Blog

A Trip to the Silencer Factory

When I started my career as an acoustical consultant back in the US, I had no idea that Winnipeg, my hometown, was home to not one but multiple companies that manufacture acoustical products. As an independent consultant, I give building owners, property managers and contractors different options for where to source acoustical products, and it’s...

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Great Acousticians in Fiction

Literature, theatre and cinema count many engineers, architects and musicians among its heroic and tragic characters. Rudyard Kipling’s The Bridge Builders dramatizes the engineering of a monumental bridge across the Ganges. In Sidney Lumet’s 12 Angry Men, an architect saves an innocent boy from prison by persuading fellow jurors to agree on a not guilty...

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How Did Restaurants Get So Loud?

Recently a friend asked me to find a place in Winnipeg where we could sit and have a conversation about a sensitive topic. We needed privacy but also wanted to feel relaxed. I imagined a quiet cafe or restaurant, but not so quiet that other guests would be able to overhear our conversation. It was...

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Why Hire an Acoustical Consultant?

A condo property manager in Winnipeg got in touch with me to ask for help with a noise problem. Residents were complaining that the building’s multi-purpose room got so noisy that some guests would leave events early and others wouldn’t come at all. They were particularly worried that senior residents with hearing loss were feeling...

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