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The noise and dust particles caused by the construction transport are by most stakeholders experienced as disturbing. The purpose of this study is to explore how sonification can support visualization in construction planning to decrease construction transport disturbances.

This paper presents an interdisciplinary research project, combining research on construction logistics, internet of things and sonification. First, a data recording device, including sound, particle, temperature and humidity sensors, was implemented and deployed in a development project. Second, the collected data were used in a sonification design, which was, third, evaluated with potential users.

The results showed that the low-cost sensors used could capture “good enough” data, and that the use of sonification for representing these data is interesting and a possible useful tool in urban and construction transport planning.

There is a need to further evolve the sonification design and better communicate the aim of the sounds used to potential users. Further testing is also needed.

This study introduces new ideas of how to support visualization with sonification planning the construction work and its impact on the vicinity of the site. Currently, urban planning and construction planning focus on visualizing the final result, with little focus on how to handle disturbances during the construction process.

Showing the potentials of using low-cost sensor data in sonification, and using sonification together with visualization, is the result of a novel interdisciplinary research area combination.

This study aims to examine activity-related sound levels and pupils’ perceptions of the acoustic environment in two classrooms, one of which was a traditional classroom (Reference classroom, reverberation time (RT) 0.54 s) and the other a refurbished classroom (Demo classroom, RT 0.32 s).

Three types of data were gathered: room acoustic measurements, activity sound levels during different activities and pupils’ subjective experience concerning factors related to acoustics. Pupils, 10–11 years old (N = 34), estimated their subjective experience in general and after four test lessons. Teachers planned the test lessons to have four different lesson types: quiet work, one-person speaking, group work and activity-based work. The sound levels of activities were measured during the test lessons.

The activity sound levels were 2–13 dB L_Aeq lower in the Demo classroom than in the Reference classroom, depending on lesson type. Pupils were less annoyed by noise in the Demo than in the Reference classroom. Pupils’ speech was the most annoying sound source. More pupils were annoyed by it in the Reference classroom (65%) than in the Demo classroom (15%). Hearing the teacher while not seeing her face, concentrating on teaching and sitting in one’s place were estimated easier in the Demo classroom than in the Reference classroom.

This study offers a new approach using test lessons for studying activity sounds in schools. Activity sounds and their annoyance can be significantly diminished by classroom refurbishments.