Balcony form; An approach to reduce sound pressure level into the building façade

Résumé En

In this paper we discuss the benefits to be gained from the use of one of building forms, namely balconies, expressed in terms of reduction the sound pressure level, in A-weighted scale, into the tall building facade closed to roadway. The results obtained from a 3 dimension numerical model using pyramid tracing model developed by A. Farina. The geometry of the balcony with different widths and an inclined ceiling with different inclined angles is tested. The results indicate that the sound pressure level reduction, in A-weighted scale, obtained from changing balcony depth varies from 4 dB (A) to 11 dB (A), and increases with the increasing of floor level. While the inclined ceiling form is more effective in the higher levels, where the sound pressure level, in A-weighted scale, can be reduced by 6 dB (A). The inclined angles more than 5° are effective in the lower levels, while the inclined angle equal to 5° is more effective in the higher levels.