The Facility Guidelines Institute (FGI) Guidelines serves as the industry standard document for healthcare design and construction.  In 2014, the standard was updated to include reference to the Sound & Vibration Design Guidelines for Health Care Facilities, which provides minimum standards for numerous acoustical issues, including site exterior noise, acoustic finishes, room noise levels, sound isolation, speech privacy, and building vibration.  Although the adoption of the Guidelines is in itself voluntary, 42 states currently mandate at least some form of the Guidelines in their building codes, making the design teams responsible for good acoustics in healthcare facilities.  This one—hour presentation reviews all six of the main acoustical areas of concern, and provides examples and design techniques to achieve criteria.

1. Familiarize the audience with the intent of the FGI Guidelines and the S&V Design Guidelines for Healthcare Facilities.
2. Review the six acoustical areas of concern in the S&V Guidelines.
3. Witness auditory examples of three important acoustical parameters that relate to building acoustics — reverberation, sound isolation, and ambient noise.
4. Learn different design techniques for attaining acoustical metrics such as reverberation time, sound transmission class (STC), and Noise Criteria (NC).