Space 1: Staircase in Student Housing Block.

Acoustic Profiles

Vertical rectangular space with about 6 floors, with landing space next to the elevators. Man-made noises: pots and pans clattering, conversations, squeaking of footsteps, water faucets turned on, humming of appliances, clanking of objects being moved around.

This space is only for travelling between floors and exiting the building. It is a live space that echoes any sounds made both in the staircase, and sounds that bleed through the doorways to the main hallways. The sounds are quite muddy, reverb-y and a bit sizzly, and they are amplified quite a lot to sound extra loud.

The most ‘catchy’ sounds are that of the elevator and voices. The most overheard sounds would be the whirring of the appliances/elevator as it sits idle. Speech can be quite unclear as the conversations from each floor get muddled up.

This space is quite unnatural to sit in, as the length of the sounds are extremely long and loud, making working or sitting here unsettling. However, the context of this space as a staircase makes sense as to its function.

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Characterisation of Room Acoustic Treatments

Space Geometry

• Extended vertical parallel surface climbing up the stairs

Absorbers:

• None!

Diffusers:

• None…!

Sound Reflecting Surfaces:

• Stone stairs
  • Reflects sound very well due to smooth texture, creating longer reverberation.

• Concrete walls and ceilings
  • Also quite smooth and flat, amplifying reverb.

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Space 2: Small Student Room

Acoustic Profiles

Rectangular room with plaster walls, concrete ceiling, wooden tiling, and a large window. The main sounds are from outside; cars driving by, birds, planes in the distance, wind blowing, buzzing of laptop, occasional voices, knocks, and creaks from the hallway.

This rest and study space is nice due to the ambient noises from outside. However, there is an odd interior high-pitched ring and echo to sounds are inside the room, such as speaking or typing. The noises in the room are slightly tinny, and speech can be understood fairly well.

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Characterisation of Room Acoustic Treatments

Absorbers:

• Bed, sheets, pillow – 2000mm x 800mm
  • They absorb the high-frequency range due to the soft, porous materials.
  • As the only absorber, it takes up only a fraction of the space, although not much of this would be needed due to the small scale of the room.

Diffusers:

• Lime Green Striped Concrete Wall – 2000m
  • The jagged texture of the wall acts as a irregular surface to diffuse and scatter the sound without absorption.
  • Visually, they add a nice pop of texture and colour into an otherwise plain room, marking a clear separation between the wardrobe and the sleeping space.

Other Surfaces:

• Plaster wall
  • Quite sound-reflecting due its almost smooth texture, increasing the reverberation felt within the room.

• Glass Window
  • Reflects sound very well due to being smooth and flat.

• Other furnishings (table, chair, cabinet)
  • Scatters sound due to hard surfaces.