Sound immission protection and urban acoustics

Our experts in the field of sound immission protection investigate the origin, propagation, and impact of external noise. As an inevitable consequence of social and technical progress, noise is omnipresent in our environment and influences people's performance and quality of life.

The primary objective is therefore to reduce the sum of all disturbing noises to an acceptable level. Especially in the urban environment of large modern cities, where not only the demand for mobility but also the flow of goods and merchandise is constantly rising, this poses a particular challenge.

Through careful land use and development planning, the course can be set in advance for a pleasant acoustic urban climate. Subsequent alterations to existing buildings, on the other hand, are much more difficult to implement and incur much higher costs. Local noise protection measures are often the only way to improve a situation, at least in the most affected areas. In addition, the façades of buildings can be designed to reduce the noise inside to an acceptable level with the windows closed (e.g. by installing soundproof windows).

Sound immission protection is highly relevant to people's well-being and health, both inside and outside buildings, and is therefore of great practical importance in urban environments. In association with building acoustics, we offer the following services in the field of sound immission protection:

• Calculation of the decisive external noise level as a basis for the design of the structural sound insulation of building façades
• Support in the acoustic planning and design of noise protection equipment and construction measures in environments exposed to noise, acoustic consulting services for planners, architects, authorities, building contractors, and those affected by noise.
• Acoustic testing and development of new and enhanced urban surfaces, façades and noise barriers.
• Acoustic optimization of noise barriers through the use of new alternative structures
• Measurements of emission and immission levels of noise sources in outdoor areas, e.g., according to the “German Technical Guidelines for Noise Reduction” (“TA Lärm”)
• Measurement of sound insulation and sound absorption coefficients of noise barriers, both on-site and in our test facility
• Calculation of the sound propagation in outdoor areas (according to standards and with extended models)
• Development of methods for measuring, calculating and evaluating sound immissions over and above existing standardized methods