Noise and Pollution

Properties located near major roads, rail lines and beneath flight paths can be subject to noise and poor air quality. Similarly, hostile and noisy environments such as industrial areas, substations or sports stadiums can have impacts on residential amenity. Careful design solutions can help to improve quality of life in affected apartments by minimising potential noise and pollution impacts.

This section addresses design responses on sites that are affected by significant noise and pollution sources. Section 4H Acoustic privacy deals with more typical residential developments that do not face these challenges.

Development Near Rail Corridors and Busy Roads

The NSW Government's Development near Rail Corridors and Busy Roads - Interim Guideline as called up by State Environmental Planning Policy (Infrastructure) 2007 assists in the planning, design and assessment of development in, or adjacent to, rail corridors and busy roads. SEPP 65 development in these locations must have regard to this Guideline.

Where balconies are oriented away from a noise source, changes in facade texture and detail along the busy road can assist in dispersing noise. This mixed use development is located on a busy road and is designed with limited openings exposed to the noise source

In noisy or hostile environments the impacts of external noise and pollution are minimised through the careful siting and layout of buildings.

Enclosing balconies to function as wintergardens is an effective

means of reducing road and rail noise

(Source: Development Near Rail Corridors And Busy Roads – Interim Guideline, NSW)

Appropriate noise shielding or attenuation techniques for the building design, construction and choice of materials are used to mitigate noise transmission.

Setting back the residential component above a podium

helps shield apartments from major noise. Balcony soffits can be treated with sound absorption to assist to mitigate noise (Source: Development Near Rail Corridors And Busy Roads – Interim Guideline, NSW)

Design Guidance

To minimise impacts the following design solutions may be used:

• physical separation between buildings and the noise or pollution source.

• residential uses are located perpendicular to the noise source and where possible buffered by other uses.

• non-residential buildings are sited to be parallel with the noise source to provide a continuous building that shields residential uses and communal open spaces.

• non-residential uses are located at lower levels vertically separating the residential component from the noise or pollution source. Setbacks to the underside of residential floor levels should increase relative to traffic volumes and other noise sources.

• buildings should respond to both solar access and noise. Where solar access is away from the noise source, non- habitable rooms can provide a buffer.

• where solar access is in the same direction as the noise source, dual aspect apartments with shallow building depths are preferable (see figure horizontal and vertical separation).

• landscape design reduces the perception of noise and acts as a filter for air pollution generated by traffic and industry.

Achieving the design criteria in this Apartment Design Guide may not be possible in some situations due to noise and pollution. Where developments are unable to achieve the design criteria, alternatives may be considered in the following areas:

• solar and daylight access

• private open space and balconies

• natural cross ventilation

Manage noise and pollution by providing non-residential uses at lower levels (vertical separation), setting-back residential uses (horizontal separation) and orienting private open space and windows that provide natural ventilation to habitable rooms away from the busy road or rail corridor

Balconies designed as acoustically sealed wintergardens can improve liveability of the balcony and adjoining habitable rooms. In considering how much of the facade is solid or open, the width of the openings needs to be sufficient to allow

sunlight and daylight access