The Australian Institute of Refrigeration, Air Conditioning and Heating (AIRAH) this month hosted an acoustics workshop which was attended by more than 60 delegates from across Australia.
The inaugural workshop featured 14 presentations including an introductory session which defined and demonstrated acoustics nomenclature such as “sound power” and “sound pressure."
Conference committee chair Matthew Stead said one of the themes that ran across several presentations was the somewhat counter-intuitive issue that acoustics is not simply about spaces that are too noisy; it can also be about spaces that are too quiet.
It’s a subject that ties in directly with the workshop’s stated theme of “Acoustics and sustainability: Conflict or harmony?”
The Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) delivered a presentation along with Dr Chris Field of engineering firm, Arup.
Field provided a provocative presentation that posed the question of whether acoustic design criteria for naturally ventilated buildings are unnecessarily stringent.
Several other speakers addressed the subject of “sound masking”, the process whereby “pink noise” sound is introduced into overly quiet office spaces to improve the indoor environment for occupants.
The feedback from delegates about the AIRAH Acoustics Workshop 2014 was overwhelmingly positive, although some called for more focus on specific mechanical design issues and pointers.