16 June 2009
Re: Not So Grand Acoustic Designs
Dear Sir,
While it is excellent that Kevin McCloud is backing the National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS) ‘Sounds Good’ campaign, the irony is that it’s often the Grand Designs that cause school acoustics to fail.
When bidding for Building Schools for the Future (BSF) or Academy projects, design teams will pull out all the stops to win with inspiring and innovative learning environments. However, when it comes to start on-site, these visions are frequently scaled down to deliver the project within budget – often at the expense of acoustics.
In the very least acoustic specifications are value engineered at the last minute, or worst case, removed completely. The outcome being what the NDCS has uncovered – only 21% of local authorities surveyed in England could confirm they have new schools that are BB93 compliant.
That’s why I agree with the NDCS; mandatory site testing should be introduced to identify those schools which fail to perform acoustically before it is too late. However, design teams and contractors should be encouraged to think about acoustics much earlier, by properly costing the materials out at design stage. As well as making bids more accurate, it will also facilitate value engineering at a much earlier point and help to better protect the integrity of the acoustic design.
Moreover, as Kevin McCloud rightly points out, “Organising the acoustics of teaching spaces to help the hard of hearing is a precise science and more can be done to make the learning life easier for those affected. The technologies exist: hearing loops can be put in; materials science for ceiling boards, insulation and cladding is advanced; a lot of solutions can be retrofitted even.”
Ultimately, working with acoustic consultants and product manufacturers from design stage will help ensure that the right solutions, and in particular the critical acoustic products in the overall Grand Design, actually make it into the final build.
Yours sincerely,
David Holder
CMS Acoustic Solutions
Unit 4 Eagle Park
Eagle Park Drive
Warrington
WA2 8JA
