Acoustic Design of Schools
Building Bulletin 93
The aim of Building Bulletin 93 is to provide a comprehensive guide for architects, building control bodies, building services engineers, clients, and others involved in the design of new school buildings.
The new Building Bulletin is downloadable from this website (see below), alternatively it is available as a publication from The Stationery Office.
Any comments on the Building Bulletin should be sent by e-mail to schoolscapital.environmental@dfes.gsi.gov.uk
Introduction and Section 1 'Specification of
acoustic performance' (revised 20/11/2003)
Clarification on the 20/11/03 revision of Section 1 of BB
93
Section 1 is intended for designers and building control bodies. It gives the performance targets for compliance with Requirement E4 from Part E of schedule 1 to The Building Regulations 2000 (as amended) that 'Each room or other space in a school building shall have the acoustic conditions and the insulation against disturbance by noise appropriate to its normal use'. For further sections, please scroll down.
The exemption of LEA maintained schools from the Building Regulations ended in April 2001 and all school buildings are now subject to detailed design checks and on-site inspections by Building Control Bodies.
Below you can find downloadable components of the BB 93: Acoustic Design of Schools guide, last revised on 20/11/2003.
BB 93 Front cover, Title page and Contents
BB 93 Main Sections, as follows:
Introduction
1: Specification of acoustic performance
2: Noise control
3: Insulation from external noise
4: The design of rooms for speech
5: The design of rooms for music
6: Acoustic design and equipment for pupils
with special hearing requirements
Ten BB 93 Case Studies, as folows:
7.1: Remedial work to a multi-purpose
hall in a county primary school
7.2: An investigation into the acoustic conditions in
three open-plan primary schools
7.3: Remedial work to an open-plan teaching area
in a primary school
7.4: Conversion of a design and technology space
to music accommodation
7.5: A purpose built music suite
7.6: A junior school with resource provision
for deaf children
7.7: An all-age special school for hearing impaired
children
7.8: Acoustic design of building envelope and classrooms
at a new secondary school
7.9: Acoustically attenuated passive stack ventilation of
an extension to an inner city secondary school
7.10: An investigation into acoustic conditions in open-plan
learning spaces in a secondary school
Ten BB 93 Appendices, as follows:
Introduction to appendices
1: Basic concepts and units
2: Basic principles of room acoustics
3: Basic principles of sound insulation
4: Classroom sound insulation — sample
calculations
5: Sound insulation of the building envelope
6: Calculation of room reverberation times
7: Calculation of sound absorption required in
corridors, entrance halls and stairwells
8: Equipment specifications for sound field
systems in schools
9: Noise at Work Regulations relating to teachers
10: Example submission to Building Control Body
BB 93 Bibliography and a List of Organisations
Tools and Supporting Information
- BB93 Autocad symbols to aid in the submission of
plans to the Building Control Body. Click here for a PDF file with instructions on how to use
Autocad.
- The sound insulation of the Building Envelope and Reverberation Time Calculator can be downloaded from the Building Research Establishment, Acoustic Centre website.
Supporting Information
- Click here for an Excel file on Absorption Coefficients and Sound Reduction Indices. This version 1.1 was revised in March 2004 to include lower absorption coefficients for under purlin perforated steel sheet ceilings replacing inaccurate data from the original Building Bulletin 51.
- Guidance on how to use computer prediction models to calculate the Speech Transmission Index (STI) in open plan spaces. Download the file here.
- The Odeon speech directivity files for normal vocal effort and for raised vocal effort are currently unavailable for direct download.
- (Please email schoolscapital.environmental@dfes.gsi.gov.uk with regards to obtaining the files.)
Public Consultation
The DfES public consultation on the draft Building Bulletin 93 Acoustic Design of Schools ended on 10 December 2002. Our response to the comments received during the public consultation consists of the following three parts which can be downloaded below.
1. The main report including a summary of the responses received, Annex A; the list of respondees and Annex B; the new performance requirement on speech intelligibility which will apply to open plan spaces.
2. Annex C; an analysis of the replies to the questionnaire part of the public consultation.
3. Annex D; A compendium of both the detailed public comments received in answer to the questionnaire and the more general comments received.
