Audio and acoustic design of the University of Sydney's indoor environmental quality laboratory

The quality of indoor environments such as commercial offices is affected by many factors, including temperature, humidity, air movement, illumination, ambient sound and room acoustics. In 2012, a new laboratory was established at the University of Sydney to examine how such factors affect human occupants. In terms of sound, the design of the laboratory has three components: the acoustic design of the testing rooms; the audio system design (for introducing artificial soundscapes); and the design of generic soundscapes to support experimental work in the laboratory. Acoustic design considerations of the laboratory allow for the testing rooms to be configured as high grade office environments. The laboratory has a 24-channel audio system for introducing realistic and potentially complex sound fields into the testing rooms, both from within and outside the rooms. Parametrically controlled soundscapes are being developed for interior sources (such as building services noise) and exterior sources (such as transport noise). This paper describes the laboratory's acoustic conditions, audio system and soundscapes.