Background
Anderson Acoustics was commissioned by Langham Estates Management to advise on the acoustic design of the urban axe throwing venue, Whistle Punks, located at 53 Eastcastle Street, W1W 8ED.
An existing noise and vibration issue had been raised with regards to the separating wall between the Whistle Punks venue, which operates 7 days a week, and the adjoining art gallery, Pilar Corrias.
What We Did
A site visit and survey was undertaken in the venue space and adjacent art gallery in order to understand the level of airborne and re-radiated sound transfer into the adjacent art gallery via the existing separating wall.
Axe throwing lanes were located on both sides (east and west) of the venue with no independent lining.
We undertook noise measurements whilst axe throwing activity occurred in the venue during a typically busy Saturday afternoon. Patron noise and axes hitting the backboards were noted to be dominant whilst amplified music was insignificant.
Our measurement considered the Leq,t level, as this is often used for measuring all sources of noise in the environment, alongside the prevailing ambient noise levels which were measured within the gallery outside of Whistle Punks operating hours.
Given the nature of Axe Throwing activity we also considered the Lmax level. The Lmax is defined as the maximum noise level during a noise event and can be used to assess the impact of occasional loud noises, such as axes hitting the backboard of the lanes.
Our assessment showed that both levels significantly exceeded the prevailing ambient noise level in the gallery with patron noise and axe throw impacts clearly audible within the gallery.
Result
Based on the results of the survey, we then provided outline advice on appropriate mitigation and upgrade measures that could be put in place to minimize noise break-out to the gallery.
This included recommending all timbers connecting the separating wall and backboards be removed and that the backboards are altered to become free-standing. We also recommended an independent wall lining be installed along the line of the separating wall.
The modifications significantly reduced noise transfer from the axe-throwing activities to the art gallery, alleviating the concerns of the gallery’s management and patrons.
