Sounds of the City - Between Noise Pollution and Beautiful Soundscape?

“Have you ever wonder, where have all the birds gone? ”

In Jakarta city nowadays we hardly see birds nesting, flying, or looking for food. Some research says that nature soundscape such as the sound of running water, or birds singing will improve mental health. However, due to the increasing noise pollution, the sound of birds became the sound of machinery.

Loud sound can have a serious impact on human health as well as on ecosystems. The effects of noise pollution on birds have been a key subject of study for scientists and conservationists over the last decade. Researchers suggest that noise pollution affects their behavior, fitness, breeding, and growth, and often leads to chronic stress.

Scientists say that constant noise may form an acoustic blanket muffling the audio cues birds rely on to detect predators, competitors, and their species. Noise pollution delayed nesting for birds whose songs are at a lower frequency and thus more difficult to hear through low-frequency human noise. When considering noise pollution, results showed that birds living in forested environments tend to be more sensitive to noise than birds in open environments. 

You may have noticed that many birds around us sing at different pitches or volumes in response to noise. One well-known example is Robins, which sing at quieter times of the day or night. This could be seen as an adaptation, but the problem is that this change can disrupt mating and affect breeding success in such birds.

For birds, hearing is second in importance only to vision for monitoring the world around them. Avian hearing is most sensitive to sounds from about 1 to 4 kHz, although they can hear higher and lower frequencies. No species of bird has shown sensitivity to ultrasonic frequencies (>20 kHz). Sensitivity to frequencies below 20 Hz (infrasound) has not received much attention; however, pigeons and a few other species have shown behavioral and physiological responses to these low frequencies. In general, frequency discrimination in birds is only about one-half or one-third as good it is for humans within the 1 - 4 kHz range.

A problem that birds suffer that is similar to humans is damage to the auditory receptors (hair cells) from loud noises. The sound intensity that produces damage and the amount of damage produced differ depending on the species. Birds residing in the active areas of airports might be constantly subjected to sound pressure levels that damage their hearing. Thus, to effectively disperse birds using sound, auditory alerts must be at frequencies that can be detected by the damaged auditory receptors. Although some if not all species of birds have the ability to repair damaged hair cells, continued exposure to loud noises would prevent recovery of their hearing.

ALTA Integra is a multi-discipline building physics engineer designer such as acoustics sound, lights, thermal, air quality, and etc. Research agreed that the built environment is affecting the sensor, emotion, behavior, and biology of humans and other living objects. Our mission is to create a greener, healthier, beauty and comfort to lives in.  

#sounddesign #sounddesigner #soundscape #acoustics #birds #nature #health #mentalhealth #noisepollution #cityscape

Accurate acoustic result in design and commissioning of modern office

The measured Field Sound Transmission Class (F-STC) of the glass partition and door is meet target design

Accurate acoustic result in design and commissioning of modern office

When designing a modern office, we always concern about the following question.

How much is the background noise in the meeting room after final construction?

How much is the final sound transmission loss after all materials assembly on-site?

Will it compy to the Acoustic Standard required?

Always looking for better acoustic modeling technique to be able to predict Sound Transmission Class to reduce investment cost while maintaining acoustic performance standard

ALTA Integra has succeeded in design and commissioning several world-class projects accurately because we are always eager to study, learn, and perfecting our standard operating procedure.

Architectural Building Physics such as Acoustic, Lighting, Thermal, and Air Quality play important role in making a better space for human-being. Let’s join our mission to share this belief and passion to make our world a better place.

Always learn and invest to improve acoustic measurement, equipment and methodology

#acoustics #roomacoustics #acousticdesign #acousticengineer #interioracoustic #interiordesign #interiordesignproject #architecturalacoustic #officenoise #officeinteriordesign #meetingroom #architecture #interiordesign #interiorlighting #office #officespace #healthy #healthylife #wellbeing #architecture #architectureproject #productivity

Why Entertainment Place needs Building Acoustics and Environmental Noise Control Design?

HAVING FUN without disturbing others

The sound that comes out from Night Entertainment Venue in the high-density building will disturb people’s sleeping. The low-frequency fast pace music will wake people who want to have a good night's sleep. Lack of sleep can cause stress, headache, heartache, and cancer. Since 2010, ALTA Integra has succeeded in more than 50 projects designing high-level sound entertainment places and reduced community noise complaints as per Environmental Ministry Regulation. Reducing noise exposure to humans will increase t heir health and life quality because we believe our bodies and minds are shaped by the space we live and work in.

Architectural Building Physics such as Acoustic, Lighting, Thermal, and Air Quality play important role in making a better space for human-being. Let’s join our mission to share this belief and passion to make our world a better place.

#music #club #nightlife #livemusic #rockconcert #housemusic #noise #community #humanrights #wellbeing #bettersleep #hearingloss #environment #environmental #environmentalsustainability #sustainability #health #architecture #building #interiordesign #design

* due to the Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) with our client, the image posted just an illustration from photo stock.

Why does a city need city-wide air quality and noise planning?

Illustration Image Jakarta International Stadium under construction 2020

HEALTHY CITY

ALTA Integra provides strategic city noise and air quality planning, modeling, simulation, mapping, and monitoring including environmental noise, road traffic noise, railway noise, and aircraft noise using state-of-the-art outdoor noise and air quality prediction software CADNA-A.

ALTA Integra believes our body and mind are shaped by the space we live and work. Architectural Building Physics such as Acoustic, Lighting, Thermal, and Air Quality play important role in making a better space for human-being.

Let's join our mission to share this belief and passion to make our world a better place to live in.

#buildingphysic #noise #cityplanning #urban #architecture #jakarta #indonesia #IndonesiaMaju #interior #wellness #wellbeing #humandesign #betterworld #airquality #sustainability