Comparative Analysis of the Acoustic Performances of Modular and Ordinary Classrooms

Abstract

Since 2016, modular construction system was introduced to Korean school buildings as it gave both of benefits in time and economical gain. Though the modular school buildings are temporarily employed during the period while students were rapidly increasing due to the regional developments, government has a responsibility to maintain the building performance for the education purposes. The purpose of this study is to investigate the classroom acoustic performance of modular school buildings. To this end, room acoustic parameters were measured in classrooms in four modular school buildings. In addition, acoustic parameters including standardized sound insulation levels were measured to analyze the sound insulation performance of walls and floor impact noise performance. At the same time, equivalent acoustic parameters were measured in normal school classrooms for comparative analysis. As a result, it was found that background noise levels of each classroom are satisfactory with the standard of 35 dB(A). Concerning room acoustic performance, modular classrooms were found to have better values than ordinary classrooms. Als, as for the sound insulation of walls and floor, it was found that modular classrooms have better sound insulation performance than the ordinary classrooms beyond the general expectations.