If you live close to Schiphol, aircraft noise is unavoidable. And there’s a greater chance that you experience noise nuisance. The position of your house, the layout of your street and the materials used in the construction of your home can all have an impact on noise. In light of this, an experiment has been set up in Hoofddorp to look into the possibilities of low-noise building. Read more about Fieldlab’s noise-adaptive construction in this blog.
The researchers have replicated three streets using 120 containers to represent homes. In the first street, the containers are directly opposite one another and the façades of these ‘homes’ are straight. With this traditional arrangement, the sound in the street will bounce back and forth against the façades. The second street has a kind of roof above it – a loggia – that can have a noise-reducing effect. In the third street, this covering is lower and the façades of the ‘homes’ are staggered. It is expected that this third layout will result in the lowest levels of noise.
The researchers are now measuring the noise levels in these three streets. During the experiment, the 'homes' will be fitted with sound-absorbing cladding to see what that does to the noise levels around the containers. In addition, the researchers will look at the effect of gardens and greenery, and so small gardens have been created in one of the streets. It is expected that gardens will result in further noise reduction. Finally, the researchers are also investigating heat, cold and wind, and the effect these weather conditions have on air quality.
With the knowledge gathered during this study, measures can be taken to build ultra-quiet homes. This will be useful for both existing and future residential areas. The goal is to develop improved living conditions and living environments around airports.
The Fieldlab noise-adaptive construction on Rijnlanderweg in Hoofddorp is part of a study being done by TU Delft in collaboration with AMS Institute. This experiment was set up with the help of the Municipality of Haarlemmermeer, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, the Ministry of the Interior and Schiphol’s Living Environment Foundation.