Mass Timber Acoustics

Let's chat #acoustics in mass timber buildings! There are a number of factors when it comes to good acoustic design, and mass timber actually complicates this. While the relative strength to weight ratio of materials like cross laminated timber (CLT) and mass plywood panels (MPP) is an asset when it comes to structural design, especially foundations, mass timber's lower mass means we have to do some extra work to meet or exceed code minimums for impact (IIC) and airborne (STC) noise transmission, especially if we want to expose that beautiful timber and get the advantage of biophilic design.

WoodWorks has some great resources to help you get started with your acoustic design (https://www.woodworks.org/resources/designing-mass-timber-floor-assemblies-for-acoustics/). At the bottom of this page they have additional links that are worth clicking through to. Particular areas to pay attention to are the floor assembly, floor to wall connections and isolation, flanking noise at facades, and vibration through the structure.

Many assemblies rely on a concrete topping slab to add mass to the assembly to dampen noise and vibration. One downside to this is that you have a wet trade coming through the building later in the construction process than is typically wanted. Another potential issue is that concrete makes it harder to disassemble the building for re-use at the end of life. If you can use a dry assembly, you are more likely to be able to re-use or recycle those materials because they won't be bonded to another material.

Image Credit: WoodWorks

#masstimber #sustainabledesign #sustainablearchitecture #biophilicdesign