Bamboo Revolution Acoustic Design Project

The Bamboo Revolution showroom is a large industrial space in downtown Portland, OR, that is shared with a coffee bar. The owner has asked the CWU Physics Department to perform an acoustical analysis of this space and to make recommendations for ways to reduce sound transmission from the coffee shop to the showroom side, without blocking sight or movement. This task is especially well suited to a computer model, which enables the simulation of many different configurations of panels that absorb and scatter sound. After visiting the site in January 2019 to assess the dimensions of the room and determine the relative location of noise sources, we used the software package SoundPLAN to create a 3-D computer model of the showroom. Important architectural features, such as ceiling beams and windows, as well as two music speakers, are included in the model. With no alterations, the model results show that the sound level at the showroom end of the space is 2 dB less than the coffee shop end, where the speakers are located. This is the baseline against which the placement of acoustic panels is compared. Our approach is essentially to work backwards from a large partition of sound absorbing material, taking pieces out of it to find the smallest amount of material that achieves the target reduction in sound level. We also investigated how the position and orientation of individual panels affects the sound transmission while also creating an aesthetically pleasing visual display