One of Tampa’s most prestigious prep schools has recently undergone a new addition of early-childhood focused education facility. This facility, designed to meet the most stringent educational and acoustical standards (via ANSI S12), needed significant soundproofing options between adjacent classrooms, classroom-corridor partitions, and around mechanical spaces.

School Acoustical Design

The General Contractor, consulted with Siebein Associates out of Gainesville, FL to help determine target STCs, IICs, and Reverberation Times in the space. The architect implemented the acoustical design recommendations, and turned to Commercial Acoustics for cost-savings options on a few of the wall assemblies. In several cases, there were cost reduction opportunities by substituting out multiple layers of drywall for a single layer of Wall Blokker, our proprietary soundproofing membrane. These walls still met and exceeded the target STC, and were independently reviewed and accepted by the Acoustical Consultant.

School Acoustic Treatment

By partnering the capabilities of an accomplished Design Firm, experienced GC, world-class Acoustical Consultant, and a unique Soundproofing Solutions Provider, the school was able to achieve world-class acoustical and soundproofing results while meeting their budget constraints.

With the addition of LEED v4 and other relevant acoustic design criteria, there is a move to design and build schools with a more stringent eye on the acoustical performance. This is wise, since it’s been determined that acoustic performance has a strong correlation with the ability of students to focus in school, and may even have an effect on their grades and long-term academic performance. While LEED specifies acceptable STC and RT60 values in core and ancillary learning spaces, this is a lot of information for architects and contractors to absorb.

See our Acoustic Consulting capabilities to support school acoustical design