ITS will participate in noise limitation works in a room welcoming children for extracurricular activities, in the area of Lyon (Auvergne Rhône Alpes region).
Excessive values (compared to the objective values which depend on the volume) of the reverberation time [1] of this room were highlighted by acoustic measurements involving a noise generator and a sound level meter (as well as a qualified human resource), illustrating the insufficient quality of the considered space in terms of acoustics, thus corroborating the feeling of discomfort of the users which motivated the recourse to ITS.
In such a context, the sound environment (in the absence of corrective action) can only be deplorable (due to the persistence of sound, which causes poor speech intelligibility and a tendency for everyone to force their voice to be heard, even when there is not a clearly perceptible echo. What results is a hubbub, and this poses a problem, then, for many kinds of activities such as those connected with teaching (learning, tutoring, exercises, music), practical activities, occupations of all kinds - including games - and also catering (e.g. during snacks for young children). Not only the children then suffer, but also the supervisory staff (teachers, monitors) and service staff.
Many solutions exist for limiting noise in a room welcoming children for extracurricular activities: finding the most suitable solution case by case and committing to a result is what can be expected from ITS, whose human resources has extensive experience in this field.
In the context of the project reported in this post, it will be a question of limiting the reverberation of sounds (on the hard walls that are the current physical limits of the room, having a certain versatility as to the use made of it) , by installing materials which absorb them almost completely, i.e. which have a sound absorption coefficient close to 100% at medium-high frequencies, therefore in the frequency interval including the 1/1 octave band central frequencies between 500 Hz and 2000 Hz (corresponding to the maximum of ordinary human sound emissions).
Following the study of noise reduction solutions in this room welcoming children for extracurricular activities, it was decided to install such absorbent materials on the walls (in the form of panels) and in underside of the ceiling (in the form of suspended horizontal elements), perfectly matched since they are based on the use of the same basic product in mineral wool with a colored surfacing, which constitutes a definite asset in terms of decoration.
The fact that a significant proportion of the walls (glass surfaces, doors, places reserved for displays - including children's drawings, furniture - are not available for the installation of such materials will be - as is often the case in such cases - a constraint which will have to be considered, as well as the presence in the ceiling of various equipment (lighting, sound and video-projection elements), and the need not to encroach on the zone foreseen for the movement of a mobile wall.
The distribution of sound-absorbing materials on the walls and on the ceiling shall therefore be the subject of precise site surveys, and of a meticulous layout (number and geometry of the sub-assemblies, positioning) for an optimization of the quantities and locations basing the improvement of the acoustic quality of this activity room.
ITS intervenes to limit noise in premises welcoming children not only for extracurricular activities, but also in other contexts :
- establishments for children under the age of 6 (nurseries, day care centers, kindergartens)
- educational establishments i.e. nursery schools, elementary schools, and also (when the children have grown up) colleges, high schools, regional adapted education establishments, universities and higher education establishments, general, technical or professional
- sports halls
Each time, ITS can offer a diagnosis (based on an on-site acoustic metrology), a study (calculations, sizing of soundproofing equipment), the marketing of works (everywhere in France, and sometimes even: beyond)
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[1] variable according to frequency, this is the duration required for the sound pressure level to decrease by 60 decibels after a noise source has stopped