Ask us about the newest changes to the Acoustical Control section of the 2017 ANSI/ASHRAE/IES/USGBC 189.1 Standard for the Design of High-Performance Green Buildings. This newest acoustical control section was written in response to the recent research and occupancy surveys for commercial buildings by the University of California Berkeley’s Center for the Built Environment (CBE), which found that most building occupants are dissatisfied with speech privacy within both open offices and private office configurations, and that LEED and green rated buildings had more acoustical performance complaints than standard construction.

The World Green Building Council found that up to 90% of the total cost of a commercial building is the salary and benefits of the employees, about 9% is rent and operations, and 1% is energy use. The ASHRAE community decided it was time to ensure the term high-performance was not just in reference to energy efficiency, but also reflects on the interior performance for its occupants. Our team has been a proud contributor to these updates, and would love to discuss how you can integrate this new standard into the design and construction of your project.