The Challenge:
The development consists of two (2) towers, one a high-rise, high-end hotel and the other a high-end residential rental building. The hotel is one of the largest in Canada. Both buildings are in the downtown Calgary core, adjacent to busy pedestrian and roadways, and most importantly for acoustics, only 75m from a busy heavy rail line.
We had to ensure that the noise from the rail line, and neighbourhood in general, would not bother occupants in the rental tower, or guests in the hotel. At the distances involved, and due to the two buildings being much taller than the surrounding buildings, there were clear lines of sight to the rail lines. With such a busy rail line, with heavy, slow train moving at all hours of the day and night, the potential for significant disturbances was very high. To address the noise, the windows would have been well beyond typical construction, with an associated cost that would not be practical.
The Innovation:
Aercoustics took the unique approach of combining both modelling and on-site measurements. While we have a comprehensive database of rail noise, for this project, due to the sensitivity, Aercoustics’ engineers went on site and took actual measurements of the noise levels from various trains, over a multi-week period.
Using the measured data, we first modelled the impact of the rail noise to inside the suites, at various elevations. To give the client an understanding of the levels in the suites, Aercoustics created auralizations simulations, which allowed the clients to actually “hear” what the sound would be based on different window constructions.
Even after the selection of windows, prior to completing the construction, there were mock-up units made, where a single unit was built and the measured sounds were reproduced outside, so that the noise and its levels could be understood inside the mocked-up suite.
