Morgan Sindall is building a new acoustics institute at the University of Salford.聽
Costing nearly 拢24m, the building will have vibration-isolating foundations and walls constructed from extra dense concrete to insulate the space from external noise to create several idealised acoustic environments.
Completion is scheduled for mid-2027.
The facility will enable forensic precision engineering on everything from AI-enabled hearing aids to the noise that heat pumps create.
The building will be centred around a triple-height space housing a suite of acoustically isolated laboratories. These include anechoic chambers and a wind tunnel, a four-chamber building environment testing suite to measure the acoustic properties of construction materials, and a perception engineering sleep laboratory to understand how people respond to sound.
It will house some of the quietest rooms in the world, designed to meet international standards for ultra-precise measurements.
An overhead crane system will ensure the most heavy-duty projects can also be put through their paces acoustically. The design will provide the perfect environment for testing the noise of anything from aeroplane engines to loudspeaker stacks.
The project is part of Crescent Innovation, which forms part of the wider 拢2.5bn Crescent Salford masterplan being delivered by the Crescent Partnership. This comprises the University of Salford, Salford City Council and ECF 鈥� a partnership between Homes England, Legal & General and Muse.
Morgan Sindall Construction northwest area director Steven Gregory said: 鈥淥ur relationship with the University of Salford is built on shared values of innovation, quality and sustainability. This new acoustics building will be a true testament to those principles 鈥� a space designed with exceptional precision to support world-leading research. Using our Intelligent Solutions approach, we鈥檙e ensuring the facility meets the highest standards of performance, while delivering lasting benefits for the Salford community.鈥�
University of Salford professor of acoustics Trevor Cox said: 鈥淭his is a very exciting time for acoustics at Salford, as acoustics research is becoming increasingly relevant to society today. The World Health Organisation recently labelled noise the second most harmful environmental pollutant, and new technologies such as drones, AI and EVs are changing everyday sounds in our world.鈥�
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