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sounding off

blog of acoustics, noise, vibration & audio-visual systems

How Today’s Teachers Use Classroom Display Technology

Thom Thelen | K-12 Education | August 25th, 2010 | Leave A Comment

image of classroom display technology and education touch panelKids today have it all: the cell phone, the iPod, the iPad, the internet, digital cameras, video games, laptops – ahhh!!! With all this stimuli, teachers have to battle to win the ever-decreasing attention spans of their students. And any teacher knows the statistics of how students learn: most of what they get their hands on (tactile learning), some of what they see (visual learning), and little of what they hear (aural learning). The good news is that new classroom display technology enables teaches to fire on all cylinders and teach fluidly while using all three methods of communication. So, how are teachers doing it? (more)

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Video: Lakeland Healthcare on the Benefits of Great Hospital Acoustics

Thom Thelen | Healthcare | July 8th, 2010 | 1 Comment

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Video Blog | Healthcare Acoustics Nightmare

Thom Thelen | Healthcare | July 1st, 2010 | Leave A Comment

This is a fictional video we made to illustrate the many problems of acoustics, noise, and vibration in modern healthcare facilities. It shows why hospitals and health care facilities need acoustical engineers. © 2010, Acoustics By Design.

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The Top 5 Acoustical Challenges of Church Video Venues

Thom Thelen | Worship | June 17th, 2010 | Leave A Comment

image of a church video venue with good acoustics and noise controlChurch video venues are popping up everywhere. For many churches, they have become the go-to solution for solving the growth “problem”, which of course is a good problem to have. Church video venues are great for a number of reasons: they can offer an alternative worship music experience, they can keep a church unified by offering the same video sermon (live or recorded) to multiple venues, they can be a terrific option for landlocked churches, and much more. But what about the acoustics? What are some of the most pressing acoustical challenges of church video venues? (more)

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Sound Healthcare 2010 – Upcoming Webinar

Thom Thelen | Healthcare | June 9th, 2010 | Leave A Comment

SoundHealthcare2010 Healthcare Acoustics SeminarWith only one stop left on our Midwest Tour, Sound Healthcare 2010 has already been presented to over 450 architects, engineers, designers, and healthcare professionals. But along the way something unexpected has been happening: people all across the country have been contacting us about attending the tour (which is a good problem to have). Some have gone as far as flying in to attend the seminars in person, but the majority have been asking about the possibility of a webinar presentation. Good news: if you are unable to make it to our last stop in Milwaukee on June 29th, we have a plan in the works to offer Sound Healthcare 2010 via webinar. But first, what are people saying about Sound Healthcare 2010? The following quotes are taken verbatim from our anonymous online survey:

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Video Blog | Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital

Thom Thelen | Healthcare | June 2nd, 2010 | 1 Comment

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SoundHealthcare2010 – Healthcare Acoustics Seminar – 2010 FGI Guidelines for Design and Construction of Health Care Facilities

Thom Thelen | Healthcare | April 16th, 2010 | Leave A Comment

SoundHealthcare2010 Healthcare Acoustics SeminarThe 2010 FGI Guidelines for Design and Construction of Health Care Facilities was published in January and adopted as building code by many states. How will you deal with the new noise, privacy, and acoustical requirements for healthcare facilities? Join us at SoundHealthcare 2010, a Health Care Acoustics Seminar, and find out what you must know about the new FGI Guidelines for HIPAA Compliance and LEED HC. There is no charge to attend this 90-minute seminar, but you must register in advance. The new guidelines are the culmination of over five years of collaborative work by researchers, architects, engineers, and acoustical consultants to solve the problems of speech privacy and excessive noise in hospitals. The guidelines are effective immediately for the design of all healthcare facilities. For perspective, consider the 2006 Guidelines which mandated single patient rooms in hospitals. As a result, single patient rooms are the absolute standard in healthcare design today. This was an overnight seismic shift in policy that affected all healthcare building projects. Well, the 2010 Guidelines are no different in their sweeping reforms, addressing a whole new dimension of healthcare design, namely: acoustics, noise, and HIPAA speech privacy laws. Register HERE to attend the seminar. (more)

