SUSTAINABLE BUILDINGS

Asset Classes

Focus Area

Accessibility and Wellness

Topic

Comfort, Views, and Acoustics

Question #

A2.4 – Acoustic Elements

Question

Have the acoustic elements in the building been reviewed to identify and recognize improvement opportunities within the past five years?

Applicability

Office, Healthcare, Universal
Owner/landlord occupied building
Tenant occupied building – areas managed by the owner/landlord

Answer & Scoring

  • Yes = Points as indicated below

Select all that apply:

    • Review conducted = 1 point
    • Low and no-cost corrective actions addressed = 1 point
    • Plan in place to address higher cost corrective actions = 1 point
    • No recommendations made – Demonstrate how the building has the best acoustic environment possible = 2 points
  • No = 0 points

Max of 3 points

Requirements

  1. List the acoustic environment elements that have been reviewed within landlord-controlled areas and summarize qualitative observations as applicable:
      • Common area space use by noise level (quiet, medium, loud activities)
      • External noise intrusion (traffic, maintenance, construction)
      • Internal building system and operational noise intrusion (HVAC, elevators, maintenance, food service areas)
      • Internal occupant noise (foot traffic, conversations)
      • Whether space use activities and current conditions match or conflict acoustically
      • Other considerations not listed above
  2. Provide the date of review, the name and role of the reviewer (may be internal), the reason for the review (tenant request, tenant complaint, landlord initiative, existing feature, or other) and a summary of findings

Assess the background sound levels generated from exterior and base-building sources in a representative sample of spaces including open plan workspaces, private offices and meeting rooms. Background Noise Criteria (NC) levels must be compared to those stated in the ASHRAE “HVAC Applications” handbook and USGSA Centre for Workplace Strategy “Sound Matters” guidelines: maximum of 40 NC for open plan workspaces, 35 NC for private offices, and 25 NC for meeting rooms.

The scope of this question is limited to the aspects that the owner or landlord can control.

Examples of improvements could include building policies regarding noise levels, establishment of quiet, medium, and loud zones, or installing acoustic panels.

Documentation

  • List with descriptions and observations of acoustic elements reviewed
  • Explanation why any areas were excluded

Suggested Lead

In-house, with third-party support

Value

  • Acoustic elements in a space can play a significant role in occupant comfort. Managing noise levels in a space from tenant activities, external noises, and internal building systems creates a good quality acoustical environment
  • Perform an in-house assessment of the quality of acoustic elements at their building. Third-party professionals can be engaged if building management teams do not have the resources to complete the review
  • Based on the results of the review, implement corrective actions to improve acoustic conditions at the building

Description

Much of the acoustic conditions within an office building are affected by the levels of background noise generated from building equipment and road noise.

References

Adapted BB 3.0 Question

Question 04.02.01 — Has an assessment been performed of background sound levels generated from exterior and base-building sources?