Sound insulation requirements in the Nordic countries:Fit for a "sustainable" future?

All Nordic countries have sound insulation requirements for housing and sound classification schemes originating from a common INSTA‐proposal in the mid 90’s, but unfortunately being increasingly diversified since then. The present situation impedes development and create barriers for trade and exchange of experience at a time, where cooperation is needed more than before due to the challenges related to defining appropriate acoustic requirements for comfortable light‐weight housing. There seems be a high interest for all parties involved in the building process to change the situation. Examples of current projects and initiatives are: AkuLite ‐ Sound and vibrations in lightweight buildings (Swedish project 2009‐2012) http://www.sp.se/sv/index/services/sptrateklibrary/newsletter/Documents/Nr%2030%20dec%2009%20NY.pdf http://www.vinnova.se/upload/EPiStorePDF/vi‐10‐03.pdf (Pilot study, p.83) Silent Spaces, Interreg IV project (Swedish‐Danish project 2010‐2013) http://www.interreg‐oks.eu/en/Menu/Projects/Project+List/Silent+Spaces Integrating and Harmonizing Sound Insulation Aspects in Sustainable Urban Housing Constructions COST Action TU0901 (European network 2009‐2013, 26 countries) http://w3.cost.esf.org/index.php?id=240&action_number=TU090