• Opening the Curtain: Reimagining Performing Arts Centres After the Pandemic

    By

    The pandemic has impacted just about every part of the economy in Canada. The entertainment industry, including Performing Arts Centres is no exception. By all accounts, the industry has suffered severely, with some reports showing that 95 per cent of live events have been cancelled due to COVID-19 and 77 per cent of people who have been working in the entertainment industry have lost 100 per cent of their income. Unfortunately, social distancing is the opposite of what we have come to expect from performing arts centres. Performance spaces are designed to operate at high occupancy and have people gather in close quarters to share an incredible experience and foster connection. The buildings were not designed to be able to operate under pandemic scenarios, and so most have been rendered useless. Most buildings have sat empty for months, wreaking havoc to arts organizations. Designing Pandemic Ready Venues Over the past […]

    Read More

  • Advance Your Career

    Career Growth: Advance Your Career Within a Company

    By

    If you talk to people at Aercoustics, you will find many who started their career as an intern and experienced tremendous career growth as he or she climbed the ranks. We recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of one of our colleagues who started his career here as an intern...

    Read More

  • Acoustic Sciences: A Sound Career for Musicians

    By

    If you work in the acoustical sciences field, you usually have colleagues passionate about music. Whether you play an instrument, sing or produce music, acoustics is a great career choice for anyone naturally inclined or enthusiastic about music.

    Read More

  • Pitch Perspectives

    Not Your Grandmother’s Church

    By

    How Music is Challenging the Traditional Church Design For most people, their vision of an old church is a cathedral with stone halls and stained-glass windows. Early church design is typically large and rectangular in shape with a tall, gabled roof. The music, such as Gregorian chants, was created to suit the room’s acoustics and long reverberation times.

    Read More

  • How to Keep Your Transit Project on Track

    By

    The growth of cities is increasing the demands on transit systems. Whether it is above ground or below, municipalities everywhere are facing increased pressure to enhance transit services and expedite their transit projects to alleviate the traffic on existing systems and busy roads.

    Read More

  • Pitch Perspectives

    Can You Repeat That? Optimizing Acoustics with Speech Intelligibility

    By

    Humans have used speech to communicate for thousands of years. Our brains and ears have evolved in tandem to optimize our ability to communicate via speech. When it comes to making different sounds, our vocal reproduction system is quite a marvel of versatility. For example, the Taa language spoken in parts of Botswana and Namibia is believed by most linguists to have the largest sound inventory with more than 100 consonants.

    Read More

  • How Engineering Peer Reviews Can Help Reduce Risk

    By

    Mistakes happen. In the best-case scenario, we apologize and move on. But when it comes to mistakes on the job, whether it be in healthcare, education, law or engineering, a mistake can be costly.

    Read More

  • Starting a New Job in a Pandemic

    By

    Finding Creative Ways to Train and Integrate New Team Members While Working Apart. As the end of my Mechanical Engineering program came, I eagerly awaited the “Iron Ring” ceremony, a ritual which is the calling of the engineer. My big day came on March 7th and was followed by several big parties. But one week later, the province was locked down.

    Read More

  • Drilling it Down: Borehole Vibration Testing to Minimize Transit Noise and Vibration

    By

    If you live in a large city like Toronto, you have no doubt heard or felt the subway system running underground. It probably doesn’t bother you if you’re just passing by—but for people who work or live in the area, transit vibration is a much bigger concern.

    Read More

  • You’re Building a Condo, WHERE?

    By

    As the density in cities increase, so does the demand for housing. But developers need a suitable piece of land to build. Suitable or good land means it is away from industrial areas and noisy transportation. For years, parking lots in the city’s core were ideal. But they have become increasingly scarce and developers are having to be creative to make do with the land available.

    Read More