Speller Metcalfe Knowledge Series of CPD talks: Ze to talk in Bristol
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Speller Metcalfe Knowledge Series of CPD talks: Ze to talk in Bristol

Acoustic Design, CPDs
The Speller Metcalfe Knowledge Series of free CPD talks continues with the Autumn series. We cordially invite our architect friends to register, using the links below in this article. Ze is honoured to be asked to speak at the Bristol event and we very much enjoy working with Speller Metcalfe and supporting their education programme.

Speller Metcalfe Knowledge Series of CPD talks: Ze to talk in Bristol


BIRMINGHAM 4TH OCTOBER 2017 – THE COUNCIL HOUSE
08:00 breakfast | 08:45-10:15 presentations | 10:15 tea and coffee
Workshops: 3 x 30 minute topic sessions followed by Q&A opportunities covering:
Construction market prospects & opportunities, Allan Wilen, Economics Director, Glenigan
 
Crisis and reputation management across the development lifecycle, Matthew Sutton, Associate Director, Camargue
Overview of the residential market in the West Midlands, Eleanor Deeley, Partner,Cushman & Wakefield
BRISTOL 10TH OCTOBER 2017 – THE WATERSHED
07:00 breakfast | 07:45-09:00 presentations | 09:00 tea and coffee Workshops: 3 x 20 minute topic sessions followed by Q&A opportunities. Topics covered:
The visualisation of sound and air in low carbon buildings Ze Nunes, Managing Director, MACH Acoustics
Crisis and reputation management across the development lifecycle Toby Barker, Associate Director,
Camargue Overview of the residential market in the South West James Blundell, Partner, Cushman & Wakefield

Speller Metcalfe Knowledge Series of CPD talks: Ze to talk in Bristol


 

“Acoustics in Building Design” talk for WIP, Bath
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“Acoustics in Building Design” talk for WIP, Bath

Acoustic Design, Acoustic Flanking, Talks/ Conferences
Women in Property welcomes you to this MACH Acoustics Presentation on ‘Acoustics in Building Design’ which will cover the crucial aspects of acoustic design in buildings. Buildings are not only different in form and function, but also throughout the life span of a building. From initial design through to conception and ultimately demolition, buildings develop from initial detailed design, to site and finally into a fully functional working building.
 
"Acoustics in Building Design" talk for WIP, Bath
 
This presentation will delve into the lifespan of a building, by exploring acoustics in contractor’s proposals, employer’s requirements and legal provisions in addition to how web based tools and BIM is changing the way we, as professionals, are able to input into the acoustic design of a building.

For further company information, please visit: http://www.machacoustics.com/
Places for this talk are £8 members and £18 non members (men welcome) to include evening drinks. The talk will be at Integral offices, Bath. Please email catherine@machacoustics.com for further details.

 

CIBSE South West talk March 14th: Acoustics and building design
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CIBSE South West talk March 14th: Acoustics and building design

Acoustic Design, Talks/ Conferences
CIBSE South West Talk – Tuesday 14th March @ 6.00pm
A lack of understanding of acoustic design solution can result in poor designs, which are costly and worst still can limit a building scope in term of energy efficiency and appearance.  Ze Nunes, founder of MACH Acoustics and lecturer at the University of Bath and Bristol, will talk on the following key topics
•       A holistic approach to natural ventilation on noisy sites.
•       Design of windows to enhance their sound reduction.
•       Modelling techniques assessing the pressure drop and acoustic performance of openings within low carbon buildings.
•       Acoustics and heat recovery.
For a taster of what is to come please click on the links below.
The data is Tuesday 14th March @ 6.00pm – arrival Drinks and Refreshments
Location – Plymouth University, Lecture Theatre 006, Babbage Building, PL4 8AA

 

Please contact: Eleni Kalyva – Email: Eleni.Kalyva@hulley.co.uk, prior to coming
 
CIBSE South West talk March 14th: Acoustics and building design

 

Acoustics and the built environment: Have our Ears Changed?
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Acoustics and the built environment: Have our Ears Changed?

Acoustic Design, Construction
On an evolutionary scale, it is only recently that we have developed technologies and architecture that allows us to change our immediate environment so significantly that it can have little in common with our original living conditions. This has had an effect on every factor that determines our level of ‘comfort’; however for now I will focus on acoustics, and more specifically, noise.

We can all agree that the natural environment is much quieter than modern man-made environments, and exposure to this increases our daily sound ‘intake’ to a level much higher than what our ears (and brains) have been designed to.

