A new building acoustical concept for lightweight timber frame constructions

In this paper, a new building concept for multi-family lightweight timber frame housing is proposed. This concept combines party walls, floors and façade elements ensuring comfort levels equal or better than currently encountered in typical Belgian heavy constructions. Low frequency behaviour and prefabrication potential were the key points in the design process of the new wall and floor types. Nevertheless, structural aspects, fire safety issues and thermal capacity have been taken into account as well. Solutions were found by maximally exploiting the mass-spring-mass mechanism. Finally, a holistic approach was followed to develop a building concept in which the walls, floors and façade elements are connected in an optimized way.