Measure for measure: getting meaningful numbers in building acoustics

Millions of people in contemporary society spend approximately 90% of their time indoors, within environments such as homes, workplaces, schools, and public spaces. WHO estimates that around two-thirds of this time is spent at home. Consequently, buildings play a crucial role in protecting occupants from external noise, as well as mitigating internal noise, thereby contributing to overall comfort and well-being in daily life. Reliable predictions of building acoustic quantities are essential for the effective design and improvement of sound insulation and the acoustic environment. For this purpose, the precision and accuracy of data obtained from laboratory measurements are investigated. Additionally, once the uncertainty of a single measurement is stated, it is decisive to consider sampling techniques, particularly for the classification of buildings or for compliance with national regulations. Some Inter-Laboratory Tests and on-site Round Robin Tests on sound insulation, as well as on sound absorption in reverberation rooms will be presented. An example of sampling for the classification of a building, and a case study on the validation of acoustic interventions on schools buildings located near an airport, will also be showed. Efforts to promote inter-laboratory comparison are strongly encouraged to advance the field of building acoustics