Excellent listening conditions for both students and teachers are vital to a successfully functioning educational facility. Each project demands the application of virtually all facets of the firm's services from performance spaces through noise and vibration control for ventilation systems and transportation noise sources.

Acoustics for architecture requires consideration of interior geometry and finishes for room acoustics, partition and envelope noise isolation and control of building system noise.

The environmental noise impact from major transportation, power generation and industrial projects has become an increasingly important societal issue. BKL Consultants Ltd. has extensive experience in preparing Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA’s) for all levels of government, e.g. provincial (BCEAA), federal (CEAA) and international (World Bank).

Radio, Television and Film Studios are designed to meet the exacting requirements of broadcast and recording environments. The sound of the voice must be faithfully reproduced without interference from external or internal noise sources, and without colouration from unwanted sound reflections or reverberation.

Many buildings are now designed to meet the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. LEED certified buildings tend to be designed by LEED accredited architects and other design professionals. At the present time, there are no specific acoustic requirements relating to LEED, so this guide aims to illustrate how BKL’s acoustic design fits into green buildings and the LEED certification process.

Live entertainment and recorded music are often a source of noise concern associated with pubs, clubs and other entertainment facilities. BKL is often called to assess the noise impact of music venues on nearby points of reception. We are also called to assess the sound transmission from the venue to residential suites either above or adjacent to the venue.

The Galore Creek Project is a copper and other precious metals resource located in a remote and mountainous region of northwestern British Columbia and has the potential to become one of the top copper/precious metals mines in the world once developed. Hundreds of noise sources were modelled for the project using the outdoor sound propagation software Cadna/A for two construction phases and the midlife operations phase. Daytime and nighttime Leq and maximum noise contours were calculated at three areas: mine site, airstrip and access road.

BKL Consultants was engaged by the Vancouver Convention Centre Expansion Project (VCCEP) to perform underwater measurements of pile driving noise to assess the impact on the nearby fish habitat.

BKL Consultants was engaged by the Township of Langley, BC, to assess whether noise from a large warehouse distribution facility exceeded the municipal noise by-law daytime and/or nighttime limits. The nearest residents were more than 300 metres away and were complaining about trucking activity noise emanating from the facility.

The acoustical design of buildings to serve the justice system is a multi-faceted task, involving consideration of room acoustics, noise isolation and speech privacy, and noise vibration control of the building service systems.

Our design goal for hospitals and related facilities is to provide an acoustical environment which enhances both the healing process for the patient and the staff's ability to deliver quality care. The emphasis is on control of building system noise and privacy between adjacent functions.

The acoustical design of hotels encompasses a wide variety of issues including control of exterior noise, control of noise from plumbing, HVAC and elevators, sound isolation between guestrooms, isolation of music from entertainment areas, room acoustics of ballrooms and meeting rooms and effective design of movable walls. Many of these issues are equally important for convention centres.

A worship service usually contains three major acoustical components: spoken word, devotional music, and congregational singing. A house of worship with properly designed acoustics can enhance the worship services.

Room acoustics, sound isolation between spaces, and control of noise from building services are all important design parameters for any library. Audio/Visual systems are also becoming an integral part of any modern library. The firm's experience includes the acoustical design of many library buildings plus numerous libraries contained within larger facilities.

Inter-suite noise and vibration transmission is the number one complaint by occupants of multi-party residences. When this factor is combined with the growing awareness of municipal authorities to the problems of mixed-use development noise impacts and external noise exposure, primarily from road traffic, noise looms large as an aspect which designers must address.

Performance spaces for music and drama demand excellent clarity of sound resulting from exact control of beneficial sound reflections, elimination of compromising echoes and spurious noise from external sources and building services not only for the audience but also, and equally importantly, for the performers.

BKL Consultants Ltd. has been involved in the review and design of many police stations and secure facilities, for items such as room acoustics, noise isolation/speech privacy and mechanical (HVAC), plumbing and electrical systems noise and vibration control.

Acoustical aspects of renovation projects can embrace all facets of the firm’s experience, from upgrading the noise isolation of the building envelope, through changing the room acoustics of interior spaces to improving the noise generation characteristics of the HVAC systems. The work may require consideration of interior geometry, surface treatments, wall constructions, and building system noise control.

Buildings designed for research and development work will often contain lecture theatres and libraries which require good room acoustics, research offices and labs which must be adequately protected from noise generated in adjacent spaces and from workshops or even pilot plants. Noise from building HVAC & electrical equipment must also be controlled to provide an acceptable acoustic environment for the building occupants and the surrounding neighbourhood. Many specialised research and analytical facilities will contain electron microscopes and other sensitive instrumentation which demands special vibration isolation design for floor slabs and instrument mountings.

Appropriate room acoustics is particularly important for speech intelligibility in an arena facility since public safety can be dependent upon the users’ ability to hear and understand emergency messages under conditions of relatively high ambient noise. In addition to safety concerns, adequate room acoustics are necessary to control excessive reverberant noise and to enhance background music thereby resulting in a pleasant, relaxing atmosphere for the users. Control of noise from mechanical and electrical equipment is also important, and exterior noise from fans, cooling towers, etc. must be adequately controlled to avoid adverse impact on the surrounding grounds and neighbouring properties.

The traditional, echoing acoustical environment typical of swimming pools of the 60's was due in part to a search for durable finish materials and an emphasis on competitive swimming. Today's requirements for leisure pools are quite different, and the acoustical ambience is much more important. A valuable spin-off of good acoustical design is that safety messages and warnings are much more easily understood, and the public address system becomes useable.