Research and Development of Noise Mitigation Measures for Public Housing Development in Hong Kong - A Case Study of Acoustic Balcony

Hong Kong is renowned for its high density living environment. With limited land sources, residential developments, including public housing developments, may be located in close proximity to heavily trafficked roads or other noise sources. Embracing a caring attitude to create a healthy living environment to our residents in public housing estates, the Hong Kong Housing Authority have applied a host of noise mitigation measures to reduce the impact and nuisance. Depending on the site environment, the mitigation measures can be applied at source, at propagation path and/or at receiver end. Apart from these measures, with more housing sites having severe noise issue, more innovative building design in a cost effective manner becomes essential. This paper shall highlight our recent research and development of innovative building designs on noise mitigation by making reference to some public housing developments in Hong Kong. A detailed case study will be presented holistically on the evolution of the acoustic balcony from its conceptual arc-screen form to the first generation of acoustic balcony and lately to an enhanced configuration to tackle the most severe noise challenge without compromising the performance of natural ventilation for the flats.