massively improve this experience without making the space sound dead or uninteresting.
Universities, Lecture Theatres and Other Facilities
Some types of education buildings are not directly covered by BB93, such as universities. The acoustics of these buildings is still of complete importance and we can work with you to ensure that the spaces perform as they should. Imagine a lecture theatre that suffered so much reverberation that most students couldn’t hear what the lecturer was saying!
Acoustic treatments can have aesthetic appeal too. There are many different types of acoustic absorber, which can be combined to make a space look, feel and sound as desired.
We can work with you to ensure that the design meets any contractural requirements and help formulate an acoustic performance specification so that the subjective goals of all parties can be quantified and measured.
Please contact us to discuss any aspect of acoustics in education buildings, either by email, contact form or call us for a chat.