The US National Parks Service have produced a pair of noise maps that predict sounds levels across the US separately for natural noise and man-made noise (https://www.nps.gov/subjects/sound/soundmap.htm). We can see that the scale of noise level across the map from natural to man-made is increased by up to 27dB, with the noisiest areas predictably in city centres.
Acoustics and the built environment: Have our Ears Changed?
Predicted ambient noise levels without man-made noise 

Acoustics and the built environment: Have our Ears Changed?
Predicted ambient noise levels with man-made noise

What is most interesting about these noise maps is when we compare these noise levels to standard guidelines for internal living conditions. Predicted noise levels for the natural environment fall below 30-35dB(A) across the US, and when we compare this with good internal noise levels for resting and sleeping, we can see that there is a strong correlation. Does this perhaps mean that as a species our ears have not yet adapted to our new noisier environment? If so, what impact does this have on our health?

BS8233 and WHO guidelines for good internal noise level

Although exposure to extreme noise levels is universally agreed to cause hearing damage, the effect of prolonged levels of medium/high noise has not been fully agreed upon. Multiple studies link high noise levels to hypertension and decreased performance in education (Stansfeld & Matheson, 2003), whereas others have also shown links to ischemic heart disease (Passchier-Vermeer & Passchier, 2000). 
Either way, high noise levels will not have a positive impact on occupant health, and so the impact of this is a serious consideration to make when considering the design of your building.
New developments and services at MACH Acoustics
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New developments and services at MACH Acoustics

Acoustic Design, Eco Buildings, MACH Energy
Ze had a great time last week presenting to Stride Treglown’s Cardiff office about the new developments we have going on at MACH. As always, the team there had some good questions and were really inquisitive about the new services we are now providing and how they could benefit them as a practise.
Low carbon design and ventilation systems have always been a big interest to us, so it seemed a logical step to start looking in to these areas of design and how they interact with acoustics.
This ‘holistic design’ approach centres around the balancing of thermal gains, ventilation and noise, which is affected by the façade U-values, glazing area, window types, ventilation strategy and external noise environment. It is only by working on all these design aspects that you can make sure that each element compliments the other.
We are also able to offer Passivhaus design consultancy too. Both Emily and Max are both certified Passivhaus consultants and have already started work on a number of developments in London.
We are now able to offer design advice for the following areas of design;

 

  • Part L Compliance
  • Building Physics Modelling
  • Thermal Comfort Assessment
  • Façade Optimisations
  • Passivhaus Consultancy
  • Daylight
New developments and services at MACH Acoustics
New developments and services at MACH Acoustics
MACH Acoustics Update February 2017
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MACH Acoustics Update February 2017

Acoustic Design, Updates
As we start 2017 in new offices, we wanted to update our friends and partners about some of the latest developments at MACH Acoustics.
Last year was our busiest year yet and saw us work on over 200 different projects, varying in size and scope. The business grew by 26% and we increased our team to over twenty staff, of which we’re happy to say a third are women.
In January, after ten years with us, Stefan Hannan was promoted to Director. Stefan’s vast acoustics experience covers all sectors, particularly educational, commercial, residential and mixed-use developments.
Ze, the founder of MACH Acoustics, is now focusing on new developments for the consultancy. These include: MACH Energy – thermal building analysis, MACH Testing – sound and air testing, SAP and SBEM assessments, detailed noise planning assessments and MACH Software – integrating acoustic artificial intelligence into BIM.
We are always proud to see our designs win industry and client awards. Recently the Acoustics & Noise Consultants Awards 2015 & 2016 recognised two of our school designs – the Wallscourt Farm Academy design for its ‘advanced understanding of the acoustics of open plan spaces’ and the cross laminated timber-built Steiner School in Frome for its excellent sound insulation.

MACH Acoustics Update February 2017

The Keynsham Civic Centre – an open plan atrium, public library, retail and office space – won both a RIBA South West and a Sustainability award, an impressive achievement and an exciting project to be involved in.
 Ze and all the team at MACH would like to thank our progressive clients for their business in 2016. We are always keen to hear from old friends and look forward to working together in the near future to design beautiful, creatively engineered buildings!
Please note our new address is:
MACH Acoustics Ltd
3rd Floor, 4 York Court
Upper York Street
Bristol 
BS2 8QF
Tel: 0117 944 1388

What makes a good engineer?
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What makes a good engineer?

Acoustic Design, Newsletters, Technology

I asked this question around the office and overwhelmingly the one word that kept coming up was “curiosity”.  Curiosity, tenacity, a tidy mind and the ability to identify weak areas and challenge them by finding solutions.

This pretty much sums up a review I’d write up of how truly excellent the current BBC2 series of Big Life Fix (with Simon Reeve) is. This programme showcases engineering and inventions and mixes those skills with kindness and empathy. Initially the challenges of everyday life are sought out – and curiosity prompts these to be overcome by seeking out solutions. Of course, having a technical background is integral to the solution, but it’s imagination and the ability to think differently that greatly assists and frees these wonderful people.

