Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
D
ue to the ever-increasing demand for premium one achieve this for a whole group of buildings, specifi-
office space, designers and engineers have cally a group of this size? Add in the fact that the buildings
progressively found themselves working on are located in a seismically active area, requiring them to be
developments where individual site locations present design seismically restrained, and you have a real design problem on
challenges that require ‘non-standard’ solutions. Such was your hands.
the case with the East Buildings, Britomart, Auckland, where
a group of three medium-rise buildings totalling 40,000 ASSESS THE PROBLEM
square metres GFA (gross floor area) of A-grade office space is The fi rst stage in the design process was to assess the extent of
nearing completion above Auckland’s underground Britomart the vibro-acoustic problem. A detailed ‘vibration map’ of the
train station and tunnel. site was created to identify any hot spots. Holes were exca-
The key challenge with this site was to address vibra- vated through the carpark asphalt topping, which was located
tion from rail movements in the tunnel below, which had the above the rail tunnel, to expose the tunnel ‘lid’ onto which
potential to produce unacceptably high noise levels, if left the East Buildings’ foundations would sit. Accelerometers
untreated, for occupants within the building. were attached and rail movements in and out of the tunnel
As the lead acoustic consultant for this project, Norman were tracked. Analysis and predictions of the vibration spread
Disney & Young (NDY) was required to fi nd a solution throughout the proposed building indicated a widespread
that would reduce such vibration on a large scale – across all problem of audible low-frequency noise when particular rail
floors of all three of the East Buildings. Several options were movements occurred.
considered, but ultimately it was decided the best solution The design of the isolation bearings or ‘pads’ required
was to vibro-acoustically isolate the buildings. The concept careful consideration. It was important to ensure loading of
behind this solution is simple: isolate the building with rubber the pads was not too great and that bulk shear strain within
pads, as is done for many vibration problems. But how does the pad was kept within acceptable limits. This was vital to
right: Sophisticated
vibro-acoustic
engineering solutions
have been designed to
minimise underground
railway noise and
provide an amenable
interior environment for
office staff. Drawing
courtesy Johnson Pilton
Wallker.
33734_036-038_Acoustics-Britomart.indd
33850_1_Otis HPH.indd 1 037 2010/12/10
2010/11/23 16:26:57
11:17:4
038 ACOUSTICS
COMPARISON OF OFFICE INTERNAL NOISE LEVELS WITH AND WITHOUT VIBRO-ACOUSTIC ISOLATION
100
90
Prediction without
Vibro-acoustic Isolation
80 Measurement with
Sound Pressure Level (dB re 20 Micropascals)
Vibro-acoustic Isolation
70
60
PNC 60
50
PNC 50
40
PNC 40
30
PNC 30
20
PNC 20
10
0
Total dB(A) 31.5 63 125 250 500 1k 2k 4k 8k
Level
Frequency (Hz)
isolate the building with rubber pads, as The developer, Cooper and Company, was delighted with the
outcome of the vibro-acoustic isolation. On-floor noise levels
is done for many vibration problems. But due to rail movements are well below the project threshold
how does one achieve this for a whole throughout the East Buildings, fulfi lling the requirement for
group of buildings, specifically a group of the design and delivery of an A-grade office environment on
this size? this challenging site. FM