Abstract
I am honored to introduce Volume 23 (2017) of Building Acoustics having taken the position of Editor-in-Chief of the journal at the end of 2016.
Building Acoustics is a “historical” international journal, being published since the early 1990s, and the only one specifically devoted to acoustical aspects of buildings. It is a quarterly peer-reviewed journal concerned with acoustics in the built environment. It therefore lies within the domain of the architect, builder, and engineer and is also a forum for scientists concerned with research and development for acoustic enhancement and noise control in buildings. There is an emphasis on the application of new knowledge and the provision of information useful to the practitioner. The contents include, for example, contributions on room acoustics, industrial noise, building services noise, transportation noise, and vibration in buildings. Article types considered include Original Research, Reviews, and Case Studies. The journal operates a conventional single-blind reviewing policy in which the reviewer’s name is always concealed from the authors.
Building Acoustics has been recently taken over by one of the most important publishing companies in the world—SAGE—and this will lead, I’m sure, to an improvement in the visibility and diffusion of the journal, which has been indexed in Scopus for many years and also, more recently, in Emerging Sources Citation Index (Web of Science). My hope for Building Acoustics is that it will, in the new future, obtain an impact factor.
One of my first tasks as Editor-in-Chief has been to expand and improve the Editorial Board of the journal, which has been enriched with new members from different countries. Building Acoustics can now count on 17 members of the Editorial Board who are recognized as leading scientists, covering different geographic areas and all the research fields of building acoustics. I would like to thank all of them for their precious contribution, and in particular the previous Editors-in-Chief, George Dodd and Densil Cabrera, and the Associate Editor, Micheal Kingan. In order to efficiently manage the papers’ review processes, two Assistant Editors have also been included in the journal staff.
Some Special Issues have also been planned for 2017 on emerging topics.
The first one will deal with New Trends in Acoustic Treatments, with a Special Focus on Acoustic Metamaterials and will be dedicated to the best studies developed within the research network of the EU-funded COST ACTION DENORMS (“Designs for Noise Reducing Materials and Structures”). The ACTION aims at designing multifunctional, light and compact noise-reducing treatments. In order to achieve this, DENORMS brings together skills and knowledge of the complementary, but still disconnected, communities of scientists working on acoustic metamaterials, sonic crystals, and conventional acoustic materials across Europe and overseas. Submissions will be welcome on acoustic metamaterials and metasurfaces for sound insulation and sound absorption applications in buildings.
The second Special Issue will be dedicated to Soundscapes of Buildings and Built Environments, aimed to gather new research results dealing with the relationship between soundscape, architecture, and urban planning, as well as the perception of indoor and outdoor acoustic environments and how buildings can mediate these two. Submissions will be welcome on soundscapes of indoor spaces, soundscape assessment, and design for large buildings, acoustic comfort in public buildings (e.g. public libraries, museums, shopping malls, and public transport stations), effects of buildings, and building elements on indoor and outdoor soundscapes.
Finally, the third Special Issue will be devoted to studies and original research in the field of Sustainable Building Materials. Climate change and sustainable development issues have boosted the interest toward low embodied energy and low environmental impact building materials made, for example, from natural fibers or recycled materials. Many structured sessions at different international conferences have been dedicated in the last years to new sustainable materials with improved thermal and acoustic properties. Submissions will be welcome concerning both numerical simulation and experimental characterization of these materials.
I warmly invite all researchers in the field of building acoustics to contribute to the improvement of the journal with submissions and suggestions!