Acoustic design of an innovative classroom: the Piscopia Corner in Milan

This paper reports on the measurements, design, and testing of a highly innovative classroom: the Piscopia Corner - Augmented Education Lab, built in the new MIND (Milano Innovation District) district in Milan, Italy. This educational space is designed to leverage connectivity, artificial intelligence, and sensing to enhance sustainability, inclusivity, and efficacy. As key use cases of the Piscopia Corner pivot on real-time speech transcription and translation of interactions, acoustics plays a key role. Improving classroom acoustic conditions is crucial for enhancing speech clarity, promoting student focus, and relieving teachers of vocal effort. The Italian standard UNI 11532-2:2020 states proper requirements for multimedia classrooms such as the one involved in the present case. This space aims for superior speech intelligibility, accommodating multiple speakers and addressing the needs of individuals with hearing impairments or language barriers, with a high outward intelligibility. The Piscopia Corner is a modern classroom meeting the stringent requirements of interactive audio-video activities and inclusive principles. The treated suspended ceiling integrated with sensor technology required a proper mix of materials to balance the sound absorption in frequency and improve speech intelligibility to achieve category A4 limits.