Noise pollution

Site analysis is an essential step before the architectural design begins. Comprehensive analysis of the climatic conditions of the site and the surrounding environment can lay the foundation for the architectural design, and also provide data support for the subsequent building layout. In the site analysis, air pollution and noise pollution are factors that must be considered, especially in residential building design.

Some public places, such as stadiums or theaters, are also designed to take into account the noise impact on surrounding buildings, such as using landscape design to block noise transmission or select site in the city suburb, try to minimizing noise impact. Since many public places are enclosed spaces, the noise impact does not seems that obvious. Until I watched a musical in the Handa opera, I realized the importance of noise control.

The pictures and videos are taken in the Handa opera. The Handa opera is located next to the Royal Botanical Garden and corresponds to the Opera House. It is surrounded by a park and has less impact on the surrounding buildings. But when I was watching the musical, I found that the main noise disturbance of the Handa opera came from the sea. Since the Handa opera is not an enclosed space but an open stage, it is easy to form cross noise pollution with cruise ships on the sea. It can be heard from the video that during the course of the musical, the background music on the cruise ship is constantly mixed, which greatly affects the viewing experience of the audience, on the other hand, it also affects the people gathering on the board.

Problems like cross-noise interference are easily overlooked in design considerations, but small problems that are overlooked in architectural design might have huge impact on building operation.

Reference

Noise Pollution: A Modern Plague, https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/554566_2

Arveson, Paul T; Vendittis, David J (2000). “Radiated noise characteristics of a modern cargo ship”. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America. 107 (1): 118–129

McKenna, Megan F; Ross, Donald; Wiggins, Sean M; Hildebrand, John A (2011). “Measurements of radiated underwater noise from modern merchant ships relevant to noise impacts on marine mammals”. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.