The impacts of sustainable design practices and cross laminated timber structures on acoustic design

Abstract

More projects in Australia are prioritizing sustainable design practices throughout their building life cycle. Environmental Sustainable Design (ESD) rating tools such as WELL, Green Star, and the Living Building Challenge (LBC) have existed for a decade or more, with some receiving wide adoption in Australia. These rating tools require the assessment of the ingredients, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and embodied carbon of the materials specified on the project. In addition, cross-laminated timber (CLT) buildings are becoming a more attractive development option due to lower embodied carbon, a reduction in the structural requirements of the foundations, and an increased speed of construction. These sustainable practices are reviewed using a recent project example that combines these recent developments in sustainability: a commercial office fitout in a hybrid steel and cross-laminated timber structure that is targeting WELL Platinum and the Living Building Challenge. The challenges of specifying materials to meet sustainability targets, potential gaps in available products, and the acoustic design challenges of achieving high levels of sound insulation in cross-laminated timber structures are discussed. With a better understanding of sustainable design practices, acoustic designers can improve sustainability outcomes on all projects.