Building Acoustics 1–18 © The Author(s) 2016 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/1351010X16645972 bua.sagepub.com A tool to support the integration of noise control criteria in building design Ayça Şentop 1 and Nurgün Tamer Bayazıt 2 Abstract This study describes an acoustic tool for architects and architecture students. The tool is intended to assist them in the determination of airborne sound insulation requirements and in the evaluation of building elements and their acoustic performance. The Building Elements Selection Tool has two parts: a catalogue and a calculator. The catalogue serves as a practical database of the sound insulation properties of various building elements, whereas the calculator is used for acoustic calculations. In this study, the usability of the tool has been tested by means of a validation task, in which a simple design problem was given to a group of architects, and the outcomes were then discussed. Keywords Sound insulation, building elements, tool, design aid, architecture Introduction Although wishing to create healthy environments, architects sometimes fail to consider the implications for indoor acoustics that their designs can lead to. The general reason for this is that both at school and in real life, design is a complex process that must take account of multiple elements, and it is usually restricted by time or budget. Under such circumstances, architects can fail to recognise the acoustic requirements of a design, especially during the early stages. However, there is also a second group of architects who try to implement what they have learned about acoustics, but who either fail to evaluate acoustic data from material producers or else use them incorrectly. These cases strongly indicate the need for easier methods to implement noise control strategies in design. This study offers an analysis of the most suitable design steps, as determined by analysis of the literature. A tool has been prepared in order to assist the implementation of these steps. The Building Elements Selection Tool (BEST) consists of a catalogue and a calculator 1,2 and is intended to assist architects in 1 Istanbul Bilgi University, Istanbul, Turkey 2 Istanbul Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey Corresponding author: Ayça Şentop, Istanbul Bilgi University, Eski Silahtarağa Elektrik Santralı, Kazım Karabekir, Cad. No: 2/13, 34060, Eyüp, Istanbul, Turkey. Email: aycasentop@gmail.com 645972BUA 0 0 10.1177/1351010X16645972Building AcousticsŞentop and Tamer Bayazıt research-article 2016 Article