Innovation is the key to solving noise pollution for the benefit of all. This award, kindly sponsored by the Institute of Acoustics, recognises original thinking, products and solutions when faced with particularly challenging acoustic issues.
Winner: Defra Noise and Statutory Nuisance Team & Partners
Good policy has the potential to improve the lives of all citizens free from inequality and bias. To provide a strong evidence-base, a new noise model was developed demonstrating innovation, robust technological advancement and a sustained commitment to long-term noise exposure reduction. It transforms the way that government can understand the scale of impact from road and rail noise and provides enhanced capability for responsible authorities. It more accurately depicts the soundscape of the nation by mapping every public road and railway to 100% 10m resolution – this is thought to be the first time an entire country has been mapped to this level of detail in the world. It enables health and biodiversity impacts to be assessed; the potential for soundscape and tranquil areas evaluations and much more. The groundbreaking model has been adopted across all UK governments – and it is modular, meaning it is resilient and future-proofed allowing the benefits to be reaped for many years to come in a sustainable and consistent manner.
Highly Commended: Apex Acoustics
The problem of evaluating future acoustic performance in use, remains largely unaddressed and difficult to solve. Taking a human-centred approach, this project captures and reproduces the soundscape of a place or building in use, by combining point of view video with binaural audio. This means that what you see and hear is exactly what the person standing at that point in the building or place saw and heard. This multi-media approach offers designers the opportunity to explore a reference library of buildings to better set design criteria for new buildings.
Highly Commended: Atkins Jacobs Joint Venture
Excessively noisy cars and motorcycles that have been modified or are driven in a way that creates additional noise are a public health burden blighting the lives of millions across the UK. This novel solution was developed working with a multidisciplinary project team of acousticians and specialist partners, using a holistic evidence-based approach to recommend enforcement noise levels. A range of parameters not used before were considered, including enforcement routes, fairness, acoustic characterisation, subjective perspectives and tolerances.