Good acoustics in schools and other similar environments such as universities are essential to enable effective teaching and learning. Allowing for the teachers voice to be projected but not allowing the space to feel harsh or tedious for the students using it. Due to the vast increase in the subjects schools and university’s teach there can be various acoustic issues when that can be avoided during the design phase of the project.

Due to the importance of good learning environments there has been lots of research on the subject.  Subsequently school buildings have been added in to the building regulations Approved Document E and all new and extended school buildings have to comply with Building Bulletin 93 – Acoustic design of schools: performance standards.

Here at NOVA Acoustics Ltd we can provide sustainable and imaginative acoustic building designs that will not only achieve the specified criteria but also inspire students for years to come.

Many restaurant owners would describe a busy restaurant as a happy restaurant, having the happy buzz of patrons in conversation while eating some of the finest food is often the sign of a good restaurant. However if the acoustics of the hospitality suite or restaurant do not provide the right amount of absorption and acoustic comfort, diners will often feel that they did not enjoy the time they spent in the establishment. People feel overwhelmed by loud and invasive background noise, but when the sound environment is too quiet it becomes uncomfortable and seclusive. There are thousands of restaurants reviews stating that the acoustics and loudness of the establishment had an adverse effect on the dining experience so getting the right balance between happy buzz and excessive noise is key for a successful restaurant.

Sports halls and similar spaces such as village halls are often known for harsh acoustic conditions and large reverberation times (over 5 seconds) due to the large areas of hard and reflective surfaces. Adding in intense sporting activities and large ordinances or groups of spectators, the local village/sports hall can quickly become an overwhelming acoustic environment.

However this should not be the case, NOVA Acoustics Ltd can provide clear and decisive acoustic strategies for upgrading existing sports/village hall or help design innovative recreational spaces from the ground up.

Auditoria and Cinemas have four main design goals in terms of acoustics:

• High levels of sound insulation

• Low background noise from ventilation and machinery

• Evenly balanced spatial acoustics to provide a consistent and immersive environment from any position in the room.

• High intelligibility of speech

NOVA Acoustics Ltd can provide acoustic designs and soundproofing to ensure your auditorium or cinema is the best it can be creating a totally immersive watching experience weather in a private home cinema or large cinema complex.

Churches and other places of worship can often be challenges places to design or upgrade as there is always the trade-off between a space designed for public speaking and sermons verses a space designed for singing and choirs. A collaboration of physical acoustic treatment and directive loudspeakers can achieve the best solution for most spaces. NOVA acoustics Ltd believes that the right balance can be found and contemporary places of worship should be designed around clear and concise communication weather this is singing, verbal or emotional. That’s is why our acoustic room design consultants aim to design acoustic schemes and treatments to suit the preference of the people using the church or place of worship.

• Audio production studios
• Healthcare buildings
• Libraries
• Recording Studios and Production Spaces

Studios can often be complicated spaces with a varied range of acoustic characteristic dependent on the specific use of the studio whether it’s audio, visual or rehearsal. With the progression of music and visual software along with a fast moving culture almost any space can be considered suitable for a studio. It is often the case that studios require large amounts of absorption with specific dimensions and placement. The room also needs to act acoustically diffuse to achieve good sound quality throughout the space. Therefore a bespoke acoustic design is required and may be dependent of room size, room use, the type of equipment used as well as the surrounding spaces adjacent to the studio space.

NOVA Acoustics Ltd offers specific acoustic testing of various room characteristics such as impulse response, room mode analysis and reverb time. We also offer tailored studio design for your space and all you creative needs.

Health sector buildings can be extremely susceptible to bad acoustics due to their busy nature and number of hard surfaces. It is in everyone’s interest to make all patients and staff to feel as comfortable as possible, with the acoustics of the building and its rooms being a key factor. It is important that all announcements are intelligible to ensure that staff can respond in the most efficient manner. There are many psychological and physiological effects that can affect the wellbeing of patients, with studies indicating that noisy environments can have an effect on blood pressure, stress levels and quality of sleep. It is also important to consider patients privacy, confidentiality and dignity when designing the acoustics of a room.

Acoustics in healthcare environments are complex and require a careful, strategic design balancing competing interests such as visibility versus enclosure, surface maintenance versus sound absorption, and initial construction budget versus long-term value. Nevertheless, effective acoustical performance is a critical need for all types of healthcare facilities.

Thus a specialist acoustic adviser is required in order to take a holistic approach to the acoustic design.

Here at NOVA Acoustics Ltd we do possess the expertise to assess the subjective sound quality of the environments and provide the right planning solutions to accommodate the calm and the tranquillity that such a delicate environment desires.

Libraries are quiet spaces used for study and reading therefore it is assumed that no acoustic treatment or design work needs to be undertaken to create a comfortable space. However this is not the case poor acoustics in libraries and other such spaces means that any noise is usually amplified and can often have the effect of disrupting quite atmosphere which is detrimental to concentration and comfort of the library users.

There are some key aspects in the acoustics design of libraries these should include:

• Concentration – Library’s need to be quitter than normal spaces to provide the immersive and distraction free environment.

• Privacy – acoustics privacy is paramount as libraries often have spaces for group study and other activities such as book readings. These events should not interrupt or disturb other library users.

• Aesthetics – just because this specific space is used for studying and reading it doesn’t mean that it should be dull and boring. Library’s need to be stimulating and interactive environments for all users whether old or young.

NOVA Acoustics provides a full range of acoustic testing as well as functional and aesthetically pleasing acoustic designs for libraries and study spaces.