Marc S. Newmark
Director, Noise and Vibration Group
Remote Monitoring Services Co-Leader
Principal
The Hub on Causeway, a mixed-use development, includes an extensive array of different spaces and occupancies that will enliven the neighborhood around the Boston Garden.
The project includes a 38-story residential tower (Hub50House), a 31-story office tower, 235,000 SF of retail tenant space including a supermarket and cinema, 200 hotel rooms, Big Night Live music club, below-grade parking for 800 spaces, and exterior pedestrian space.
Acentech was brought on at the start of the design process to provide advice and recommendations on a variety of noise and vibration issues, including isolation from both under- and above-ground transportation systems, isolation from the adjoining TD Garden arena, noise control of the mechanical systems to the surrounding areas, and sound absorbing finishes for the lobby and other public spaces of the project.
Vibration from transportation systems has the potential to produce audible noise inside nearby buildings. The characteristic low-frequency “rumble” of a passing subway train is commonly experienced within buildings of many urban cities. To address this issue, Acentech visited the site to measure the ground vibrations produced by Orange and Green Line trains and the adjacent Central Artery Tunnel, then used that data to predict the groundborne vibration and noise in occupied areas of the building. Those predictions were tcompared to relevant criteria to confirm what mitigation would be needed.
To understand the ambient acoustical conditions at the site, it was necessary to conduct a sound level survey. This sound level data provided a very useful baseline reference for future comparisons. With these findings, Acentech recommended façade constructions for the building, and helped to determine how much noise control was needed for the mechanical systems that generate exterior sound emissions.
With guidance from the owner and design team, Acentech also defined suitable criteria for acoustics within the building. These criteria included sound isolation of the building occupants from the exterior environment (roadway, TD Garden, train station, pedestrian spaces) via the building façade, sound isolation within the buildings, activity noise control in the amenity spaces and lobbies, mechanical system noise and vibration control for occupied spaces throughout the project, and mechanical system noise to the exterior to meet the prescriptive sound level limits of the City of Boston Noise Ordinance.
