Page 16 - Fall2020

SPEECH PRIVACY
other building systems are delivered through the ceil- ing space. These systems require penetrations through the wall above the ceiling. Because this section of wall is above the ceiling and not seen, little care for fit and finish is taken by building contractors, resulting in acoustical leakage. Therefore, the sound isolation of the suspended ceiling may not need to match that of the wall but is still important and must be factored into the design.
Due to cost and building schedule, more and more schools want to end the walls at, or just above, the ceiling. For this design, a high-performance ceiling must match the wall design, and care must be taken when selecting lighting and other ceiling fixtures to minimize leakage. An insulated enclosure or muffler (sometimes called an acoustical boot) will typically be required on the backside of all open fix- tures that are placed within four feet of any common wall.
Patient rooms in hospitals require the same high-perfor- mance sound isolation. The ability to rest, sleep, and heal without interruption is discussed by Busch-Vishniac and Ryherd (2019). Sleep disturbance is a topic of study all of its own, but the fundamentals of architectural sound isolation remain the same. Hospitals face a financial penalty/reward incentive. The Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and System (HCAHPS; see go.cms.gov/2Ybr9p9) is a standardized survey to collect patient perspective on hos- pital care. The survey includes questions related to acoustic quality. Medicare and Medicaid compensation are adjusted based on HCAHPS results.
Conclusion
We all desire speech privacy at times, and our expecta- tions of the types of privacy are not the same from space to space or from situation to situation. By understanding the fundamental principles to achieving speech privacy, the appropriate architecture can be identified in building speci- fications, designs, and, in some cases, building regulations to meet expectations. As stated at the beginning, this article is intended to provide a basic introduction to and understand- ing of speech privacy in architectural spaces. We hope we have increased your awareness of this critical issue.
References
Acoustical Society of America (ASA)/American National Standards Institute (ANSI) S12.70. (1996). Standard American National Standard Criteria for Evaluating Speech Privacy in Healthcare Facilities. Acousti- cal Society of America, Melville, NY.
Brill, L. C., Smith, K., and Wang, L. M. (2018). Building a sound future for students: Considering the acoustics of occupied active classrooms. Acoustics Today 14(3), 14-22.
Busch-Vishniac, I., and Ryherd, E. (2019). Hospital soundscapes: Char- acterization, impacts, and interventions. Acoustics Today 15(3), 11-18. https://doi.org/10.1121/AT.2019.15.3.11.
Cavanaugh, W. J., Farrell, W. R., Hiertle, P. W., and Watters, B. G. (1962). Speech privacy in buildings. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 34, 475-492
Leibold, L. J., Buss, E., and Calandruccio, L. (2019). Too young for the cocktail party? Acoustics Today 15(1), 37-43.
Schnitta, B. (2016). Residential quietude, the top luxury requirement. Acoustics Today 12(3), 49-56.
About the Authors
Kenneth W. Good Jr.
kwgoodjr@armstrongceiling.com
Armstrong World Industries
2500 Columbia Avenue
Lancaster, Pennsylvania 17603, USA
Kenneth W. Good Jr. is an acoustic spe-
cialist with Armstrong World Industries in Lancaster, PA. He works with the architecture and specifying community in material selections as well as design consid- erations. Ken’s formal training is as a draftsman, but he has specialized in architectural acoustics at Armstrong for the past
20 years. He has influenced projects, including for the Cen- ters for Disease Control and Prevention, National Aeronautica and Space Administration, and General Services Administra- tion, with more than 60 projects crossing his desk in a typical month. Ken is a past chair of the Acoustical Society of America (ASA) Architectural Acoustics Technical Committee and the Regional and Student Chapters. He currently serves as chair of the Subcommittee on Speech Privacy and the ASA Committee on Standards, Working Group 44.
Neil A. Shaw menlo@ieee.org
Menlo Scientific Acoustics, Inc. P.O. Box 1610
Topanga, California 90290, USA
Neil A. Shaw is a principal with Menlo Scientific Acoustics, Inc. in Topanga, CA. His projects, ranging from performance/
production spaces to research laboratories, include the Getty Villa, the Rose Bowl, Microsoft, Apple, Netflix, Disney Cruise Lines, the Government of St. Lucia, and the Los Angeles Foot- ball Stadium. He studied at the Cooper Union and received his BS and MS engineering degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles. He is a Fellow of the Acoustical Soci- ety of America and the Audio Engineering Society (AES). He holds the Kenward S. Oliphant Memorial Fellowship awarded by the Consulting Engineers Association of California and was awarded the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engi- neers (SMPTE) Samuel L. Warner Memorial Medal.
16 Acoustics Today • Fall 2020