Wooden Buildings in Silent Sustainable Cities

Purpose and goal

The project will develop innovative methods for prediction of noise and vibrations in wooden buildings in densified cities, enabling timely and informed decision making in construction projects. Potential applications include, for example, new stretches of railways in existing urban areas and new wooden buildings located close to existing railway lines.

Expected results and effects

The research will facilitate an increased use of lightweight multistory buildings of wood in dense urban areas. The project work will ease the structural design with respect to structure-borne noise and vibrations in such buildings. The project will thus contribute to the development of a sustainable society in terms of: health, environmental impact, economic sustainability, quality of life, and accessibility.

Planned approach and implementation

A team of researchers from Lund University and Chalmers University of Technology, with complementary expertise, will collaborate with industrial partners in this project. We will work on development and validation of methods for assessment of noise and vibrations in buildings, and on implementation of the innovative tools in the design process. The work can be summarized in the following parts: (1) Development of computational models for informed decision making; (2) Case studies measurements and model validation; and (3) Communication with stakeholders.