BUILDING UTILITIES 3

ARCHITECTURAL ACOUSTICS and LIGHTING

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 ACOUSTICS
- the science of sound and vibration which refers to the stress fluctuations as well as waves in
a material medium
- the art and science of designing a room or building which insures both comfort and
communication, and provides special features as the purpose and use of the structure
requires
- the science of sound phenomena in buildings dealing with the production, transmission, and
absorption of sound in order to secure the distinct conditions in every part of the building or
room
 All acoustic situations have three common elements:
 SOURCE
can be made louder or more quiet
 TRANSMISSION PATH
the path can be made to transmit more or less sound
 RECEIVER
the listener ; assumed to have a pair of healthy young ears with a detection range of 20
to 20,000 Hz.
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TYPES OF ACOUSTICS
 PHSYCO ACOUSTICS
deals with the reaction of human beings to audible sound

 ENVIRONMENTAL ACOUSTICS
deals with the effects of the environment upon audible sound waves
 ARCHITECTURAL ACOUSTICS / ROOM ACOUSTICS
may be defined as the technology of designing spaces, structures, and mechanical
systems to meet hearing needs.
 LANDSCAPE ACOUSTICS

 ELECTRO ACOUSTICS
deals with the generation and detection of audible sound waves
 SONICS
deals with the technical application of mechanical waves in basic scientific research,
industry, and medicine.
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 SOUND
- Is a physical wave, or a mechanical vibration, or simply a series of pressure variations in an
elastic medium.
- For airborne sound – the medium is air
- For Structure-borne sound – the media are concrete, steel, wood, glass and a
combination of all of these
- Any vibratory motion of bodies, the transmission of these vibrations in a medium, and the
sensation produced on the human auditory mechanism
- An alteration in pressure (particle displacement in velocity) projected and propagated in an
elastic material
- Also Audible signals

SOURCES OF SOUND
 SPEECH – produced by human voice
 MUSIC – produced by an instrument
 NOISE – produced by impact, by vibrating bodies, even by speech or music
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 SOUND
TYPES OF SOUND
 WANTED – sound heard as perfectly as possible at the right level or loudness without pain
or strain
 UNWANTED – sound which entails an annoyance factor
PROPERTIES OF SOUND
 Sound must always have a source, a path, and a receiver.
 SPEED
- sound travels at 1130 ft. per second. Or 344 meters per second at normal room
temperature (68°F)
- sound travels faster in denser media
 INTENSITY
- rate at which sound energy is being transmitted
- intensity diminishes inversely as the square of the distance
 Decibel – the unit which sound intensity is defined for architectural purposes
 Decibel-meter – instrument by which sound intensity is measured
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 SOUND
PROPERTIES OF SOUND
 SOUND PRESSURE
- the fluctuation in the atmospheric pressure caused by the vibration of air particles due to
sound wave
 WAVELENGTH
- the distance a sound wave travels during each complete cycle of vibration measured in
meters or feet
 LOUDNESS
- subjective attribute of an auditory sensation in terms of which sound may be ordered on a
scale of soft to loud
 THRESHOLD OF AUDIBILITY
- minimum intensity that is capable of evoking an auditory sensation in the ear
 THRESHOLD OF PAIN
- minimum sound pressure level which stimulates the ear to a point which is painful
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 SOUND
PROPERTIES OF SOUND
 FREQUENCY
- the number of displacements or oscillations that a particle undergoes in one (1) second
 HERTZ – unit measure of frequency; numerically equal to cycles per second
 PITCH - the attribute of an auditory system which enables us to pinpoint sounds on a
scale extending from hight o low frequency
- subjective response of human hearing to sound frequency
 TONE - sound sensation having pitch
 DIRECTIONALITY OF SOUND SOURCES
- the way in which it sound is distributed in a region free from reflecting surfaces
- sound sources radiate sound waves in all directions;
- radiation pattern varies with the frequency
- high frequency sounds are more pronounced along the longitudinal axis of the sound
source.
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 SOUND
NATURAL ELEMENTS THAT AFFECT SOUND
 TEMPERATURE - particles of sound tend to follow cold air
 CLOUDS - if heavy, clouds can act as a reflecting surface
 WIND - may change the direction of sound
 BODIES OF WATER - can also act as a reflecting surface

CHARACTERISTICS OF SOUND
 SOUND REFLECTION
– sound reflected off a surface, usually one which is hard, rigid and / or flat
 FLAT SURFACE – uniform reflection
 CONVEX SURFACE – sound dispersion
 CONCAVE SURFACE – sound concentration

As a sound wave strikes an interface between two media with normal incidence (i.e orthogonal or
perpendicular to the direction of the wave) sound can only either be reflected or transmitted
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CONCAVE SURFACE – sound concentration

CONVEX SURFACE – sound dispersion

FLAT SURFACE – uniform reflection

SOUND REFLECTION
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USEFUL CEILING
REFLECTIONS

SOUND REFLECTION
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USEFUL CEILING REFLECTIONS

SOUND REFLECTION
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SOUND REFLECTION
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 SOUND
CHARACTERISTICS OF SOUND
 SOUND ABSORPTION
- sound waves absorbed into a material upon contact
- change of sound energy into some other form
 SOUND DIFFUSION- occurs when sound waves are dispersed equally in a room
 SOUND DIFFRACTION - acoustical phenomenon which causes sound waves to be bent or
scattered around such obstacles as corners, columns, walls, beams, etc.

SOUND DIFFRACTION
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SOUND DIFFRACTION
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SOUND DIFFRACTION
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SOUND DIFFRACTION
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 SOUND
CHARACTERISTICS OF SOUND
 SOUND REFRACTION
- change of sound wave direction as it moves from one medium to another of different
density
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 SOUND
CHARACTERISTICS OF SOUND
 SOUND TRANSMISSION
- sound which penetrates through surface

 FLANKING TRANSMISSION - sound

travelling along parts of the building
other than the common wall or floor.

 DIRECT TRANSMISSION - sound

coming through the common wall or
floor
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BEHAVIOR OF SOUND IN AN
ENCLOSED SPACE

1. INCIDENT or DIRECT SOUND

2. REFLECTED SOUND
3. SOUND ABSORBED BY
SURFACE TREATMENT
4. DIFFUSED SOUND
5. DIFFRACTED SOUND
6. TRANSMITTED SOUND
7. SOUND DISSIPATED WITHIN
THE STRUCTURE
8. SOUND CONDUCTED BY
THE STRUCTURE