Jeffrey Mahn
National Research Council of Canada
With a PhD in Building Acoustics, Jeffrey Mahn is renowned for conceiving, developing and delivering various acoustic research programs which have been successfully funded by both industry and government organizations. Jeff Mahn is a Senior Research Officer for the National Research Council (NRC) of Canada, where he has worked for the best part of the last decade. His current studies focus on the prediction of structure-borne noise in multi-tenancy dwellings, particularly those constructed of mass timber and lightweight elements. This research includes the measurement of the vibration level difference of hybrid mass timber constructions in the NRC’s new flanking facility. Jeff is currently leading a task group to revise the standard, ISO 10848-1 for the measurement of airborne, impact and building service equipment flanking transmission between adjoining rooms.
In welcoming Jeff back to New Zealand, we look forward to learning about the current acoustic studies and facilities at the NRC. Jeff will share the acoustic groups research to support sustainable home design in Canada, including the latest research to develop guidance for homes intended for “aging in place”. Most Canadians have expressed that they want to be able to age in the home or community of their choice, and the Aging in Place Program at the NRC has set a goal of making this possible, in part by developing guidance for the design of homes intended for aging in place. Many aspects of design can impact the acoustic environment that residents will experience daily. Taking advantage of acoustic design methods and innovation can promote well-being, which in turn will better support an aging population.
The Research Initiatives and Innovation for Future Home Design in Canada
Tues 3 Sept 9:15am
A number of challenge programs to fund research have been initiated at the National Research Council of Canada in the past several years and the outcomes of the research is likely to influence the design of future dwellings and the retrofit of the existing stock in Canada. One of the challenge programs addresses the need for housing to support an aging population. It is estimated that by 2051, adults over the age of 65 will represent 25% of the population of Canada. Most aging adults would prefer to age in place in the dwelling or community of their choice. The Aging in Place Challenge Program was developed to fund research to support successful aging in place including research to develop guidelines for the design of dwellings intended for aging in place. Acoustics, lighting, climate control and other factors all play an important role in the design of the dwellings.
The NRC has also initiated the Low Carbon Built Environment Challenge Program to support the development and use of low carbon materials and systems to decarbonize the construction sector. Timber is one such material and the new four-room flanking facility at the NRC is currently being used to evaluate flanking transmission in hybrid constructions that combine mass timber elements with lightweight timber framed walls.
This presentation will start with an overview of the Aging in Place program and then give details about the projects underway at the NRC in collaboration with our partners in Canada and Japan. The presentation will then shift to the new acoustic facilities at the NRC which are being used to evaluate timber elements for the calculation of flanking transmission in low carbon buildings. The measurements are also giving insight into the need for changes to the method for measuring and predicting flanking noise transmission in buildings.