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Medium-density housing
Room to reduce noise
Increasing housing density has a consequence – a greater chance of noise- related issues. BRANZ research has been looking at what can be done to help industry address noise as part of the housing design process.
BY TESSA PHILLIPS, CONSULTANT, MARSHALL DAY ACCOUSTICS
AS HOUSING DENSITY increases, potential annoyance due to noise from neighbouring activities grows. Sources of annoyance may include noise coming from neighbouring dwellings and the broader environment, such as tra c noise.
Researching the problems
Designing and constructing housing to provide residents with adequate protection from noise, as well as acoustic privacy, is very important for the health and wellbeing of residents and the long-term desirability of the housing units.
As part of the BRANZ medium-density housing (MDH) research programme, a collaborative research project Acoustical design of medium-density housing was funded by the Building Research Levy to help under- stand this topic. The research aimed to iden- tify information sources, gaps in knowledge
and key issues in the New Zealand context. To provide a multi-disciplinary viewpoint, the core research team included experts in acoustics, architecture and engineering. These were from several consultancies (Marshall Day Acoustics, Jasmax, ECubed, Enovate/Kirk Roberts) and from research organisations (Scion and the University of Auckland – Acoustic Research Centre and the
Department of Mechanical Engineering).
Three project stages
The project included three stages:
● A literature review of the current state of play here and overseas for residential
building acoustics.
● Consultation with a cross-section of
building industry participants including
an online survey and interviews.
● Analysis to nd the key issues along with
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recommendations for the way forward.
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