Major acoustic upgrade at Seth MR Jaipuriya school in Lucknow, India
Seth MR Jaipuriya school in Lucknow, India, recently underwent a major upgrade with Team 3 Architects in New Delhi, bringing the school confidently into the 21st century. Luckily, the acoustics were not forgotten and were, in fact, a main concern for the Principal, Promini Chopra, who speaks in the video below.
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“After 25-26 years, we felt that the school had to be more relevant to the times. So we thought of upgrading the infrastructure; we had to include a lot of things. Now whether it was the libraries, the computer labs or the laboratories which we added, we also added a few breakout spaces. And for all of them acoustics was really important, that is why we started researching and we got to know about Ecophon tiles”, explains Principal Promini Chopra.
Acoustically upgraded classrooms were the primary consideration, as that is where most of the learning happens.
Breakout spaces are separate from the more formal classroom areas and are defined by the idea that anything is possible within them without the behavioural and spatial restrictions usually imposed on them in typical classroom setups. Many 21st century skills are developed in breakout spaces because they need a flexible environment for learners to collaborate and experiment. As such, there is a higher need for acoustic optimisation to make sure those spaces maintain optimal levels for speech and learning and do not interfere with what is going on in the surrounding rooms.
Flexible learning environments and break-out spaces can become noisy if not properly acoustically controlled for ease of communication among occupants.
Other areas in the school were also acoustically treated, including classrooms, corridors, laboratories, the library, the auditorium and activity areas (music room, yoga room, etc.) to improve their reverberation times and levels of speech clarity for students and teachers. The results are not only acoustically viable but also improve the overall aesthetics of the spaces they inhabit.
The new school lab spaces.
When occupied with children moving between classes and socializing, non-absorbent corridors produce noise that travels long distances and disturbs adjoining classrooms and break-out spaces.
The materials used in this project were primarily Ecophon Advantage™ E (approximate quantity: 9000 square meters). For any questions about this case study or Saint-Gobain Ecophon in India, please contact our Local Concept Developer for India Harshal Kolwankar.