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Kachur to Speak at Audio Engineering Society

Thom Thelen | Auditorium | March 31st, 2010 | 1 Comment

image of Audio Engineering Society Acoustical ConsultantEvery audio engineer must have a thorough understanding room acoustics to effectively perform their job. Mandy Kachur, Senior Consultant at Acoustics By Design, will discuss the fundamentals of acoustics for both large and small spaces at an upcoming meeting of the Audio Engineering Society. The discussion will focus on room modes, sound absorption, sound reflection, sound diffusion, sound isolation, and reverberation time. (more)

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Acoustics By Design selected as one of “West Michigan’s 101 Best and Brightest Companies to Work For”

Thom Thelen | Sustainable | March 24th, 2010 | Leave A Comment

Acoustics By Design selected as one of “West Michigan's 101 Best and Brightest Companies to Work For”

Acoustics By Design, an independent acoustical consulting and audio-visual design firm headquartered in downtown Grand Rapids, was recently selected by the Michigan Business & Professional Association as one of “West Michigan’s 101 Best and Brightest Companies to Work For.” 2010 marks the fourth consecutive year that Acoustics By Design (ABD) has received the award. (more)

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Take The Poll. What is the Biggest Challenge Facing LEED?

Thom Thelen | Sustainable | March 17th, 2010 | 1 Comment

survey statistics on LEED for Schools LEED for Health Care. What is the biggest problem facing LEED?Let’s face it, the LEED Green Building Rating System™ is facing some big challenges. The much heralded LEED for Healthcare program was supposed to be released in early 2009, but it is still sitting on the shelf unreleased. The LEED for Schools program has not been met with wide acceptance (since its release in 2007, only 26 schools have been certified under the program, as of this blog posting. See for yourself). And across the industry we are hearing of people who want to build projects to LEED specs, but without LEED certification. Whether or not that’s a good thing, is a topic of controversy. (more)

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Video Blog | Grand Rapids Art Museum | Project Profile

Thom Thelen | Auditorium | January 27th, 2010 | 1 Comment

1 Comment |

How Hotel Conference Rooms Can Make Money By Offering Audio-Visual Services In House

Tim Hamilton | Hospitality | December 16th, 2009 | 1 Comment

image of Hotel-Conference Room Audio-Visual System DesignWhen hotel owners and managers consider the costs of upgrading their current hotel conference room audio-visual system, they often consider outsourcing these services to a live event production company – one that would bring in portable AV equipment and run it for the events. But more and more hotel managers are learning that offering the audio and video services in-house can be a lucrative cash cow. And they’re finding that the conference room guests prefer a well-designed AVL system as opposed to a portable hodge-podge system. So what is the best way to make upgrades to your hotel conference room audio-video system without losing your shirt in the process? (more)

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Healthcare Study Links Noise to Patient Satisfaction

Thom Thelen | Healthcare | November 11th, 2009 | Leave A Comment

image of Healthcare Acoustics Study Links Noise to Press Ganey Patient Satisfaction SurveysFor years, the healthcare industry has used patient satisfaction surveys to gauge hospital performance and to identify ways for improving the healing environment. And the industry’s standard surveyor, Press Ganey Satisfaction Surveys, has always shown the number one patient complaint to be “noise in or around the room.” As acoustical consultants, we know that noise plays an important role in patient and staff satisfaction, but measuring just how much of an affect has always been difficult. Until now. (more)

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Collaboration – The New Buzzword in University Acoustics

Thom Thelen | University | October 7th, 2009 | Leave A Comment

image of college lecture hall acoustics and university acoustical consultantsThe education methods used in today’s universities are rapidly changing, and as the methods change, so does the architecture. The big buzz right now is creating “collaborative spaces for learning“. Traditional push down models of teacher-to-student lectures are being supplemented by a new focus on interactivity and, there’s that buzz word again, collaboration. So what are the acoustical challenges inherent in the new system? (more)

