Soundzipper Acoustic Consultants: Candice Yung
Main Contractor: S&techs Construction Management (Singapore) Pte Ltd
Sub Contractor: Ngai Chin Construction Pte Ltd
MEP Design Consultant: Seawolf Pte Ltd
Electrical Engineering Consultant: Bitronic Electrical Engineering
The Challenge
Soundzipper was engaged to design and build an office in an office tower at Raffles Place, Singapore. There is a gym located directly above the office, which generates impact noise from the gym equipment, causing annoyance to the office space. The objective of our design is to provide sound isolation for the office to minimise the sound transmission from the gym.
The Analysis
There is a gym located directly above the office, which generates impact noise from the gym equipment, causing annoyance to the office space. From our pre-construction acoustic test, the ceiling slab has an Impact Sound Rating (ISR) of 60dB to 65dB while the vibration level, Fast Fourier Transform (FFT), of the floor slab under the tapping machine is 60dBV to 75dBV.
The Design
All areas in the office have a STC77 damped suspended ceiling. The construction uses acoustic spring hanger isolators and TECSOUND damping sheet. The open office area has an additional Ecophon ceiling installed on the suspended ceiling.
From our post-construction acoustic test, results show that the ISR of the office ceiling slab is improved by 7dB to 14dB. This corresponds to about 80% to 95% of the sound level reduction. The vibration level of the office floor under the tapping machine has improved from 60dBV to 75dBV in the pre-construction test to 20dBV to 70dBV in the post-construction test. Comparing the ISR at the office with the corridor, there is a major improvement in the impact isolation performance with the isolated ceiling.