Optimal Sizes: Acoustic Clouds Value Engineering Exercise

St. Albert Public Library Storefront - St.Albert, Alberta

General Contractor: Koralta Construction | Architect: Manasc Isaac (Now Called: Reimagine) | Owner: City of St. Albert & St. Albert Public Library

Western Noise Control had the opportunity to work on the St. Albert Library Storefront project, which presented a unique challenge for our team. The library's design included several large acoustic clouds, which are an excellent way to control noise in a large space. However, the original design (pre-tender) called for oversized materials for these clouds, which would have increased the project's cost significantly. Fortunately, a value engineering exercise allowed us to find a cost-effective solution that still met the library's acoustic needs and brought the cost of acoustic scope down significantly! By using standard sizes, we could avoid the extra cost of custom manufacturing and reduce the amount of waste material produced during the manufacturing process. To implement this solution, we worked with the project's design team, Manasc Isaac, to review the specifications for the acoustic clouds, optimize the cloud sizes and increase cloud quantity. We also made sure that the new materials still met the library's acoustic reverberation time requirements.

The value engineering exercise proved to be a significant success for the project. By using standard building material sizes for the acoustic clouds, we were able to reduce the acoustic scope’s cost by over 60%, without compromising on quality or functionality.

Overall, the St. Albert Library project is an excellent example of how cost and scope optimization can help owners save money while still achieving a similar aesthetic to the design intent. By identifying opportunities for cost savings and working collaboratively with the design team, we were able to deliver a project that met the library's acoustic needs and budget requirements. If you have a similar project in mind and need to find cost savings, Western Noise Control may be able to help.