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With proven consequences for health (sleep disruption, stress, etc.) and the economy (productivity loss, real estate depreciation, etc.), ADEME estimates the social cost of noise at 147 billion euros per year in 2021.
The pursuit of acoustic comfort in buildings is a fundamental issue and a concern for everyone.
At Sinteo, we place well-being at the core of our considerations and adapt the acoustic environment of our living spaces. Our objective is to achieve controlled acoustic environments, tailored to the use of spaces, fostering concentration, conviviality, and rest.
To adapt, filter, and optimize the sound in our living spaces to achieve controlled and reasoned noise levels, tailored to their use, while promoting positive acoustic energies and atmospheres.
Our Response to Acoustic Challenges
The success of a project rests on two main pillars. Firstly, it involves defining the desired outcomes in terms of acoustic comfort for our living spaces; in other words, establishing the final acoustic performance expected by the client based on their specifications, regulatory requirements, and any sought-after labels and certifications (BREEAM, HQE, NF Habitat HQE, etc.). Subsequently, measurements must confirm the consistency between the desired performance and that achieved after construction.
Today, acoustic challenges are intertwined with carbon-related issues and new or more complex construction principles.
The multidisciplinary nature of our teams allows for the earliest possible integration of acoustic considerations during the study phases, ensuring maximum efficiency and optimal aesthetic integration. As experts in low-carbon and sustainable projects, we always prioritize innovative technical solutions that respect the environment and biodiversity.
Sinteo's Acoustic Expertise
We intervene throughout the lifecycle of all types of buildings:
Offices
Residential buildings
Educational institutions
Workshops
Cultural spaces...
Whether constructed from wood or concrete – materials with vastly different behaviors. To address the acoustic challenges of our sound environments as early as possible, and until the desired results are achieved during in situ measurements, we have adopted an approach based on active listening and education. The criteria taken into account include:
- Noise emitted into the external environment, which must be limited to ensure the tranquility of residents and users.
- Airborne noise (conversations, television, vacuum cleaners, etc.)
- Impact or footfall noise (falling objects, etc.)
- Noise generated by technical equipment (elevators, mechanical ventilation, air handling units, heat pumps, etc.)
- Acoustics of common areas (limiting reverberation, as these spaces can resonate and amplify noise).
Our mission: to offer functional, remarkable spaces that enhance living, studying, working, and recreation… while addressing the challenges of a sustainable city, which must be human-centric and decarbonized.
How do we conduct an acoustic assessment?
At Sinteo, our acoustic consulting firm offers two distinct initial acoustic diagnoses: the environmental diagnosis, which involves measuring the required silence level after our project's installation and is applicable to almost all projects, and the building diagnosis.
Initial diagnosis of the existing sound environment:
We conduct an in situ environmental acoustic diagnosis, and potentially a vibratory diagnosis during the initial phase of your project, to account for the site's sound context and precisely assess the acoustic challenges of the plot.
Assessment of existing retained areas:
Acoustic diagnostic measurements of existing structures are designed to characterize the current performance of your building's framework. The results enable precise dimensioning of the acoustic treatments required to meet the objectives of the acoustic program.
Have a project?
Contact our acoustics team!
Our offices in Paris, Marseille, and Bordeaux are available to provide you with tailored acoustic solutions, regardless of your sector.
Our Vision for Acoustic Consulting at Sinteo
As guarantors of occupant comfort in buildings, we strive to reduce noise pollution and the acoustic footprint of human activity in its environment.
Aware of the challenges associated with urban densification and the related noise and vibration nuisances, we are proactive in ensuring the daily comfort of various living spaces.
We address the challenge of low-carbon and sustainable construction through innovative technical solutions (bio-sourced acoustic materials, timber construction, etc.). For each building typology and throughout its lifecycle, we manage the issues related to:
- Regulatory requirements;
- Comfort challenges associated with traditional certifications (BREEAM, HQE, NF Habitat HQE, etc.), while also fostering interactions with other Sinteo departments to optimally integrate acoustics with environmental, low-carbon, and sound ecology considerations within biodiversity;
- Acoustics in timber constructions;
- More advanced comfort considerations, taking into account the quality of life at work and in occupant rest areas.
The profession of an acoustician in the building sector is based on 3 fundamental pillars:
- Providing active listening regarding topics related to the client's and future occupants' expectations and challenges concerning the acoustic environment, depending on the spaces;
- Analyzing and proposing suitable programs and acoustic objectives for projects;
- Verifying and ensuring, through on-site measurements, the acoustic performance ultimately achieved in projects, via standardized tests.
Project success primarily hinges on the interplay of two technical criteria:
- Firstly, it involves defining the objectives to be achieved in terms of results, i.e., "defining the building's final acoustic performance" based on regulatory requirements, labels and certifications, specifications, etc.;
- Secondly, ensuring consistency between the performance levels determined during the design phase and the measurements taken after construction. The objective is to ensure acoustic spaces meet user expectations and to add significant value to the real estate asset.
Key Figures in Acoustics
