Schools and Colleges:

The Building Regulations legislation requires that for the construction of new schools or additional teaching space in existing schools, various aspects of the construction conform to the recommendations found in Building Bulletin 93 (BB93), which became effective in 2003.

This document provides various noise limiting criteria to ensure that the learning environment for pupils and staff is suitable, and includes the following aspects of school design:

• Sound insulation of external shell to protect against external noise intrusion.
• Adequate sound insulation between both teaching areas and specialist areas such as studios and music rooms.
• Sound attenuation of air-handling systems and other mechanical plant.
• Reverberation times in rooms to ensure good speech intelligibility.

Whilst colleges and other further education establishments are not obliged to conform to BB93, they often choose to follow the recommendations to ensure a suitable environment for students and staff.

We have experience in carrying out a number of BB93 assessments for large and small school and college developments. We will assist in material selections to ensure the requirements of the bulletin are met without compromising the design or the construction budget.

Many schools and colleges are also now wishing to conform to the BREEAM Education standards to demonstrate environmental performance in new and refurbishment projects. Loven Acoustics will incorporate BREEAM performance specifications into design recommendations in order to achieve the required rating in accordance with the scheme.