Educational learning process depends on competencies and communication skills of teachers but, at the same time, the psychophysical conditions of school environments are very important.
One of these conditions is the acoustic quality of scholastic spaces, confirmed by a long-established technical literature that describes the mutual influence among the acoustic context features in which lessons take place, the speediness of the learning process and the general conditions of psychophysical wellbeing of teachers and students.
A low listening quality level, associated to excessive reverberation problems, limits the efficiency of verbal communication and causes the loss of the speech intelligibility, with a consequent reduction of the number of words heard by the listener compared to the words said by the speaker.
In a bad acoustic comfort context, if we consider the lesson duration and the necessary attention level to understand the conveyed message, people can be fatigued at the end-of-day.
This condition may cause practical consequences in terms of learning reduction and can generate physiological long-term diseases.
TECHNICAL INTERVENTION MODES
Acoustic treatment interventions are essential to limit or eliminate the reverb in architectural spaces, where high reverberation levels are the main cause of a bad listening quality.
This phenomenon is caused by sound waves reflection on smooth and compact surfaces present in any space, and the acoustic correction aims at introducing sound-absorbing systems in the environment to limit these reflections.
The main measuring parameter used to determine the acoustic quality of a space is the so-called Reverberation Time, usually named RT60.
The on-site measuring of RT60 value is made by emitting a loud and impulsive noise, as for example the bursting of a balloon, and measuring the noise decaying level with a sound level meter.
Anyway, it’s not possible to pass immediately from a high noise level to a zero noise level, but there is always a minimum stay of the “rumble”.
Briefly, RT60 is the “sound length” (expressed in seconds), with which it’s possible to measure the sound reduction of 60 dB (decibel) compared to the initial value. When this time interval is too long, sounds superpose increasing the general noise, and people can feel a sense of confusion and discomfort.
In order to individuate the correct values and design parameters to stick to, it has recently been introduced a specific law about the internal acoustics managing of architectural spaces (Law UNI 11532-1:2018 - Building acoustics - Internal acoustic characteristics of confined spaces). This law describes the general aspects common to all applications: it defines the acoustic quality parameters for any environment, and indicates the reference values related to the intended use and the acoustic evaluation techniques.
ACUSTICO® FOR SCHOOLS
For this important field, ACUSTICO® has selected a specific range of products with excellent acoustic performances, which meets the highest European standards in terms of safety, non-toxicity, lightness, durability and fire resistance (Fireproof Class 1 and Euroclass B-s2-d0 certifications).
ACUSTICO® sound absorbing systems permit to obtain the appropriate Reverberation Time value, if properly placed in classrooms, canteens, laboratories and common spaces. This way, these sound absorbers can reduce the general noise, according to the current legislation values.
All panels by ACUSTICO® don’t contain any vitreous fibre (such as rock wool or glass wool) nor formaldehyde, so they don’t disperse inhalable dust or other components in the environment.
Products are developed according to the principle of eco-compatibility and are almost totally made of recyclable and recycled materials.
A particular attention is always given to design aspects, offering a wide variety of forms and colours, in order to add value and give a pleasant aesthetic appeal to installations in any space even in the lower price versions.
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