Isolation of Performance Halls from Ground Vibration

One of the inherent characteristics of transportation systems, especially steel wheel and rail systems, is that vehicles running on the roadway or trackway generate vibration which transmits through the ground into nearby buildings. As our urban areas build up or are redeveloped, it is frequently desired for a variety of reasons to place a concert hall or theater in a location which is in close proximity to or over a rail system or roadway. In such cases, the application of building isolation design, either to the performance hall within a building or to an entire building, can be used to allow placement in a location which would otherwise be unacceptable because of the noise, and possibly vibration, generated within the building due to the nearby transportation facility. Recently there have been several instances where the desired location in a central city area, or in proximity to other arts facilities, resulted in major concert halls being located near rail system subway tunnels. Structural design configurations were developed to accomplish noise and vibration isolation of the performance hall box within the building to eliminate the groundborne noise and vibration as a potential intrusion within the performance halls. In most cases the design criterion was that the noise from outside sources should not exceed the threshold of hearing. Design procedures, configurations and materials to successfully achieve this criterion are presented.