The University of Michigan has a policy to not increase ambient sound levels as a result of equipment associated with new construction and buildings.
The expansion of the Ross Athletic Campus gave the University the unique opportunity to actually improve the daily ambient sound propagating to neighboring residences.
The Edwards Brothers Malloy publishing house resided on South State Street since the 1950s. In support of their processes, several air handlers, scrap collectors and cooling towers operated on the premises. The scrap collectors in particular could easily be heard at the residences to the west. The property was sold to the University for this project.
The 280,000 gross square foot facility includes a new indoor track, an outdoor lacrosse stadium with grandstands, an outdoor track with grandstands, and a sports performance center building. New building equipment included seven air handling units, a cooling tower, a genset, exhaust fans, and transformers.
Initially, Soundscape Engineering documented the ambient conditions and various sound sources over the 17-acre site. This information was used as the design limit for the new equipment. Later, we worked with the architect and mechanical consultant to incorporate sound mitigation elements into the design. Our predictions were accomplished by modeling the property and sound sources with three-dimensional sound propagation software capable of handling complex terrain and source information. The results achieved the design goals and are well within the Ann Arbor noise ordinance.
University of Michigan
Stephen M. Ross Athletic Campus
Athletics South Competition and Performance Project
Ann Arbor, Michigan