Royal Automobile Club
AAD Investigates Sound Percolation within Prestigious Pall Mall Building
Founded in 1897, the Royal Automobile Club's distinguished history mirrors that of motoring itself. In 1907, King Edward VII awarded the Club the Royal title that it still holds to this day and the Club's status was sealed as Britain's oldest and most influential motoring organisation. In 1999, the Club began operating as a private members' club, adding contemporary facilities, modernising and refurbishing for the benefit of its growing membership. Today, the Club boasts a flourishing events programme with unsurpassed accommodation, dining, sports and golfing facilities.
Following AAD's earlier consultation support concerning mitigation of plant noise affecting the Great Gallery Restaurant's terrace, a further challenge emerged which related to activity related noise transfer to the Club's residential rooms. With residential rooms, available to members, located above the Mountbatten Room Function Suite, AAD was appointed to determine how sound insulation might be upgraded to improve residential amenity. We conducted a thorough and complex investigation, consisting of a series of forensic sound insulation tests between the Mountbatten Room and a number of bedrooms above. This work revealed several sound transmission paths; due to the long history of building development, noise was breaking through long-forgotten ceiling cavities and from there into traversing ducts containing pipe-work then into en-suite bathrooms and related bedrooms.
"Essentially," explains John Sim, AAD's Associate managing the assignment, "there were what appeared to be painted fixed panel cladding in the Mountbatten Suite; however, behind this were doors leading into various storage cupboards; these cupboards were open at the top which linked to cupboard space with the ceiling void." Originally, these cupboard doors would have opened out on to a roof terrace area; however, this has subsequently been roofed over to accommodate plant and machinery. Consequently, activity related noise was being transmitted through these doors, up into high level void areas and into the ceiling/floor cavity above. AAD recommended means of improving the sound insulation measures to better mitigate percolation to members residential rooms above.
Architect: DHP (UK) LLP
