We know more today than ever before about the importance of building structures that are energy-efficient, safe and comfortable for occupants. Creating these high-performance buildings begins at the planning stage with design professionals and technical experts who consider all the factors that go into making spaces perform as they are intended. When it comes to acoustics, getting it right means improving the Indoor Environmental Quality—or IEQ—of a space.
And yet, the acoustics of a building is often still overlooked in the planning stage, even though we know the risks of poor acoustic design can range from irritating to harmful. In fact, noise has been defined by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as a pollutant and a hazard to human health and hearing. It has the potential to seriously affect people, interfering with daily activities at school or work, at home and during leisure hours.