North Carolina State University Engineering Lab

The Issue

Schools and Universities serve a multitude of functions to facilitate learning. Research and development may often fuel core curriculum but, more importantly, define the overall focus of the department. Whether teaching a class or sharing ideas around the lab, acoustics play an important role in effectively sharing ideas and discoveries. Acoustical Solutions was contacted to help provide the North Carolina State University engineering department with a quick, cost effective sound solution.

The Challenge

North Carolina State University’s computer lab and office space in the engineering department had very low speech intelligibility. The flat reflective wall surfaces were bouncing sound around the room, making it difficult to hold conferences and classes. Additionally, there were some distracting low frequency sounds being generated equipment in the lab.

The Solution

Since this was a laboratory environment, the client needed a material to absorb the sound as well as cleanable. Both the AlphaEnvriro^® PVC Baffles and the PolySorpt^® Acoustic Panels fit the bill. The AlphaEnvriro^® PVC Baffles were suspended from the ceiling throughout the space to provided general absorption as well as address some of the low frequency issues. Suspending the acoustical material in this manner will help with low frequency absorption due to the fact that the material has give and can ‘swing.’ PolySorpt^® Acoustic Panels we installed to cover up the reflective wall space to improve speech intelligibility by lowering the RT60 (reverberation time). The acoustic panels lowered the amount of reflected sound, improving the quality of the sound in the room.

Materials:

• (31) PolySorpt^® Acoustic Panels 2′ x 4′ x 1″ in Charcoal
• (27) AlphaEnvriro^® PVC Baffles 2′ x 4′ x 1.5″ thick in Beige

A combination of baffles and wall panels were used to create a collaborative and effective work space at the North Carolina State University Engineering Department Computer Lab.

The Result

The low frequency sound was reduced, and the overall speech intelligibility of the room was increased allowing group discussions to be productive and fruitful.

From the client: “I have the panels up and they look and sound great!”