Two multi-million pound Yorkshire schemes call on WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff’s acoustics team

WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff’s Leeds-based specialist acoustics arm has been appointed to work on two multi-million pound projects in Yorkshire.

Interserve, the international support services and construction group, has appointed the acoustics business at the professional services consultancy, to provide acoustic design solutions for a new £27m purpose-built Piazza Learning Centre at the University of York’s Campus East which is due to open spring 2018.

The new building will feature seminar rooms, a large oval lecture theatre, laboratories and dining area; providing additional teaching capacity for 1,400 students.

The development will house the university’s new International Pathway College which has been set up to help international students’ progression to undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes.

Key to the acoustic design of building is retaining high levels of speech intelligibility throughout the seminar rooms as a high proportion of students will speak English as a second language.

The company is also providing specialist acoustic services for the £13.75m extension of White Rose Shopping Centre in Leeds, which is currently under construction.

WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff has been working with construction and infrastructure company Morgan Sindall on the new leisure facilities, which will include an 11-screen Cineworld featuring IMAX technology.

As part of the design, the team are testing a bespoke new roof system in a specialist acoustic laboratory to ensure maximum sound quality for the new cinema.

Graham Hornby, technical director of the acoustics team at WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff in Leeds: “Our acoustics team have a proven track record of providing expert, cost-effective designs to developments which require specialist solutions, whether that’s noise and vibration reduction or maximising sound quality.

“We look forward on supporting our clients throughout the life cycle of these new projects, from planning through to completion, to ensure our high quality acoustic designs are realised.”