The use of sustainable materials in building design and renovation
has been driven by government initiatives such as the Code for Sustainable Homes,
BREEAM and other assessment techniques. This paper presents the results from in situ
measurements of insulation against unwanted sound (noise) for a sustainable walling
system that has much anecdotal commentary concerning its good sound-insulating
qualities: straw bale walls. The case study building in which the measurements were
conducted is the Genesis Centre, an educational facility in Somerset. Schools need
to be acoustically effective buildings, as pupils and students need to concentrate to
take part in the education process. Sound insulation measurements were undertaken
according to ISO 140: 4 – 1998 and Approved Document E (ADE) procedure, or as
close to these standards as possible given the ‘ as built ’ nature of the case study
buildings. With due regard for the limitations that an in situ measurement case
provides, the acoustical data collected from these tests suggests that it is possible
for straw bale walls to achieve the minimum requirements of Part E with a range
of values of 48– 50 dB D n T ,w + C t r . These results are also compared with guidelines
related to acoustics in schools and robust details.

• The noise insulation properties of non-food-crop walling for schools and colleges: A case study
• The noise insulation properties of non-food-crop walling for schools and colleges: A case study