Watch it, enjoy it and marvel at how clever and compassionate people are. This will and should inspire the next generation of would be engineers and inventors – the world needs these skills and enquiring minds to be used as a force for good.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b084ztrw

What makes a good engineer?

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All in a weeks’ work for Josh

Acoustic Design, Lecture theatre, MACH Energy
·      There are several social media site dedicated to what engineers get up to on a daily basis – here’s a week in the working life of Josh, and it seems pretty full on with a great variety of projects.

  • Oxford University Magdalen College – Conversion of squash courts to music studio
·         UCA Farnham – performing arts building – lecture theatres, TV production studios and recording studios – near an RAF base with massive noisy chinook helicopters flying over it on a daily basis.
  • Glastonbury IPRU – a pupil referral unit school with NVB Architects and Midas
  • Hadspen Spa – auralisation of swimming pool – also interesting fact is that the main country manor building that will be converted into a hotel (Stefan is working on that bit) It was won in a bidding war against Johnny Depp who clearly has a penchant for beautiful country manor houses
  • Helped out Beard Construction in Oxford, looking at improving the acoustics in their open plan office – a common problem fairly easy to fix

Bath Abbey Footprint – Women in Property site visit
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Bath Abbey Footprint – Women in Property site visit

Acoustic Design, Eco Buildings, Sustainable Acoustics
This fascinating Women in Property September site visit to Bath Abbey explored the £19.3 million capital works, which are set to provide innovative and sustainable solutions to fulfil Bath Abbey’s critical requirements. MACHs’ Catherine Adams was lucky enough to get a place on the tour, take it all in and learn a little more.

The project entitled “Footprint” includes stabilisation of the ground beneath the Abbey floor, which is currently in a state of collapse, tapping into Bath’s greatest natural resource to heat the Abbey using energy from the hot springs, installation of energy efficient lighting and storage, all inclusive of internal adaptation and downward excavation to provide a modern, welcoming space and facilities for the Abbey’s local community, choirs and school projects/activities and wider community of the City of Bath.
Project Director Charles Curnock gave an overview of the project, followed by a guided tour of Bath Abbey and its Vaults, where the Norman and Roman excavations exist and where the majority of the works will take place.
Over the summer months MACH Acoustics was privileged to be given access to the Abbey, carrying out acoustic assessments and research. With such a unique space to explore and understand; the MACH team, led by Josh Childs, were able to measure the reverberation time across the space, using this to create a 3D acoustic model as part of the assessment.

The 3D acoustic model for Bath Abbey
Bath Abbey Footprint - Women in Property site visit

Bath Abbey Footprint - Women in Property site visit

The findings of Josh’s report will be presented shortly to Charles and his colleagues and MACH hopes this may go some way in part to assist understanding the demands The Abbey has acoustically for the space to perform to optimum levels and what needs to be done for Footprint.
IOA Annual Conference – MACH Acoustics presents
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IOA Annual Conference – MACH Acoustics presents

Acoustic Design, FDTD modelling, Talks/ Conferences, Window Design
The annual Institute of Acoustics Conference was held on 5th and 6th September in Kenilworth and MACH Acoustics’ Chris Jones was honoured to be invited to speak and present his paper. Chris has been researching “STANDARDISING THE TESTING AND MODELLING METHODS OF PREDICTING THE SOUND REDUCTION THROUGH OPEN WINDOWS” and this was extremely well received.

IOA Annual Conference - MACH Acoustics presents

The current approach is to simply use a 10 – 15 dB reduction across the open window.  This does not account for the window type, open area or angle of incident sound.  Whilst research has been conducted into these factors, the lack of a standard method of testing, modelling and quantifying the acoustic performance has prevented the uptake of an improved method by acoustic and facade engineers.
This paper builds upon the research of collaboration with MACH Acoustics and The University of Bath – Blanco, Nunes and Lo (2014) and Jones (2015) in summarising the challenges in quantifying the performance by considering existing test methodologies from British Standards and extensive laboratory testing by Napier University (2007). 
The potential of using FEM and FDTD modelling as a tool of visualising and understanding sound propagation through an open window is summarised.  2D FDTD modelling by Jones (2015) has examined the effect of the window variables and the accuracy of simulations by recreating Napier University (2007) test data, before using this to propose the concept of a simple mathematical model.

IOA Annual Conference - MACH Acoustics presents
Visualizing components of sound propagation through an open window
The aim of this paper is not to conclusively recommend a standardised method, but to present existing information and new research in a balanced manner that will inspire a discussion within the acoustics industry as to how such a method might be agreed.
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