Korea's largest at 2,390㎡ in total floor area, opening in 2022
All four structural types used in apartment buildings applied, enabling integrated research and verification
Samsung C&T's Engineering & Construction Group (CEO Oh Se-chul) announced that it held a groundbreaking ceremony for an inter-floor noise test building dedicated to research, technology development, and empirical testing aimed at reducing noise between floors.
Scheduled to open in April 2022, the inter-floor noise research facility will be built in Giheung-gu, Yongin, with one basement level and four above-ground floors, spanning a total floor area of 2,390㎡. With a total investment of 10 billion won, the company plans to construct 10 demonstration housing units for empirical research on inter-floor noise, along with measurement rooms and experience rooms. It will be the largest research facility in Korea dedicated solely to inter-floor noise research.
Above all, the inter-floor noise research facility is distinguished by its application of all four structural types used in domestic apartment buildings, allowing the noise impact of each structure to be researched and verified in an integrated manner.
A total of four structural types—including the wall-type structure commonly used in Korea, as well as the Rahmen (beam-and-column) type, the column type, and the hybrid type (wall + column)—will each be applied to the demonstration housing units in the research facility. Until now, there has been no research facility applying all four types, which made it difficult to comprehensively research and verify the inter-floor noise impact of each structure.
The facility also reflects the latest technological trend of reducing inter-floor noise by increasing floor slab thickness. Whereas existing research facilities could only verify performance for slab thicknesses of 150–210㎜, this facility makes it possible to directly examine the relationship between inter-floor noise and a range of slab thicknesses from 210㎜ up to 300㎜.
Another feature is the ability to freely change floor materials and interior finishes. Floor structures—from floor cushioning material to floor mortar and construction methods—can be freely altered, and wall and ceiling finishing methods can also be changed, enabling research into the inter-floor noise impact of different materials and construction methods.
To accelerate solutions to the inter-floor noise problem, Samsung C&T plans to open the research facility to outside parties. It will conduct research together with organizations such as the Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology, with which it has signed a joint research agreement, and plans to expand access to government research institutions going forward. The company will also operate an inter-floor noise experience room so that members of the public can experience the noise research process.
Kim Jae-ho, Executive Vice President and head of Samsung C&T's Inter-Floor Noise Research Institute, explained, "With this groundbreaking, Samsung C&T plans to play a leading role in solving the inter-floor noise problem—not only through technology development and verification, but also through active external communication and collaboration."