The studio allows clients, architects, engineers and stakeholders to hear how design can shape the noise or sound in different environments and under different conditions. It is used to optimise designs including transport terminals, roads and railways, sports stadia, courtrooms, education facilities, auditoria, commercial offices, shopping centres and night clubs.
Arup says that the studio is the first of its kind in Southeast Asia. The company already had a SoundLab at other offices, including London.
SoundLab uses the latest audio technology to reproduces the level and character of sound in an acoustically treated space. Combining SoundLab's auralisation with visualisation brings the sound into context, enabling clients to experience the projects in an immersive manner during the design process. This provides an objective means to allow both clients and designers to listen to their designs, facilitating discussion and leading to informed design decision making.
“We now have a powerful tool to help our clients and collaborators make ‘sound’ decisions. Sound and noise (defined as unwanted sound) are familiar to everyone,” said Dr Jingfeng Xu, acoustic and audio-visual Leader, Singapore. “However, conventional techniques for describing their quality or impacts are not easily accessible and are often misunderstood – for example the decibel seems counter-intuitive to many people. SoundLab enables them to listen to changes in the design’s acoustic environment, providing an objective framework to measure all factors in the design process before reaching an informed decision.”
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