April showers bring power outages…at least when thunder and lightning accompany the rain. And shortly thereafter, they may also bring noise from emergency generators. While these devices can provide convenient – or even life-saving – power, they can also disturb occupants of nearby buildings as well as occupants in the buildings which they serve. Read on to learn more about how to tame these electricity producing beasts.
Metropolitan Acoustics recently finished our work for two auditoriums, located at Reading Northeast Middle School and Reading Northwest Middle School. The projects entailed removing the existing ACT ceilings in both auditoriums, as well as replacing the existing air handling units serving the spaces. Our scope of work included assisting the design team to improve the room acoustics of the auditoriums with recommendations including wall panels, carpet, and upholstered seating, as well as developing mechanical noise & vibration control recommendations to reduce background sound levels from the new mechanical systems to appropriate design goals with silencers, duct liner, and vibration isolation equipment. Check out the gorgeous before and after pictures.
Have you ever sat in your office and understood every word of your neighbor’s conference call? It can be pretty tiring. There is a certain amount of speech privacy you expect once you close your office door; however, not every private office provides that luxury. So, what can you do about it? Read on to learn about how to improve speech privacy without building massive walls.
Have you ever noticed that sound seems to travel differently in the cold? Think of standing outside on a crisp winter morning, aware of traffic from a distant road that you never seem to hear in the summer, or tree branches creaking from what seems like miles away. Well, it’s not your imagination, sound can seem to travel farther in the colder months of the year. Read on to discover more about winter outdoor sound propagation.
“I didn’t even know that job existed!” If we had a nickel for every time someone at Metropolitan Acoustics heard that when explaining their job, we would have…at least $50. Since you receive our newsletter, you probably know at least a little bit about what we do as architectural acoustical consultants, but did you know that acoustics is a wide-ranging, highly interdisciplinary field that extends well beyond room acoustics, sound isolation, and mechanical system noise control? Read on to learn more about areas of acoustics that you may have never considered!
Michael Grady from the Naval Surface Warfare Center at the Philadelphia Navy Yard gave a lively presentation to our chapter on January 15th. Mike is the Branch Manager of machinery silencing research, development, test, and evaluation; his presentation focused on the work they do to support the Navy in the lab and on ships. They work to make existing vessels quieter and do design work for the next fleets coming online. We had a great turnout at Rex at the Royal on South Street, and the event was graciously sponsored by J.A. Brown Company. A wonderful time was had by all! See pictures here.
Recently Glenmede Investment Management moved their offices to the 38th through 40th floors of the One Liberty building in Philadelphia, PA, and Metropolitan was there to help. In addition to typical private office, open office, and meeting room areas, the new three-floor fit-out will include a café and catering kitchen, a trading floor, a video studio, and a communicating staircase which connects all three levels. Sound isolation and speech privacy are of particular concern throughout the fit-out to ensure client confidentiality. Additionally, Metropolitan Acoustics provided recommendations for room acoustics in all areas of the fit-out and mechanical system noise control for the video studio. Upon completion in early 2025, this office fit-out will boast high-performing acoustic systems as well as some of the most amazing views in the city. Beautiful pictures found here.
Every morning on the way to work on the train, hundreds of commuters put headphones on and listen to music. And each day on virtual calls with clients and internal team members, the speakers sitting next to computers relay the words that are being said. Speakers are commonplace in modern society, found everywhere from cars to grocery stores to our phones. Without them we wouldn’t be able to listen to music or even take a phone call, but how do they work? The short answer is that they convert electrical signals into sound waves, but how exactly does that occur? Read on to find out.
Metropolitan recently finished up our work on Amy Gutmann Hall at The University of Pennsylvania. This 116,000 SF, 6-story building is a state-of-the-art facility for the School of Engineering & Applied Science, specifically for data science. It is the largest mass timber building in the City of Philadelphia and houses active learning classrooms, student collaborative spaces, laboratories, and an auditorium. We provided comprehensive acoustical services for the project, including room acoustics, sound isolation, and equipment noise and vibration control throughout the building. Please have a look at the beautiful pictures.
Despite many companies bringing their workforce back to the office, the technologies that enabled remote work during the pandemic years remain with us and are used as often as ever. For many, this means that, whether they work from the office or from home, they’re able to collaborate freely and easily whether their colleagues are 10 feet away or 10 miles. Sometimes, however, the technologies don’t play as well with physical realities as we’d hope, and remote collaboration goes awry. Read on to learn more about the interface between technology and the real world.
Metropolitan Acoustics, LLC is an acoustics and vibration consulting firm based in Philadelphia, PA