Judging by the number of architects, builders, acoustic professionals and others who waited patiently to ask questions of a speaker at the Toronto Buildings Show after he concluded his formal talk, acoustic performance in buildings is of vital concern to the design and construction professions.<\/p>\n
\u201cI spent about an hour answering questions,\u201d said Eric Salt, an acoustical engineer and associate with Aercoustics Engineering Limited.\u00a0<\/p>\n
While there were a lot of \u201coverlapping questions\u201d in the post session about a mix of different projects, the focus of his presentation was the role of acoustical performance in health care facilities.<\/p>\n Acoustical design strategies are critical to ensure hospitals support healing, reduce staff burnout and ensure equipment performs reliably, he said.<\/p>\n And as hospital design approaches evolve beyond basic noise reduction, \u201cacoustics are increasingly being recognized as essential to overall health and wellness.\u201d<\/p>\n Health care projects are complex and require a diverse range of knowledge\/experience in acoustics, noise and vibration to ensure patient comfort, control of sensitive diagnostic equipment and vibration monitoring during both new construction and renovation, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cHospitals are noisy places,\u201d said Salt, citing American Association of Medical Colleges studies which show excessive noise in hospitals results in elevated heart rates and blood pressure, headaches, fatigue, sleep disturbances, disrupted hospital team communication, and increased risk of patient care errors.<\/p>\n But the association also maintains more than 60 per cent of all hospital ward noises are preventable, he pointed out.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Elaborating on the latest strategies in health care acoustics with a focus on cost-effective, high-impact solutions for both new construction and retrofits, Salt provided the audience with a range of design and construction procedures on how that 60-per-cent noise-preventable target can be reached.<\/p>\n Just one example, in the design and planning stage, is to avoid a reliance on project specifications which often define acoustic targets as simple numbers or Sound Transmission Ratings (STC).<\/p>\n Both the Canadian Standards Association and the Facility Guidelines Institute provide \u201cgreat guidelines for what is an acceptable level of sound isolation.\u201d<\/p>\n Mockups and early testing are prerequisites in the design stage because they help identify co-ordination challenges and solutions. But there has to be two complete mockup rooms with walls, HVAC systems, seals and finishes to measure and gauge the sound isolation. Most large hospitals now require mockups, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cBut we (Aercoustics) recommend them for even smaller projects.\u201d<\/p>\n Wall and ceilings with a specific STC can provide a measurement of their ability to absorb airborne noise. Contractors can also take advantage of the headwalls, which are the built-in wall assemblies with critical utilities in patient rooms.<\/p>\n But builders also have to be careful not to install back-to-back headwalls as that will actually increase the risk of sound migration.<\/p>\n \u201cThis (back-to-back) is a very common source of failure during commissioning.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Isolated wall assemblies, such as double stud walls and walls built with resilient channels, are specifically designed to maximize acoustic isolation by breaking the physical pathways that sound uses to travel, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cTheir performance relies on one fundamental principle: Keep the layers separated.\u201d<\/p>\n When these assemblies are built correctly, the decoupling they provide can significantly improve sound isolation performance in sensitive spaces like patient rooms, meeting rooms, diagnostic imaging suites \u00a0and staff areas.<\/p>\n However, even small installation tasks can unintentionally bridge those isolated layers and undermine the entire system. Some examples include mounting shelves directly into the wrong stud line or using screws that penetrate resilient channels and hit the studs, said Salt.<\/p>\n A major part of his talk was devoted to addressing the not insignificant hospital site planning challenges in urban settings close to rail lines, highways, industry and other sources of noise and vibration.<\/p>\n As a result, the placement of sensitive vibration equipment becomes \u201ca delicate balance,\u201d said Salt, who highlighted two projects where that balance was achieved.<\/p>\n At the Marotta Family Hospital in St. Catharines, Ont., the diagnostic imaging department is less than 200 metres from a railway freight line. However, a concrete base built on air springs isolates the department from vibrations.<\/p>\n That somewhat costly solution wasn\u2019t necessary at the Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital where the diagnostic imaging department is right above the loading dock. New vibration equipment used by Aercoustics showed floating floors weren\u2019t required, said Salt.<\/p>\n A major theme of his approximately one-hour talk was the necessity for close co-operation by all project partners.<\/p>\n \u201cEffective co-ordination is essential in health care projects because hospitals are some of the most complex buildings we design and construct. With so many competing systems, mechanical, electrical, medical gases, structure, ICT, infection control and more, it\u2019s critical for designers, owners, and trades to work as a unified team.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n![\"Eric](\"https:\/\/cc-production-uploads-bucket.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Eric-HeadshotWeb.png\")
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