In Pursuit of Acoustical Equity
Conclusion
In 1962, William Cavanaugh et al., authors of “Speech Privacy in Buildings,” affirmed that acoustical satisfaction could not be assured by any single parameter, forming the foundation for the ABC Rule of architectural acoustics. However, until rather recently, building codes, standards, and certification programs largely focused on A and B, while C often succumbed to a historical preoccupation with limiting the loudness of sound and corresponding belief that the goal is to make spaces as silent as possible. But we are in the midst of a paradigm shift.
As we seek to better understand how we can be psychologically and physiologically supported by the spaces we inhabit, the important role played by C becomes apparent. Sound will always remain within our built environment, and the impact of such low-level background sound—that which actually exists in the space—cannot be separated from acoustical satisfaction and its equitable delivery. Therefore, controlling it is as important as controlling the signals.
As Greenhouse states, the built environment “impacts us whether designed well or poorly, so why not design it well?” If one is to reliably design buildings to function acoustically for their users (e.g., provide adequate speech privacy, freedom from distraction, reduced annoyance, a good night’s sleep, and so on), one needs to establish a known level of spectrally neutral (or balanced) background sound, rather than leaving it—and the end result—in question.
Notice
