The voice of the teacher: from the architectural project to the acoustic of the classroom

Abstract

Objective: To analyze the official proposal of the Fundo Nacional do Desenvolvimento da Educação (FNDE) to build and furnish classrooms and its consequences to vocal health of teachers. Methods: A qualitative, descriptive, and analytical study of the material indicated in the “Memorial Descritivo e Especificações Técnicas - Projeto Espaço Educativo Urbano – 12 salas de aula” (BRASIL, 2015). For the analysis, we used the Brazilian norms that regulate acoustic quality indoors as well as the scientific literature found in Scielo, Periódico Capes and Lilacs databases, through the combination of the terms in English: “acoustics and noise”, “voice and noise and faculty”, “faculty and noise” “noise and classroom”, “noise and faculty and voice.” Results: Part of the project destined to the construction of twelve classrooms in urban areas includes a total of 780 students in morning and evening shifts or 390 students full time. The school should be divided into four distinct blocks: pedagogical, administrative, services and indoor court. The construction and lining materials identified for the classrooms were: ceramic; aluminum; wood; and glass components contributing to rising the reverberation time, impairing speech intelligibility. Conclusion: The architectural design of the FNDE does not contemplate minimum requirements for acoustic comfort in the classroom. It is also observed the need to update the specific Brazilian regulations that regulate the acoustic quality in school environments