Case Study

SFU Technology and Science Complex 2 (TASC2)

Year Completed

2006

Capital Cost

$62.1M

Total Size

136,420 sqft.

About This Project

Located at the Burnaby campus of Simon Fraser University (SFU), the Technology and Science Complex 2 (TASC2) was built to meet the needs of multiple research programs across a variety of disciplines including biochemistry, health, chemistry, materials sciences, nanotechnology, computer science, math, kinesiology, and more.

The complex was completed on a fast-track design-construction program, and it features wet/dry laboratory space, clean rooms, offices, classrooms, an audio recording studio, and microscope and laser research suites, which required vibration-free floating floors. Ultimately, TASC2 was designed to be modular, flexible, highly energy efficient, and adaptable to future technologies.

Scope of services

In partnership with Chernoff Thompson Architects and general contractor Stuart Olson Inc., BKL provided comprehensive acoustical consulting services. BKL acousticians

identified target acoustical criteria to guide all decisions that could impact the building’s acoustics;
evaluated the indoor acoustical environment;
reviewed the sound isolation requirements and provided input for partition construction, door and seal selection, penetration details for mechanical and electrical services, etc.;
conducted calculations for reverberation time in the main lobby, waiting areas, and other spaces; and
recommended sound absorbing treatment to control reverberation.

BKL also reviewed and designed noise and vibration control measures for the mechanical systems, including air-handling units, as well as the electrical and plumbing services.

Specialist acoustical consultants and engineers attended design meetings, reviewed shop drawings, and carried out site visits to inspect and confirm the correct implementation of the recommendations. BKL tested noise, vibration, reverberation, sound isolation, and confirmed compliance with the project criteria.

Project highlights

Silencers were installed to control noise transmission from the air-handling units with excellent results.
No-media silencers were recommended for the operating rooms.
Sound absorptive treatment was recommended and installed in the lobby and waiting areas to control reverberation and loudness.
Acoustically rated enclosures were recommended and installed for the emergency generators.
Vibration levels from mechanical and electrical equipment were reduced through vibration isolation to levels lower than those required by the ASHRAE guidelines.

Despite the many challenges of constructing a complex building on a fast-track schedule, the project was completed on time and on budget. BKL acousticians worked hard to ensure that TASC2 has great acoustics; they considered the building’s diverse activities, many of which are potentially noise-sensitive, set appropriate acoustical criteria, and made recommendations to suit the facility’s various uses.

The People Behind Our Work

Our Technical Leads
Our Team

Paul Marks

M.Sc., MIOA

Vice President, Project Delivery

Paul Marks, M.Sc., MIOA

Vice President, Project Delivery

Paul Marks joined BKL in 2013. He is a full corporate member of the UK Institute of Acoustics and the Canadian Acoustical Association. He has over 20 years’ experience in the measurement, analysis, and assessment of noise, vibration, and acoustical matters and is a former member of the technical advisory team working with the UK government on noise and statutory nuisance issues. During this time, Paul has undertaken major projects within Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

He has experience in a wide range of multi-disciplinary environmental assessment projects including highway, rail, and air transportation infrastructure, mixed-use and brownfield regeneration schemes, renewable energy facilities, and power generation plants.

Paul also has experience in a broad range of building and architectural noise assessment projects including the design of residential, office, educational, and commercial buildings. He has also undertaken acoustical studies for major infrastructure developments including work in the design of appropriate sound-fields for room-spaces in multi-occupancy buildings, including atriums and performance spaces. His work regularly involves close liaison with other acoustical engineers, planning consultants, architects, designers, and a variety of specialist environmental consultants.

Paul is an experienced expert witness within the UK and has a broad experience of planning, licensing and statutory nuisance proceedings as well as being responsible for the successful design of a variety of impact mitigation measures including detailed engineering solutions, lay-out design, and administrative regimes where it has been necessary to closely liaise with clients, designers, and regulatory bodies in order to provide developments in accordance with sustainable principles.
Katrina Scherebnyj

M.A.Sc., P.Eng., MIOA

Technical Director, Building Acoustics

Katrina Scherebnyj, M.A.Sc., P.Eng., MIOA

Technical Director, Building Acoustics

Katrina Scherebnyj started consulting in acoustics in 2007 in England and joined BKL in 2014. Her experience covers architectural acoustics, mechanical noise control, and environmental noise control, and she has worked on major projects in Canada, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

In architectural acoustics, Katrina has worked on a range of new builds and refurbishment projects including schools, universities and higher education facilities, hospitals and healthcare facilities, performance spaces, cinemas, laboratories, office buildings, hotels, and residential buildings. She has provided acoustical design services in relation to sound insulation, room acoustics, and noise control.

Katrina was a co-author of Music Accommodation in Secondary Schools: A Design Guide, published for the UK Department for Education in 2010. Researching the guide, she carried out acoustical measurements in the music departments of several schools and interviewed music teachers and students on the suitability of their music spaces.

Katrina has extensive experience modelling internal sound fields and has carried out numerous models of performance spaces, lecture theatres, and other spaces where acoustical design is critical. She also has experience modelling outdoor noise propagation and has constructed and reviewed noise models for Columbia Containers in Vancouver, BC Children’s and Women’s Hospitals, the Pinnacle (once planned to be London’s tallest building), Crossrail, and other transportation projects.

Katrina is a member of the Canadian Acoustical Association and the Institute of Acoustics (UK).