Explanations on the Implementation of the Regulation on Protection of Buildings Against Noise

The Regulation on Protection of Buildings Against Noise was published by the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization in May 2017 and entered into force in May 2018 [1]. The regulation established requirements for sound insulation of building elements, indoor noise levels and reverberation times for all new buildings, and imposed an obligation to submit an architectural acoustics report or acoustic project as an annex to the construction permit to the municipality to demonstrate that acoustic requirements are met. Buildings for which acoustic projects are mandatory are defined in the regulation as follows: "Residential buildings with more than seven storeys, excluding basement and roof level; non-residential buildings with more than two storeys exceeding a total construction area of 2,000 square meters; buildings containing more than one of the building functions specified in Annex-2 Table 2.1; buildings containing uses requiring special acoustic design such as concert halls and listening rooms". For single-purpose buildings smaller in scale than these, an architectural acoustics report will be prepared by the project architect or acoustic specialist. The Regulation Amending the Regulation on Protection of Buildings Against Noise published in May 2018 stated in a transitional provision that architectural acoustics reports could be prepared instead of acoustic projects in all buildings until May 2019 [2]. As of May 2019, acoustic projects prepared by a building acoustics specialist will become mandatory for large-scale and multi-functional building complexes covered by the regulation.

Who Are Building Acoustics Specialists?

According to the regulation, acoustic projects containing measures and details for sound insulation and achieving desired indoor noise levels are prepared by "Building acoustics specialists" holding D1 building acoustics specialist certification. With regard to the training of these specialists, the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization published in April 2018 a Notice on Certificate Training Programs to be Organized Within the Scope of the Regulation on Protection of Buildings Against Noise (Notice No: Mhg/2018-01). This notice contains regulations for certificate training programs to be organized on Basic Building Acoustics (D1) and Building Acoustics Measurements (D2) and on participants. According to the regulation, persons preparing acoustic projects must hold D1 certification, while persons conducting post-construction acoustic measurements must hold both D1 and D2 certifications.

What Should Be Specified in an Architectural Acoustics Report?

The information that should be included in the Architectural Acoustics Report, which can be prepared by the project architect or acoustic specialist, is as follows: • Environmental noise level (to be determined by acoustic measurement or from noise maps). • Sound transmission paths and sound insulation limit values depending on the relationship of spaces with each other in terms of noise sensitivity and noisiness, • Reverberation time limit values, • Internal noise limit values related to service equipment, • Characteristics of specified building elements and sound insulation values determined by measurement or calculation: Rw(C;Ctr) for airborne sound, LnT,w (Ci) for impact sound • Sound insulation value calculated by evaluating the volume of the room to which the building element is applied and sound transmission that will occur from building elements adjacent to the relevant building element: DnT,A for airborne sound, L' nT,w for impact sound • Reverberation time calculation result or achievement of absorption criterion (According to the regulation, ceiling finishes in educational buildings, health facilities, office and administrative buildings, canteens and restaurants, all circulation areas, libraries, terminals, public facilities, and sports halls must have a weighted sound absorption coefficient (αw) of at least 0.75.) • Measures to be taken for installations and service equipment. The Architectural Acoustics Report will be prepared following the steps shown in Figure 1 to contain this information and submitted to the municipality as an annex to the construction permit.

Figure 1. Process of preparing an Architectural Acoustics Report.

Related Sources

The Regulation on Protection of Buildings Against Noise – Explanation and Application Guide was published in December 2018 regarding the process of applying regulation requirements in new or existing buildings, noise control principles and related report formats [4]. The guide was prepared for use by acoustic specialists, architects and related engineering disciplines. How to meet the noise control requirements specified in the regulation through simplified methods is explained in this guide. As the Turkish Acoustics Association, we are organizing D1 certificate training supporting the implementation of the regulation, Architectural Acoustics Report Preparation seminars and training on other acoustic subjects. We share publications and explanations on this subject on our website and social media accounts [5]. We hope that the correct implementation of the new regulation and raising market awareness will lead to new steps in solving noise problems in our cities.   Dr. Nurgün Bayazıt President, Turkish Acoustics Association       Ayça Şentop Architect General Secretary, Turkish Acoustics Association      

References [1] Ministry of Environment and Urbanization, Regulation on Protection of Buildings Against Noise, Official Gazette No: 30082, 2017. [2] Ministry of Environment and Urbanization, Regulation Amending the Regulation on Protection of Buildings Against Noise, Official Gazette No: 30437, 2018. [3] Ministry of Environment and Urbanization, Notice on Certificate Training Programs to be Organized Within the Scope of the Regulation on Protection of Buildings Against Noise (Notice No: Mhg/2018-01), Official Gazette No: 30389, 2018. [4] Ministry of Environment and Urbanization, Regulation on Protection of Buildings Against Noise – Explanation and Application Guide, URL: https://meslekihizmetler.csb.gov.tr/binalarin-gurultuye-karsi-korunmasi-yonetmeligi-aciklama-ve-uygulama-kilavuzu-i-89074 [5] Turkish Acoustics Association, URL: http://www.takder.org/