Acoustics, noise and vibration have a fundamental impact on people's lives and businesses. In the built environment they affect site planning, infrastructure, architecture and engineering. One of the world's leading consultancies, Arup helps clients to achieve their acoustical aspirations, from creating concert halls with beautiful sound to reducing the impact of airport noise.
Arup works globally on projects, primarily in the performing arts, museum, broadcasting, aviation, commercial, education, healthcare, highways, planning and rail sectors. Its specialists have been responsible for the acoustic design of many of the world's foremost music and theatre venues.
In projects such as the recently-opened Melbourne Recital Centre (MRC), Arup Acoustics strove for the best possible acoustic quality within an excellent building. Floating on 38 spring-based blocks to insulate it from outside noise, the MRC hall has acclaimed acoustics, combining strength and clarity with a rich, reverberant response.
Technical innovation
The next evolution of auralisation is the iXDLab – a collaboration between Arup and the Glasgow School of Art’s Digital Design Studio. The lab combines acoustic modelling with 3D imaging. Its uses go beyond building and urban design; the tool can also be used to create virtual rehearsal spaces, in the management of historical buildings and to sell venue tickets online.
From airports such as Chep Lap Kok to education projects like the University of Cambridge, Arup's work is characterised by creative thinking and technical innovation. The firm is a world leader in acoustic modelling and its SoundLab® tool allows clients to experience the acoustics of a building or a city block before it has even been built.
SoundLab® is an auralisation tool designed by Arup that allows clients, architects, engineers and musicians to hear how different spaces perform acoustically and how architectural form shapes sound quality. It is used to optimise the design of everything from train stations, sports stadia and airport terminals to concert halls, museums and office buildings. At Oslo Opera House, SoundLab® helped to produce a new standard for opera house acoustics. At Florence High Speed Rail Station, the tool helped to optimise expenditure on acoustic treatments and sound systems.
Auralisation is also used to create attractive, stimulating and healthy outdoor environments as part of soundscape design. Arup uses unique design tools, including visual sound mapping based on geographical information systems (GIS), to guide the location and sound levels for new soundscape features.
An international team
Arup has acoustic designers in 13 offices around the world, drawn from a variety of backgrounds in acoustics, architecture, physics and engineering. Sharing knowledge and skills across this team via global forums, intranets and video conferencing means that consultants going to bed on a problem in Australia can wake up to a solution from the UK, and vice versa.
Arup's experience, expertise and technical development are complemented by practicality and sensitivity to budgets and building processes. By integrating with other disciplines at Arup, the firm's acoustics specialists develop and apply innovative, practical techniques for sound and vibration control.