Study of architectural design & acoustic conditions of primary schools in Singapore

Abstract

Urban noise problems are a growing concern in rapidly urbanizing cities such as Singapore. Studies have revealed that children are particularly susceptible to the harmful effects of noise. Children in Singapore schools are particularly susceptible considering the long hours spent in naturally ventilated classrooms. This study aims to assess the architectural design and planning of schools in Singapore based on their acoustic qualities. External ambient noise, façade sound insulation, and reverberation time were measured in three schools about the architectural design to characterize their acoustic environments and seek areas for improvements. It is revealed that all the classrooms studied experience internal noise levels above the guideline values recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) of 35 dB, suggesting poor acoustic conditions and harmful effects on children’s’ health, behavior, and learning abilities. Reverberation time standards were only met by the classrooms in one school out of three, implying that speech intelligibility and learning performance are hindered elsewhere. Two overseas case studies are explored to demonstrate how better acoustic environments can be achieved through planning and design in unbuilt schools and abatement strategies for built schools. Architects and planners can adapt and incorporate them into the design of primary schools in Singapore.