Humboldthafen Berlin development plan - forecast of vibrations and secondary airborne noise
A development plan is currently being drawn up for the “Humboldthafen” area in Berlin. The area is to be designated as a core area with office use, stores and restaurants.
Due to its location in the immediate vicinity of Berlin Central Station with underground and overground railroad lines, the planned development may be subject to vibration and secondary airborne noise emissions from rail traffic. Secondary airborne noise occurs when walls and floor structures in buildings are stimulated to vibrate due to rail vibrations and thus emit airborne noise. Secondary airborne noise is low-frequency and can be perceived as disturbing, particularly in otherwise quiet rooms.
Due to the central location of the project, the overall aim is to achieve high-quality use. - The expectations of future users regarding the quality of their stay in the buildings are correspondingly high. In such cases, it is expedient to take vibration and secondary airborne noise protection into account as early as the planning phase. In the run-up to the development of the development plan, appropriate studies were therefore carried out to estimate the expected vibration and secondary airborne noise immissions.
As some of the railway lines are still under construction, measurement data collected at other railroad facilities in the Berlin area was used to complete the task.
At the current stage of the project, the estimated immission level should be used as a guide to determine the resulting possibilities for building development and possible uses in connection with possible vibration protection measures.
As the planning progresses, further studies on vibration protection and building dynamics will follow to specify these measures.
