Maybe you heard about this maybe you didn’t…or maybe you heard someone next to you eating SunChips out of the old compostable but VERY NOISY bag last summer. Well, Frito Lay just recently reduced the noise that the compostable bags make. They found that by using a more rubbery adhesive to put the bag together, the noise level dropped from around 80 to 85 decibels to around 70 decibels. Subjectively, a 10 decibel drop is about half as loud. So maybe now you can sneak a snack at midnight without waking up your neighbors and then bury the evidence in your compost pile. Happy Earth Day!
Archive for the ‘News’ Category
Did your airport full body scan include your ears?
Your ears may be used for more than just hearing sounds. Did you know that the top part of your ear does not change shape as you get older? And that someday it may be used to identify you? According to Technology Review, researchers at the School of Electronics and Computer Science of the University of Southampton are working on it.
Fractal Pad
This year we had the pleasure of working with Matthew Bremer from Architecture in Formation on Fractal Pad, which recently was honored by Interior Design Magazine’s Best of the Year awards. Congratulations Matt!
Ch-Ch-Ch-Chia Wall???
Probably at one time or another you had a Chia Pet or at least knew someone who did. How about the Chia Car? Well, the Ohio Department of Transportation has come up with an environmentally friendly, aesthetically pleasing sound barrier, the Chia Wall if you will. The naturally “green” noise barrier will separate a residential neighborhood from a noisy next-door interstate and will be constructed of bags of soil and seeds – just add water.
New York State Women-Owned Business Enterprise (WBE)
We are happy to announce that lally acoustical consulting is now certified with the New York State Division of Minority and Women Business Development as a Women-Owned Business Enterprise (WBE)!
International Green Construction Code open for comment
Public version 1.0 of the new International Green Construction Code (IgCC) was released this week by the International Code Council (ICC), opening the new model code document to public comments through mid-May. Like other ICC codes, the IgCC is intended to be adopted into law by municipalities who want a robust, vetted basis for local building regulations—and this time, one with energy efficiency, sustainability, and environmental quality at its core.
According to the ICC, this new “green” code is intended to supplement or “overlay” the existing family of ICC codes, including the International Building Code that was adopted as law (with many local edits) by New York City in 2008. The IgCC is also meant to be adopted as law, unlike voluntary green certifications like the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED system.
In the name of indoor environmental quality, this public draft of the IgCC contains a much broader set of acoustical requirements than the base International Building Code. We hope this section attracts some productive public comments in the coming months, since good acoustics are critical to environmental quality.