The role of acoustic standards in the improvement of educational spaces in Italy

A good acoustics is one of the main requirements for indoor educational spaces, where information is transmitted from a teacher to students mainly by oral communication. Often obligatory regulations do not take into account this aspect as expected, but technical standards can provide a more informed and sound reference. In Italy, a new standard is under development at UNI (the national standardization body) to provide a technical framework for the design and use of teaching rooms in schools and a guideline has been released by AIA (Italian Acoustical Association) to provide a comprehensive, easy-to-read guide to authorities and stakeholders on the acoustical design of schools. The underlying principles and methods will be presented and discussed, as well as the way they are taught in University courses in order to raise awareness on these topics in future engineers and architects.