Acentech Inc., a nationally recognized multi-disciplinary acoustics, audiovisual systems design, and vibration consulting firm, has developed noise control guidelines and provided architectural acoustics consulting for Assembly Row, a new mixed use development on 45 waterfront acres. Located on a previously underdeveloped site on the Mystic River, Assembly Row's master plan was conceived and coordinated by developer Federal Realty Investment Trust (FRT), which retained Acentech early in the project to address the complex issue of noise control as it related to the mix of uses within the four blocks.
Assembly Row's first phase, now accessible by T via the newly opened Assembly Station on the Orange Line, includes 450 apartments, an AMC 12-screen movie complex, New England's only LEGOLAND Discovery Center, numerous restaurants and outlet retail stores, 100,000 s/f of office space, and a six-acre waterfront park. Acentech developed succinct and prescriptive noise emissions standards that were included in FRT's Design and Technical Manual governing tenant fit-outs.
Similar standards were also applied to base building designs throughout the development. These standards were intended to ensure compliance with Somerville's municipal noise code and to reasonably protect the various properties from each other's noise emissions.
"Assembly Row is a new neighborhood designed to foster a 24/7 lifestyle. Less than ten minutes from Boston, it is the first neighborhood of its kind in the country, offering outlet retail alongside exciting entertainment and locally loved eateries with apartments and office space above fostering a true neighborhood feel," said Brian Spencer, director of development management group, on behalf of Federal Realty Investment Trust. "Acentech's proactive and systemic approach to noise control throughout the Assembly Row development has fostered good community and shared responsibility among the various parties."
Subsequently, Acentech consulted to architects and developers of specific buildings and tenant fit-outs to design acoustically favorable spaces and comply with the development's noise emissions standards. AMC's 12-screen movie complex, located above LEGOLAND Discovery Center in Assembly Row's Block 3, presented an exciting design challenge. Acentech worked to ensure that each cinema screening room would be protected from noise produced by patrons at the attraction, other building tenants, and from the building's mechanical equipment. The resulting design includes floating concrete slabs under every screening room, with certain walls and other features resiliently supported from the roof structure above. Through careful coordination with the architecture and building structure, these and other design features ensure that the screening rooms are not disturbed by activities in surrounding spaces, and likewise, that AMC's neighbors are not disturbed by movie soundtracks.