Now Hear This: The Important Role Sound Design Plays in Rec Centers

Acoustics in recreation centers impact both performance and user experience arguably more so than in traditional fitness facilities. Large, open areas with hard surfaces share space alongside smaller, more intimate rooms intended for yoga, meetings and instruction — creating varying noise control requirements. How can you ensure each of those spaces has the proper acoustics?

We all know the essence of planning (or renovating) a rec center is understanding how each space will actually be used, as well as what the building’s owner and users expect from each space. Acoustical planning follows the same template, and tradeoffs are common in each. 

Asking the right questions about space utilization will simplify the process of planning for sound control because noise is relative. Some spaces are acceptable being noisy — placing natatorium dehumidification equipment above the pump and filter room is okay, for example. Another strategy is to place noisy things like air-handling equipment above transient spaces such as a locker room, as opposed to near spaces that demand quiet.

This is why it’s important to plan acoustical requirements in the design stage, which will result in a more functional and pleasant building that ultimately is less costly than putting off acoustical considerations until later in the project — or worse, at the end of it.

Many architects are able to determine these and other essential acoustical considerations — from materials selection to room geometry to placement of mechanical and electrical equipment — but some might also call on an acoustician to validate those decisions and offer specialized advice.  

For example, some acoustical decisions aren’t able to be made until after mechanical equipment has been specified. At that point, a professional acoustician is able to provide recommendations to mitigate mechanical noise. This is especially critical with rec center projects that include quiet spaces like classrooms and meeting spaces.

Generally speaking, mechanical noise is an element of sound design that requires a good deal of thought, both because of vibration and fan noise caused by HVAC equipment and the sound made by incoming and outgoing air. The former is usually isolated by placing equipment on springs and lining ductwork, while the latter can create a pathway challenge.

While requirements for air changes in such a large volume ordinarily dictate large ducts, another option is faster air speeds in smaller ductwork — but more air being pushed through smaller openings generates more noise. For some projects, our firm has worked collectively with a mechanical engineer and acoustician to test multiple scenarios and then determine the sweet spot where we could still fit the ducts through the structure without them howling obnoxiously.

The metrics of sound

Acoustical consultants speak in terms of “sound transmission coefficient” (STC), which is a rating of how much sound travels through such elements as space partitions, walls and floors. (“Noise reduction coefficient,” or NRC, by contrast, is a rating assigned to materials of how much sound they absorb.) But knowledge of STC and NRC may not stop an inexperienced architect from putting a BODYPUMP studio off the lobby or the free-weight area above a suite of classrooms.

There are ways to design such adjacencies where they must exist, but — as noted above — it is generally easier to avoid a sound transmission problem rather than mitigate it. Mitigation might involve installing very thick athletic flooring to absorb impact noise. Cleanly accommodating this flooring system involves coordination with (and consideration of) the floor structure itself.

For noise reduction within a space, acousticians take the volume of the space and the nature of the surfaces in that space to calculate the reverberation time — think “echo-iness.” Adding high-NRC finishes in calculated quantities can reduce the reverb time to acceptable levels. There are numerous acoustical treatments that work extremely well in recreation centers, including perforated roof decking, acoustical panels, sound baffles, strategic combinations of carpeting and rubber flooring, and spray-on coatings that perform double duty as fire retardants and sound deadeners.

Sound acoustical decisions are critical to the successful operation and utilization of recreation centers of all types, and they demand the same level of attention as any other major component of the facility.

Remember: Ideally, sound should be controlled within a space’s walls, without impacting other spaces. And that makes for a more enjoyable experience for everyone, regardless of where they are in the facility.

Stephen Springs, FAIA, is a senior principal at Brinkley Sargent Wiginton Architects in Dallas, Texas.