Two mirrored VIP lounges, one departure hall between them, and a baseline test that found exactly where the noise was getting in.
| Client Fong Yue Development | Location Marina Bay Cruise Centre, Singapore |
| Service Acoustic Design & Testing | Completed 2025 |
| Scope North & South VIP Lounges, Departure Lobby | |
2 Mirrored VIP lounges
North and south of the Departure Lobby, designed and tested as a matched pair
STC 60
Target rating for the lounge enclosure walls, separating the VIP space from the main departure hall
NC25
Target background noise level in the main lounge seating areas, set against the MBCCS design standard
The Situation
Fong Yue Development engaged Soundzipper for the alteration works to the VIP Lounges at Marina Bay Cruise Centre, Singapore’s dedicated international cruise terminal. The brief covered two mirrored lounges on the north and south sides of the Departure Lobby, both being reconfigured into a wider main lounge space with the existing conference room, old concierge area, and storage cleared to make way for the new layout, plus a new server room added within the project footprint. The work was governed by the cruise centre operator’s own MBCCS General Design Requirement Specification, a formal standard covering noise criteria, sound transmission class, and reverberation time for every space in the terminal.
What We Found
Before any design work began, Soundzipper carried out a full pre-construction baseline test on the existing lounges in July 2024, measuring how the spaces performed before alteration. The results gave a precise diagnosis. The partition between the Main Hall and the VIP Lounge measured an apparent sound transmission deficiency of 21, a non-compliant result, with the report attributing the loss to flanking noise from the absence of door threshold plates and transmission through the glazing frame and ceiling. The main lounge seating areas were also running noisier than target, measuring NC37 and NC39 against a target of NC25, with the dominant noise traced to the ACMV system, including a detected peak at 250Hz consistent with an AC fan unit radiating noise through the ceiling and ductwork. The reverberation time in the seating areas, at 1.09 and 1.11 seconds, sat just outside the 1.0 to 1.4 second target range. Every one of these findings pointed to a specific, fixable cause rather than a vague shortfall.
What We Designed
The acoustic design addressed each finding from the baseline test directly. Enclosure walls between the VIP Lounges and the surrounding terminal were specified to STC 60, using reinforced concrete or steel stud and rockwool cavity construction depending on location, with full-height construction from structural slab to structural slab and properly sealed junctions to prevent the flanking losses identified in testing. Doors on these walls were specified to a minimum STC 55, addressing the threshold plate gap that had been flagged as the primary cause of the original sound leakage. Internal glazing systems were required to carry certified acoustic lab test reports and continuous seals, closing off the glazing frame transmission path the baseline test had identified. To bring the ACMV-driven noise down to target, ductwork throughout the lounges was specified with internal lining and external cladding above noise-sensitive areas, addressing the mechanical noise source directly at the duct rather than only treating the room. Reverberation time was controlled through a specified finishes package: carpeted flooring across at least half the floor area, fluted timber veneer wall panelling on non-parallel walls, and suspended acoustic baffle ceilings, each selected for a minimum noise reduction coefficient and combined to bring the lounges within their target range. A site visit in April 2025 confirmed the completed installation, giving Fong Yue Development two VIP lounges that meet the cruise terminal’s own acoustic design standard, built around the specific weaknesses the original baseline test uncovered.
VIP Lounge