Colorado Real Estate Journal - November 4, 2015
A key step in the design process for many projects is an integrated design charrette. Design charrettes are intensive, hands-on workshops that bring people from different disciplines and backgrounds together to explore myriad design options. The goal of the charrette process is to capture the vision, values and ideas of the various stakeholders who are the owners, the developers, the end-users and, for many projects, the real estate professionals. The architect/engineer design team works together to create alternative designs based on ideas that are generated by all the participants. With respect to acoustics, we understand that, while the acoustical consultant’s contribution to the design is usually not considered the most important aspect of the design, the control of unwanted sound (commonly referred to as noise) is a critical issue that should be an integral part of the early design process. Educating charrette participants about the principles of acoustics in a language everyone can understand allows them to consider the effects of noise in their environment. This is important because stakeholders don’t often know that noise can in fact be controlled and it gives them the opportunity to voice their opinion about expectations or priorities. When the design calls for audiovisual systems, structured cabling systems (as for IT and telecommunications), and other low-voltage systems, the appropriate consultant’s attendance at the design charrette is equally important. It allows the consultants an opportunity to get an early understanding of the stakeholders’ expectations and it allows the consultant to define budgetary constraints so that the design team can develop the design appropriately. This also allows the consultant to avoid unnecessary additional services or design changes in the future. As an example, I was asked to attend a design charrette for a new school project. I was surprised to hear how many divisive comments there were about classroom acoustics and it was interesting to learn how teachers react to distractions. After explaining the various design strategies for acoustics and getting feedback from the school principal and the teachers’ representative, the stakeholders and architects were able to prioritize design objectives (acoustical elements can sometimes clash or conflict with architectural features) and reach consensus on the direction of the design. As a result, the design team was able to design a school with an acoustical environment that fosters aural clarity, provides a high level of speech intelligibility and promotes creativity while supporting the architectural design aesthetics – a school that is conducive to learning, an outcome that, unfortunately, is not inherent in the design of many of our schools. In closing, I would like to say that, if an acoustical consultant’s input in the early design stages does nothing more than show that there are workable solutions available and that there are no reasons for concern about the project’s acoustical environment, it will have been money well spent.