APARTMENT DESIGN: THE NEXT GENERATION (PART 2)

ACOUSTICS

Most apartment owners or buyers have either experienced or heard horror stories relating to apartment acoustics. Hearing your neighbour's toilet flushing during a classy dinner party, or experiencing the bass vibrations of their home theatre system are not conducive to good relations. The next generation of apartment designs are taking these problems very seriously, and the Society of Acoustic Engineers is even mooting a star rating system to give purchasers an objective measure of overall performance. In the best designs the architect and acoustic engineer work together to assess the plan layout, both horizontally and vertically, and work out areas of acoustic weakness. If a bedroom on one level is above and tiled bathroom on another, rubber underlays under the tiles on the level above absorb footfalls before they become a problem. If the bedroom backs onto a neighbour's living room, special multilayer acoustic walls are used, to prevent audio visual systems and the like from disturbing sleep. Special insulating blankets, known as lagging, isolate the sound of running water in pipework. Windows are also a very important part of this equation (see below).

WINDOWS

The most common type of windows in current apartment buildings are made of aluminium. Relatively cheap, durable and easy to maintain, they can be powdercoated in a wide range of colours. They are also great conductors of  both heat and cold, and being of resonant metal, are poor acoustical performers. The locks on the majority of these frames are also unsophisticated, resulting, in taller buildings, in whistling effects due to wind, or windows that are heavy to open.

Demaine Partnership have been one practice experimenting with European windows made of aluminium and PVC. The acoustically dead plastic combined with sophisticated multipoint locks and tilt and turn opening mechanisms have made Demaine's Kings and One Wallace Avenue developments standouts in terms of acoustic and thermal performance. These windows were supplied by Everglaze industries, from mouldings supplied by giant German manufacturer Rehau.

Plastic is, however, not the only solution, and PVC in particular has raised issues in regard to the recyclability of the material, and toxicity in manufacture. A new range of aluminium windows is emerging, the so-called 'thermally broken' frame. These use a layer of non conductive material (usually a tough plastic) to separate the internal and external face of the frame. The prevents heat and cold being conducted from one side of the frame to the other, and also has a benefit in reducing the acoustic conductivity of the frame. Manufacturers include the Heuck (a German brand distributed and fabricated by Miglas industries), and local manufacturer Lidco.

Other options include aluminium faced timber frames. The timber is exposed inside the apartment, where it can be painted to any colour the occupant desires (a limitation with both aluminium and PVC frames, where the exterior colour is generally the colour seen inside). The aluminium protects the exterior. These frames, which are generally quite expensive, are also very resistant to noise when combined with good locks and seals, and very effective from a thermal point of view. Widely used throughout Europe and America, local manufacturers and suppliers include Miglas, Qualital, Rylock and Technova. Also emerging are new composite frame materials, including wood plastic composites. These use a mixture of wood fibre blended, in an aerated mix, with plastic. Recycled plastics can be used, and in the correct combinations these promise external durability of PVC, an interior that can be painted to match décor, low thermal conductivity and excellent acoustic properties. Demaine Partnership are working on designs developing this technology.

We will also see windows incorporating higher levels of automation. Central locking, as in a car, is great in theory, but to work properly in a house requires windows that can close and lock automatically. This also presents the possibility of using windows that open when prevailing winds and external temperatures would allow effective cooling of interior spaces, reducing demand on energy sapping airconditioning systems.

GLAZING

Glass technology has undergone a revolution in the last ten years, with new low 'e' (low emissivity) improving both winter and summer performance. New coatings are allowing clear glass to approach the shading performance of coloured, tinted glazing. Double glazing has been slashed in price in the last few years, making this technology, a very effective way of reducing heat loss in winter, much more affordable.

Thick glass with good acoustic properties combined with thermal characteristics will be more common, combined with high performance window frames, as buildings in inner city locations and near activity centres are constructed close to main roads and other noise sources.

BALCONIES

For many of the last generation of apartment buildings, the balcony is a somewhat token affair. A balcony meeting Rescode's 8 square metre requirement can be a pretty mean space, but if you consider this space is equal to an secondary room measuring 2.7 m x 3.0 metres it should be a useful area. This is part of the reason why some architects are exploring the concept of wintergardens in place of balconies. These spaces are enclosed by two layers of bifolding glazing, an external face on the building exterior, and an internal layer adjacent to living areas. Opening the external layer only, creates a conventional balcony, which in summer provides shading to the living areas. Leaving the external layer closed and opening the internal layer creates a larger living area and also creates a winter mode with direct sun access to warm the interior air. Closing both layers creates a sun room, and is also an excellent night mode with very good acoustic and insulation qualities. The fact that this area can be included in the saleable area of the apartment is obviously not far from the minds of developers…