MONTHLY NEWSLETTERS

As spring moves into summer, the world starts to wake up. People spend more time outside talking and playing, and that pesky bird keeps waking you up at 4 am! With all this activity, you might find yourself thinking that everything seems so loud now. As you are probably aware, all this sound can be measured in units of decibels (dB), but did you know that the unit dB means multiple things? Read on to learn about how the decibel may not be as simple as you think.

Have you ever been so engrossed reading something that you didn’t hear someone talking to you? Or hard at work while listening to music and suddenly realize you weren’t really listening for the last few minutes? Although our ears may hear all of the things going on around us, sometimes our brains tune out distracting or irrelevant sounds to help us focus or keep us from becoming overwhelmed as a result of large quantities of sensory information. This phenomenon is known as selective auditory attention and is a topic that falls within the broader subject of psychoacoustics. Read on to learn more about how humans can tune out the world around them.

One of the more confusing aspects of acoustics to our clients is the difference between “laboratory” and “field” ratings when it comes to partition design. For example, the International Building Code (IBC) distinguishes between the two for assemblies around dwelling units in a multi-family building: why the distinction and what does that mean for the designer of the building? Read on to learn more about the difference between lab and field ratings.

It’s February, and many of us recognize our loved ones on Valentine’s Day. For all those we care about, we’d like to enlighten you of the relationship between unhealthy hearts and noise. Read on to learn more about how you can take care of your heart from an acoustic perspective.

Happy New Year from Metropolitan Acoustics! Our usual strategy is to encourage quiet and comfortable acoustic environments; however, some of us do break our own rules to experience chest thumping fireworks or a rowdy concert. This month, let’s explore some acoustic records both loud and quiet. Read on to learn more about the most extreme places and events on earth.

An acoustic environment that is conducive to learning requires low ambient sound levels and a high degree of speech intelligibility. Prior to 2021, unless a school was pursuing LEED or had adopted ANSI S12.60-2010 Acoustical Performance Criteria, Design Requirement, and Guidelines for Schools, classroom acoustics were guidelines, not requirements. That all changed with the 2021 International Building Code (IBC) which has incorporated Enhanced Acoustics for Classrooms criteria. Read on to brush up on the new requirements as more schools and states begin to adopt the most recent IBC.

October can be a great month for sports nuts; if the stars align, all the major sports franchises in your city can be playing at the same time. In Philadelphia, the Eagles are off to a great start, the Phillies and Union are in the playoffs, and the Sixers and Flyers just kicked off their seasons. And if you have ever been to a Philadelphia sporting event, you know that sound levels can be extreme. Read on for a few tips that can help protect your ears from these sources and preserve them to enjoy one of our many well-designed acoustics projects.

The pandemic has changed our work environment. Many people are working under a hybrid model – a few days per week from their office and a few from home; others are completely remote. While these work paradigms vary across industries, working from home (WFH) is now more common than ever and here to stay. Read on to learn more about how WFH is reshaping the acoustical landscape of our dwellings.

The distribution center industry has seen significant growth over the last few years due in large part to the pandemic and its effect on e-commerce. Many new facilities are being built, often close to residential areas, to fulfill last mile logistics. While it may seem like a good idea to have distribution centers close to the residential areas they serve for quick package delivery, this can result in someone’s backyard sounding like a trucking facility at all hours of the day. Read on to learn more about how sound from these distribution centers can be modeled and mitigated.