Insight - BAP Acoustics: Specialist Acoustic Consulting Engineers

Summertime & the listening is breezy

True story: I’m not an acoustical engineer, nor do I play one on TV. But as a blogger for BAP Acoustics, I believe it’s safe to say that this former English major has learned more about sound and the sciences thereof than most former English majors do. Coupled with the fact that I’m an eclectic (she understated) music lover who enjoys the outdoors, my summery inspiration to write this article will make perfect sense.

August 6, 2019 No Comments

GREEN ACOUSTICS: Because Noise Pollution Stinks

British Colombia is known nationally and beyond not only for its abundant natural beauty, but the real estate prices—the highest in Canada—that beauty inspires and enables. This holds particularly true for large urban centres such as Vancouver and Victoria, where owning a detached house remains out of reach for most middle class people. So it’s easy to understand how condominium (or strata) living presents a more accessible alternative. My husband and I live in the second Vancouver condo we’ve owned in the many years we’ve lived here and can attest to numerous advantages strata living offers, which, aside from relative affordability, include shared property maintenance costs and freedom from responsibilities like shovelling what little snow falls here.

July 4, 2019 No Comments

When noise is more than a nuisance: Protecting ears & the space between

As a parent, you can take straightforward and sensible precautions to protect your kids’ hearing: Keep music, television, and gaming volumes at safe levels. If your wee one loves music festivals, put some protective ear muffs on her; they work, and look just about too cute for words.

June 4, 2019 No Comments

Choosing an acoustical consultant: It’s all about due diligence

In crafting this opening paragraph, the most salient observation I’m inclined to share is that—just as anyone can call themselves a writer—anyone can call themselves an acoustical consultant. That doesn’t mean highly qualified acoustical consultants aren’t out there, but it does suggest you’ll need to take some time and care to find the right one for you. Hint: While anyone can indeed call themselves an acoustical consultant, acoustical engineers earn their titles through rigorous academic study and credentials.

May 14, 2019 No Comments

Now we’ve heard everything! Acoustical myths soundly debunked.

Some bloggers begin mapping out their posts by searching for images that align with or enhance the topics they’re writing about. So imagine this writer’s “surprise” when Google failed to deliver the perfect photo to share with you here. Could it be that no one has ever taken a picture of the DIY soundproofing project that entails nailing mattresses to walls? And while carpeting walls may or may not constitute an aesthetic felony, it definitely fails as a soundproofing measure. But hey, we do have visual representation of that particular myth.

April 3, 2019 No Comments

CrossFit vs Cross Neighbours: Building a fitness centre? Now’s the time to plan for noise mitigation.

Whether it’s elevating home organization to a zen-like practice or hurling truck tires around an echo chamber, some trends take root virtually over night and blossom at length despite their glaring (or, more fittingly blaring) issues.

February 28, 2019 No Comments

I Can Hear What You’re Thinking: Open-Plan Office Acoustics Demystified

Graced with a temperate climate the rest of Canada might envy, we who inhabit the BC Lower Mainland can grow all sorts of goodies. The one thing we can’t grow, however, is more land … least of all in our most densely populated cities where, increasingly, white collar workers spend their shifts in open plan offices. The job market, career opportunities, and workplaces of today often differ from that of 10+ years ago. Many business people, particularly young entrepreneurs, are strapped for capital and on the lookout for more affordable alternatives to traditional office design, so open plans are becoming more and more popular.

February 3, 2019 No Comments

I don’t like the tone of your strata investigation: How to make noise about noise

When we think of noise so bothersome it inspires formal complaints, we’re likely to think in terms of its level, AKA volume or loudness. Your neighbour cranks on her music loudly enough to impress DJs, for example, and its sound transmits through your floors, walls, or ceiling, causing disturbance.

November 30, 2018 No Comments

6 reasons to hire acoustic consultants for your project … at an early stage in its progress

You trust your well-trained, compassionate family doctor. But would you be comfortable with a diagnostic hint of “It’s probably acid reflux, but it might be throat cancer”? Chances are, you’d be as unlikely to accept a “might be” as she would to let you leave her examining room before referring you to a specialist. At the very least, she’d send you off to a lab with blood test requisition in hand.

October 31, 2018 No Comments

The Science—and Nature—of Sanctuaries

Sanctuary. The concept means different things to different people, and all those meanings play important roles in healthy, sustainable communities. It could be a place for community gathering; it could be your home. In this case study of the Brechin United Church Redevelopment in Nanaimo, BC, both those meanings informed our work with the client, BC Housing. One of several projects slated for construction by 2020, this redevelopment stems from a united commitment to providing much-needed affordable rental housing in the Lower Mainland and on Vancouver Island.

October 2, 2018 No Comments

Category: Insight

Summertime & the listening is breezy

GREEN ACOUSTICS: Because Noise Pollution Stinks

When noise is more than a nuisance: Protecting ears & the space between

Choosing an acoustical consultant: It’s all about due diligence

Now we’ve heard everything! Acoustical myths soundly debunked.

CrossFit vs Cross Neighbours: Building a fitness centre? Now’s the time to plan for noise mitigation.

I Can Hear What You’re Thinking: Open-Plan Office Acoustics Demystified

I don’t like the tone of your strata investigation: How to make noise about noise

6 reasons to hire acoustic consultants for your project … at an early stage in its progress

The Science—and Nature—of Sanctuaries

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