Modern acoustic solutions at the Elementary School in Zamien.
More and more local governments understand how important an aspect of the work and development of the youngest is the proper acoustics of school premises, and new standards in this area are increasingly willing to be introduced already at the stage of school design. The best example of this is the newly opened elementary school in Zamienie near Warsaw. And although only a few months have passed since the opening of the facility, students unanimously admit that it is a school like a fairy tale.
Elementary school in Zamien
© ECOPHON
The Elementary School in Zamien is a modern, spacious building with a variety of educational spaces and technological solutions that promote learning. It houses a total of 29 classrooms, two common rooms, a library, a two-section gymnasium with sanitary facilities, a gym and fitness room, and a corrective gymnastics room. There are currently 350 students, but the facility will eventually accommodate up to 1,500 children. With such a number of young and energetic people, noise would be guaranteed if a solution to this problem had not been thought of at the design stage.
From the beginning, our school has focused on combining tradition and modernity. Our goal is for students to receive a comprehensive well-rounded knowledge, learn about themselves, develop their passions and interests in the best working conditions for this. We create such an atmosphere that students, teachers, administrative and service staff feel comfortable here and do not return home tired after several hours at school. This is helped by the sound-absorbing panels installed throughout the school, which lower the noise and reduce the reverberation of the rooms, " says Michal Dolinski, director of the elementary school in Zamien.
Elementary school in Zamien
© ECOPHON
Sound-absorbing materials have been used in corridors and halls, locker rooms, sports hall, exercise and gym rooms, auditorium, dining room, as well as in teaching rooms and common rooms , says Mikolaj Jarosz of Ecophon. - That is, in all those rooms where good acoustics are particularly desirable. It is no coincidence that it is precisely for these types of rooms that precise requirements are specified in the obligatory acoustic standard PN_B-02151-4:2015-06 for designers , he adds.
One of the few rooms that are devoid of sound-absorbing materials are the spacious stairwells, and since they are separated by doors from corridors and halls they are enclosed, highly reverberant spaces. However, the facility's director stresses that this has its positive side. Even people who come to the school only for a short while, after walking through the noisy staircase momentarily notice the acoustic comfort that prevails in the corridors. - The school in Zamien is a new generation school. It doesn't even have traditional bells. They have been replaced by music coming from loudspeakers installed everywhere, and in some rooms it is so quiet that you can even hear the quiet buzzing of speakers connected to the power supply ," stresses Mikolaj Jarosz.
Elementary School in Zamienie
© ECOPHON
Parents are also satisfied with the good acoustics
They emphasize that the solutions contribute a lot to the conditions in which their children learn. They are aware of the results of educational research, which indicate that the quality of the space students are in has a direct impact on what their school performance is like. Solutions, such as wall panels placed in some rooms, arouse curiosity - many people reflexively touch them in an effort to understand how they work. However, they notice the greatest acoustic effect in the school's spacious auditorium, where, despite the large volume, there is no problem understanding speech.
Zamien Elementary School
© ECOPHON
When planning the implementation of a new educational investment in the Lesznowola Municipality - the construction of the Elementary School in Zam ien, we decided already at the design stage that in the new school we would use solutions that would address the problem of noise in the school. Acoustic solutions from Ecophon, used at the stage of the investment, have made the teaching rooms in the Elementary School in Zamienie free from annoying noise, even when the students are not at their quietest. The solutions used also have an impact on the comfort and effects of teachers, which is difficult to overestimate. This is very important, because the well-being of educators has a direct impact on the educational success of their students ," adds Jacek Bulak, director of Educational Facilities in Lesznowola, who was responsible for the investment.
Elementary school in Zamien
© ECOPHON
The school in Zamien is thus an example of the new acoustic standard, which is characteristic of schools designed and built in accordance with the new acoustic standard , adds Mikolaj Jarosz , " However, most existing school buildings drastically deviate from this standard. This can be changed by installing in them similar solutions to those in Zamienie, using, for example, the government's Laboratories of the Future program.
For more information, visit the company's ECOPHON, SAINT-GOBAIN page on the AiB portal.
