Academic literature on the topic 'Norges tekniske høgskole. Bergavdelingen'

This chapter discusses the genealogy of construction materials testing at acoustic laboratories founded in the late 1920s and 1930s, through the example of Norges Tekniske Høgskole (NTH) in Trondheim, Norway. Whereas architectural acoustics entailed mainly fieldwork, in the form of on-site research and consulting, the standardized testing of materials required idealized laboratory conditions where acoustic behavior could be isolated and reduced to the parameters of absorption, transmission, and reflection. With the rise of the acoustic laboratory, “objective” measurement systems replaced musical listening as a crucial skill for acousticians. Electroacoustic media technologies quickly spread on a global scale, yet acoustic laboratories still catered to the needs of local markets. One of these requirements was resource optimization, and the objective of standardized testing generally was less to improve the quality of construction than to optimize its cost. Traditional materials and buildings often exhibited better acoustic properties than the new constructions based on scientific principles.