Acoustic consulting

As a global leader in acoustic consulting, Arup’s experts make the unseen changes that can transform our daily experience in diverse environments.

We are responsible for beautiful sound in concert halls around the world; also for controlling vibration in sensitive laboratory environments. We help reduce the impact of noise from airports, highways and stadiums, while making sure sound systems are heard with clarity in even the busiest transport hubs.

Our international acoustic design team provides services in architectural, building, transport and environmental acoustics. We help clients achieve their aspirations in acoustics by guiding projects from conception and planning through design, construction, testing and commissioning.

Precise performance

Acoustic excellence breeds success in performing arts and broadcasting. Arup’s technical, creative and strategic specialists shape performance spaces that work for owners and operators and win acclaim from audiences.

In projects such as the Melbourne Recital Centre (MRC), Arup fuses architecture with acoustics to achieve optimal sound quality. In the MRC’s Elisabeth Murdoch Hall, pixelated surfaces fabricated from Australian hoop pine create visual interest while also enhancing the timbre and blending of instruments.

We draw on the resources of Arup’s global offices and the skills of some of the world’s best acoustics specialists in order to realise business-critical projects in any location. We also continue to invest strongly in technology and research.

Arup’s Soundlab, an innovative virtual listening environment, allows clients and designers to hear the sound of existing spaces, and to test the sound of designs. It helps us set new standards, as at the Oslo Opera House.

Steering planning success

SoundLab helps us give developers and stakeholders a more accurate understanding of environmental noise impacts for planned developments. That insight, together with our experience in managing noise and vibration issues, helps us resolve potential hurdles at planning stage, win acceptance and secure consents.

We contribute strongly to environmental impact assessments, from high-profile projects such as High Speed 1 to renewable energy developments including wind farms in Wales. By partnering with our environmental design specialists, we sensitively minimise the potential impact of development on communities.

Positive environments

Room acoustics contribute to pleasant and productive environments in schools, workplaces, homes and hotels. Arup excels in these environments. We also take room acoustics further with specialised applications, such as our acoustic strategies to ensure doctor–patient confidentiality for the Yale University Health Service Center.

At Arup, we are strongly equipped to meet the emerging acoustic challenges of sustainable building design. Arup’s acoustically optimised air vents allow natural ventilation into buildings without unwelcome street or background noise. We have even been able to bring broadcast-quality acoustics into naturally ventilated studios for BSkyB’s Harlequin 1.

We also work closely with building services engineers in sound-sensitive environments such as the Lewis Gluckman Gallery to minimise noise intrusion from alternative technologies for heating and cooling.