Modernizing a Historic Landmark   
ICON Carnation Building, San Diego - Tanner Hecht Architects

This 541,876 sq ft mixed-use development will include 320 residential units - a mix of live/work spaces, studios, flats, lofts, town homes and penthouses- split between four buildings ranging in height from five to 24 stories and over 16,000 square feet of ground floor retail space. ICON will retain the original façade of the historic Carnation Building, built in 1927 and designated as a City of San Diego Historical Landmark in 1990

Scope
Our team provided the full scope of acoustical design services including architectural, mechanical noise and vibration control, plumbing isolation, environmental noise controlrecommendations and mitigation solutions.

Design Challenges
ICON is located in San Diego’s East Village beside the new baseball stadium, Petco Park and adjacent to the new downtown library.  This location provided environmental noise challenges due to traffic associated with auto and personnel arriving and departing the stadium.
 
Solutions
A combination of data was collected in order to provide an evaluation of environmental noise impact on ICON.  Environmental noise monitors were placed and noise level measurements were conducted at the site during baseball games and Seattle's Safeco Field in order accurately predict the interior environment within residential units. Based on the predicted noise levels window and wall assemblies were designed to achieve the desired acoustic performance, and specific architectural recmmendations were developed for the facades of the building most effected by environmental noise.  Over $300,000.00 was saved using modeling that predicted the noise levels to each façade of the building based on the height from the street.  This was incorporated into the recommendation provided for walls, windows and doors on the exterior of the building

California Noise Insulation Standards (Title 24) : In 1974, the California Commission on Housing and Community Development adopted noise insulation standards for residential buildings (Title 24, Part 2, California Code of Regulations). Title 24 establishes standards for interior room noise (attributable to outside noise sources). The regulations also specify that acoustical studies must be prepared whenever a residential building or structure is proposed to be located near an existing or adopted freeway route, expressway, parkway, major street, thoroughfare, rail line, rapid transit line, or industrial noise source, and where such noise source or sources create an exterior CNEL (or Ldn) of 60 dB or greater. Such acoustical analysis must demonstrate that the residence has been designed to limit intruding noise to an interior CNEL (or Ldn) to no more than 45 dB.