Transforming Industrial Space into a Precision Acoustic Lab

Acoustic design for advanced audio research and testing environments

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Built Environment

Industry

IT Services & Consulting

Location

United Kingdom

Architect | Construction Firm

tp bennett | OD Group

This project for a confidential technology client transformed three existing industrial units into a single 12,000-square-foot specialist facility housing offices, acoustic laboratories, control rooms and anechoic testing spaces. AWN Consulting, a Trinity Consultants team, delivered both the planning-stage noise impact assessment and the detailed acoustic design for the internal fit-out, helping the project meet demanding research performance targets, satisfy UK planning requirements and maintain a tightly controlled environment for advanced audio development.

Vision

The project required a purpose-built research environment capable of replicating real-world acoustic conditions with laboratory precision, across five distinct space types within one industrial envelope, each with independent performance targets. That ambition had to be realised within an existing shell, with adjacent residential properties and a future housing parcel adding a UK planning dimension alongside the technical design challenge.

Anechoic chambers → near free-field conditions; structure-decoupled floating floors and wall constructions
Semi-anechoic / configurable labs → flexible low-noise environment; >70 dB R_w isolation from adjacent spaces
Control rooms → high isolation combined with controlled reverberation time; optimised critical listening conditions
Office areas → standard occupancy NR/NC targets; speech privacy maintained at partition interfaces
Support / circulation → acoustic buffer zoning; flanking paths to critical spaces managed by design

Partnership

Our team worked alongside tp bennett and OD Group from early design through construction, holding a single-team mandate across both planning and technical design. This eliminated the interface risk typically introduced when planning assessment and fit-out specification are managed separately and kept acoustic criteria consistent from concept through commissioning.

Planning: predictive noise modelling of plant and laboratory breakout at sensitive receivers, with individual and cumulative scenarios assessed against UK planning policy
Internal design: Stage 4 acoustic specification covering all five space types, including wall and ceiling constructions, reverberation targets, background noise limits, vibration isolation, and penetration detailing
MEP coordination: duct velocity criteria, attenuator schedules, flexible connector requirements, and plant vibration isolation specifications issued across mechanical packages
Junction and penetration detailing: interface conditions at wall-slab junctions and service penetrations developed to preserve acoustic integrity across all critical boundaries

Services Performed

Our team provided acoustic planning support including noise impact assessment for plant and laboratory breakout, along with detailed acoustic design covering sound insulation specifications, reverberation control, building services noise management, vibration isolation, penetration detailing, and a commissioning methodology for in-situ performance validation prior to occupation.

3D Acoustics Modeling

Environmental Acoustics

Building Sound Isolation

Noise Mitigation & Active Monitoring

Commissioning & Facility Management Software

Value-Add

A defining challenge was achieving sound insulation values above 70 dB R_w within an existing industrial shell, without the benefit of purpose-built structure. We developed robust double-leaf and decoupled partition and ceiling systems, detailed junction treatments and a full set of performance criteria across all acoustic parameters:

Sound isolation → >70 dB R_w in critical spaces via double-leaf and decoupled constructions; box-in-box approach for anechoic volumes; flanking limited at structural junctions
Reverberation control → space-specific RT targets defined and specified for labs, control rooms, and offices
Background noise → NR/NC criteria enforced through duct velocity schedules, attenuator sizing, and plant selection guidance across a heavily serviced fit-out
Vibration isolation → spring and inertia-base specifications for HVAC and mechanical equipment; flexible connections at duct and pipe interfaces

Our team also established a formal commissioning and validation framework to confirm performance before occupation, with in-situ sound insulation testing per ISO 16283, reverberation time measurements against space-specific RT targets and background noise surveys under occupied plant conditions. The result is a high-performance research facility with validated acoustic metrics at handover, engineered to support advanced audio innovation within a tightly controlled environment.