• Forma

Noise analysis for housing adjacent to railways

Create a noise analysis for a housing proposal located adjacent to railroad tracks, then design alternative site solutions to help with noise mitigation.


Step-by-step guide

In Forma, a noise analysis run on a design proposal can be used to design alternative solutions to help with noise mitigation.

Benefits of a rapid noise analysis:

  • Identify areas of high noise.
  • View the effects on noise mitigation in real-time as edits to the design are made.
  • Review the detailed noise analyses side by side to examine the trade-offs of alternative proposals and make data-based decisions.

In this example of a residential proposal, the site is located right next to a railway, so noise is a significant factor during design assessment.

To run a rapid noise analysis:

  1. In the right panel analysis tools, click Noise.

The top-right corner of the Forma interface, showing the Noise analysis tool in the right panel, and in the canvas, the noise analysis is immediately calculated and showing results as a green-yellow-red color gradation.

  1. In the right panel, adjacent to Analysis area, click Custom circle.
  2. In the canvas, the selection area for the noise analysis is attached to the pointer. Click to place the center of the analysis.

The Forma interface, with the Alternative 2 proposal active in the canvas and the noise analysis being moved to the area of interest, as indicated by a red dotted arrow and a red circle around the pointer. In the right panel, the Analysis area tools are also highlighted in red.

The immediate result shows that the noise level near the railroad is relatively high, as indicated in red in the canvas. Also, in the right panel under Rapid noise, the percentages corresponding to the color-coded noise levels are reported.

The Forma interface showing the updated results of the noise analysis for the Alternative 2 proposal, with the Rapid noise results highlighted in the right panel.

  1. In the Navigator, switch to a different proposal, such as Alternative 4.

Note: The analysis updates automatically, as do the alternative noise level values under Rapid noise in the right panel.

The Forma interface showing the updated results of the noise analysis for the Alternative 4 proposal, with the Rapid noise results highlighted in the right panel.

To see updates of a Rapid noise analysis in real time:

  1. In the canvas, replace the row house closest to the railroad and the nearby vegetation with a couple of line buildings.

Note: With each design change, the Rapid noise analysis updates.

The added line buildings act as a buffer, reducing the noise near the row houses, as indicated by the greener colors. And in the right panel, the total distribution of noise is now 48% green, whereas previously, only 39% was green. This means that making quick design changes reduced the noise impacting the site by 9%.

The Forma interface showing the updated results of the noise analysis for the Alternative 4 proposal after design changes were made, with the Rapid noise results highlighted in the right panel.

To view different analyses side by side:

  1. In the right panel, click Run detailed analysis (~5–20 mins) to trigger the detailed analysis.
  2. When the results are ready, in the top bar, click Compare.
  3. From the left panel, select the desired analyses, such as the recently updated design with Line buildings and the analysis for the original design.
  4. In the left panel, expand the relevant proposals to select each Noise analysis.
  5. Review the noise analyses side by side.

Note the color gradients and percentage values, showing the differences in these two versions of the design:

The Forma interface with the Compare mode active and the noise analysis results for proposals Alternative 2 and Alternative 4 showing in the canvas and right panels.

  1. Place inspection points to view the exact reduction in noise.

The Forma canvas and right panels, with the Compare mode active and the noise analysis results for proposals Alternative 2 and Alternative 4 showing. Three inspection points have been placed in the canvas that report the noise values at those locations.

To export these views using a screen capture:

  1. In the visibility and orientation toolbar, click Camera position.
  2. Select 4K Screen capture with graphics to download the PNG with inspection points.

The Forma interface, with the Compare mode active and the noise analysis results for proposals Alternative 2 and Alternative 4 showing in the canvas. The results are filtered in the Analysis bar so that only the green values appear in the canvas.