We provided WSAG Architects with acoustical design services for the 350 seat lecture theatre and smaller classrooms, as well as HVAC noise and vibration control for the construction of NAIT's South Learning Centre in Edmonton, Alberta. We designed the auditorium acoustics to accommodate both lecture presentations and the sourcing of video conferences, so the reverberation time is a short 0.9 seconds with the room unoccupied, and the background noise is below NC-25. To prevent the room seeming overly dead with such a short reverb time, we provided hard surfaces in key locations to give some volume cues to a talker. This provides a room that sounds lively without impairing speech intelligibility, or adversely affecting microphone pickup of lecturers or audience.

The new facility has a large atrium which connects to the entrances of the lecture theatre, classrooms, open study areas, and high traffic milling areas. We designed the atrium to have a short reverb time as a noise control measure for the adjacent spaces. In the unoccupied atrium, the most noticeable noise source is the refrigeration compressor of the soda vending machine, and we have even suggested remedies for that.

The mechanical room is located directly above the new animal studies biological laboratory facilities, so vibration isolation was critical. The mechanical systems are all fully vibration isolated, and equipped with noise control measures for duct-borne noise. There is no measurable or perceptible vibration in the laboratories, and HVAC air handling noise is very low.