Experienced Acoustics Consultant
PROVIDING SOUND ADVICE!
Experienced Acoustics Consultant
PROVIDING SOUND ADVICE!
PROVIDING SOUND ADVICE!
PROVIDING SOUND ADVICE!
Chris Wood. An acoustics consultant, or acoustician, with nearly 30 years’ experience in consultancy.
My feet have barely touched the ground since starting as a technician in 1994, having fallen into an industry that turned out to be as varied as it is niche, growing and evolving as it is established, and as rewarding as it is demanding! My only complaint has ever been of being too busy! All helped by having worked with some of the best along the way, on every scale of project conceivable, and for Joe Blogs to Blogs Incorporated.
I am a Corporate Member of the Institute of Acoustics (MIOA), and hold the Diploma (Dip.) and Master of Science Degree (MSc.) in Acoustics and Noise Control from the IOA.
Why Chris Wood Acoustics? As soon as I started my career I was aware it was an industry in which you could work for yourself, and the seed for doing so one day was sown early on. Of course, however, as well as experience, it requires large dollops of bravery and confidence, some equipment and software, not to mention good timing, and where I've been fortunate enough to work with some great individuals, teams and companies.
Indeed, when I started at WSP (after five years with Tarmac, Black and Veatch/Stanger Science and Environmental, now Bureau Veritas effectively), it was to join a newly established acoustics team of five, which was part of a wider, UK-based company of around 2,000. When I left 19 years later, I’d moved offices three times, the team was one of the largest in the county, and part of a global company employing around 65,000! And so, I didn’t have to go anywhere to experience change!
Eventually, however, with the mixed experience the pandemic brought about, and whilst I do greatly enjoy being part of a team, mentoring and training, and even commuting, believe it or not, the timing seemed about as good as it was ever going to get to give it a go. Whilst, with clients, project teams and other contacts, it is still possible to be part of a team, where training is just something that happens when you like what you do. I’ll just have to make do with a more leisurely start to the day in place of commuting!
So, Chris Wood Acoustics started in August 2023, and I very much look forward to working with a wide range of clients on a wide range of projects.
See also the Services page.
Both a curse and a blessing of the industry is that it’s just not possible to know it all, or, indeed, to have experienced it all – there are only so many new concert halls or airports that come along, for example – whilst, even if guidance may stay reasonably static, equipment and products are often changing, and it can be hard to keep up if not within your daily sphere. Consequently, consultants tend to end up specialising, whether by choice or circumstances, with it often being the case that a division occurs between “architectural” acoustics (so typically associated with conditions inside) and “environmental” acoustics (typically associated with conditions outside).
Neither of which are necessarily rocket science, and where it is rare that concern for one is entirely in isolation of the other, and so a good consultant will know enough of both; however, both can be quite demanding in themselves, such that even “experienced” consultants can struggle. Whilst, one thing I’ve learned along the way, consultancy is not for everyone. Just like sales or working in a laboratory. What some see as flexibility to allow for context-based judgement, others see as too much uncertainty!
As for me, I’m certainly on the “environmental” side of acoustics, most comfortable dealing with sound, noise and vibration externally – helping to stop it from being an issue before reliance on closed windows, for example – but where I’m also experienced at specifying building envelope and ventilation solutions etc. Whilst, with significant experience generally, I tend to be well-placed to work on the trickier or more contentious projects, including those involving complaints, or to review others’ work, where a thorough knowledge of a wide range of guidance is required, as well as an eye for detail and the ability to view things from different perspectives.
I’m a keen advocate for: “good acoustic design”, “best practicable means” (BMP); “best available technique not entailing excessive cost” (BATNEEC); the “agent of change” and “sustainable development”. Meaning, I like to support schemes in achieving suitable acoustic conditions (externally and internally) through good, wholistic planning and design, mindful of the scheme’s responsibility and what's feasible and sustainable in practice.
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