Noise analysis for housing adjacent to railways

Step-by-step guide

In Forma, a noise analysis run on a design proposal can be used to design alternative solutions to help with noise mitigation.

Benefits of a rapid noise analysis:

• Identify areas of high noise.
• View the effects on noise mitigation in real-time as edits to the design are made.
• Review the detailed noise analyses side by side to examine the trade-offs of alternative proposals and make data-based decisions.

In this example of a residential proposal, the site is located right next to a railway, so noise is a significant factor during design assessment.

To run a rapid noise analysis:

1. In the right panel analysis tools, click Noise.

2. In the right panel, adjacent to Analysis area, click Custom circle.
3. In the canvas, the selection area for the noise analysis is attached to the pointer. Click to place the center of the analysis.

The immediate result shows that the noise level near the railroad is relatively high, as indicated in red in the canvas. Also, in the right panel under Rapid noise, the percentages corresponding to the color-coded noise levels are reported.

4. In the Navigator, switch to a different proposal, such as Alternative 4.

Note: The analysis updates automatically, as do the alternative noise level values under Rapid noise in the right panel.

To see updates of a Rapid noise analysis in real time:

5. In the canvas, replace the row house closest to the railroad and the nearby vegetation with a couple of line buildings.

Note: With each design change, the Rapid noise analysis updates.

The added line buildings act as a buffer, reducing the noise near the row houses, as indicated by the greener colors. And in the right panel, the total distribution of noise is now 48% green, whereas previously, only 39% was green. This means that making quick design changes reduced the noise impacting the site by 9%.

To view different analyses side by side:

6. In the right panel, click Run detailed analysis (~5–20 mins) to trigger the detailed analysis.
7. When the results are ready, in the top bar, click Compare.
8. From the left panel, select the desired analyses, such as the recently updated design with Line buildings and the analysis for the original design.
9. In the left panel, expand the relevant proposals to select each Noise analysis.
10. Review the noise analyses side by side.

Note the color gradients and percentage values, showing the differences in these two versions of the design:

11. Place inspection points to view the exact reduction in noise.

To export these views using a screen capture:

12. In the visibility and orientation toolbar, click Camera position.
13. Select 4K Screen capture with graphics to download the PNG with inspection points.