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The Speaker Shootout at High Noon

Thom Thelen | Auditorium | July 15th, 2009 | Leave A Comment

Question: How do you assure your client that they are getting the best possible speakers for their Auditorium or Fine Arts Center? Answer: You hold a “speaker shootout”. Recently one of our clients was in this exact situation, so we did just that. We invited several manufacturers of line array speakers to show up, all on the same day, so we could let our client hear the differences in sound quality back and forth in the exact same auditorium they would be installed in. Three different manufacturers arrived, speakers in tow, to hang their line arrays for the shootout. As the client’s AV Consulting Firm, we were there to moderate the shootout and ensure that each manufacturer got a fair shake (clean signal, volume levels, sound power levels, and so on). And then we began. The client had arranged for a group of about 20 listeners and key decision makers to join us for the shootout as a virtual “jury” to help decide which speakers to purchase. May the best speakers win! (more)

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How Green Design Can Save You Some Green $$$

Thom Thelen | Sustainable | April 22nd, 2009 | Leave A Comment

It seems like every project that comes across my desk has a stated goal of attaining some level of LEED Certification (LEED Silver, Gold, Platinum, whatever). We’re talking K-12 schools, universities, healthcare facilities, churches – they’re all “going green.” But how much does all this stuff cost? And can green design really save you some green $$$? (more)

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2009 AIA Grand Valley Honor Award Winners

Thom Thelen | Sustainable | April 2nd, 2009 | Leave A Comment

This past Saturday night we attended the 2009 AIA Grand Valley Honor Awards program at the Urban Institute of Contemporary Arts (UICA) in downtown Grand Rapids. As a Professional Affiliate Member of the AIA, our firm serves as consultants to architects.  Although we are not eligible to receive an award, we look forward to the chance to support our friends and celebrate their accomplishments in architecture over the last year. In addition, Acoustics By Design was pleased to be the acoustical and audio/video design consultants for six of the nominated projects!  The real surprise of the night was that the independent judges panel, made up of three distinguished architects from Iowa, declined to give out awards in several categories. (more)

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Why Courts Need an Expert Witness in Acoustics

Thom Thelen | Judicial | March 26th, 2009 | Leave A Comment

Our company president, Kenric Van Wyk, was recently featured in a Wood TV 8 interview as an expert on noise levels. The local NBC affiliate was covering a story on a teenager who had been killed by a train after walking down the tracks while listing to an MP3 player through ear buds. We brought one of our noise meters down to the tracks and made measurements while a train went by, and the story made the evening news. (more)

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The Acoustical Stimulus Package

Thom Thelen | Sustainable | March 12th, 2009 | Leave A Comment

Whether you’re a fan or not, Obama’s economic stimulus package passed recently, opening the door to gobs of government money (ie: your tax dollars at work) being pumped into the economy. So where do acoustics fit into the puzzle? Well, they’re becoming a key piece. To use an analogy from the car industry, acoustical design used to be viewed as a “Cadillac” service in the world of architecture and engineering. That is, acoustics were seen as an expensive add-on for only the most affluent clients. Not so anymore. 2009 is ushering in a new era of green building practices with acoustical design as a key and indispensable design element for buildings. And as the popularity of architectural acoustics increases, so do its funding and its benefits. (more)

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Acoustics, Patient Care, and The Healing Environment

Thom Thelen | Healthcare | March 5th, 2009 | Leave A Comment

The healthcare industry is booming and your healthcare costs are rising, so what do you get out of it? Well, besides higher monthly premiums and insurance costs, you do get one thing: choice. You have the freedom to choose between everything from primary care providers to hospitals to outpatient clinics to rehabilitation centers. And this choice is driving up the competition between healthcare providers causing them to place a higher priority on, well – you – getting you and keeping you as a loyal customer, uhm… I mean patient. (more)

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