Sound Advice for Acoustic Design

In Sound Advice for Acoustic Design, you'll learn ...

• Basic acoustic principles, including how its energy moves through matter, how its path and intensity can be altered, and how success in the manipulation of sound is measured
• Design strategies for controlling sound moving from exterior to interior, from interior spaces to adjacent spaces, within interior spaces, and through structural components and building systems
• Acoustic design considerations for numerous common building functions

Overview

Preview a portion of this course before purchasing it.

Credit: 4 PDH

Length: 63 pages

Unwanted sound impacts and affects inhabitants of our created spaces. If it is not already, controlling noise will quickly become a mandated concern for designers. Attesting to increasing regulatory focus on noise is a recent proliferation of standards, guidelines, and codes regarding acoustics.

Very soon, many of these guidelines will no longer be mere suggestions. Most concerns covered in these standards can be addressed with a basic understanding of how sound travels and is reflected, blocked, absorbed, or transmitted by materials and assemblies chosen in designing envelopes.

Acoustic design is best addressed in an incremental fashion. This course was written to do just that. Fundamentals are first covered, including basic principles regarding sound, how its energy moves through matter, how its path and intensity can be altered, and how success in the manipulation of sound is measured. Known design strategies are discussed for controlling sound moving; from exterior to interior spaces, from interior spaces to adjacent spaces, within interior spaces, through structural components, and through building systems. Design considerations are outlined for numerous common building functions. Finally, acoustic codes and guidelines in existence now are listed for consideration.

Specific Knowledge or Skill Obtained

This course teaches the following specific knowledge and skills:

• Terminology and principles governing how sound is generated, moves through matter, and is modified by material selection
• Sources of noise that negatively impact users of built environments, generated both outside and from within buildings, including both air borne and structure borne sounds
• Design practices for controlling sound transfer between exterior and interior spaces
• Design practices for controlling noise transfer from interior space to adjacent spaces
• Design practices for controlling the reverberation of sound generated within spaces
• Effects of sound on building users, based on the environment and the ability of receivers to perceive it
• Ways to measure sound and quantify, both goals in acoustic design, and success in meeting those goals
• Design objectives and recommended best practices for building types where poor acoustics directly impact productivity and health of the users
• Common gaps in construction of spatial enclosures and how to eliminate weaknesses that negate acoustic design intentions
• An overview of regulations and guidelines that either are, or may become law underscoring a need for competency in acoustic design

Certificate of Completion

You will be able to immediately print a certificate of completion after passing a multiple-choice quiz consisting of 20 questions. PDH credits are not awarded until the course is completed and quiz is passed.