Testing

Theory and Practice. In the early 1970’s, we began to treat measurement of environments as a minimum requirement of a design process, and as computer modeling tools became available, these were also quickly incorporated in our consulting work.  Without both of these measurements, we cannot predict success in design efforts.

With the acquisition of millions of dollars in advanced measurement systems for acoustics, AV, lighting, daylighting, thermal comfort and indoor air quality, we now have over four decades of experience in environmental measurement.  This measurement experience has taught us the value of measurement as well as it has built up a deep intuitional knowledge of how each area of design works, as we have measured many successes and many failures in our lab before the failure becomes institutionalized into a problem building.

With the acquistion of our new Norsonic Acoustic Camera, the first in an accredited lab in the U.S., we can now determine where sound is coming from in a product quickly without the use of Sound Intensity measurement .  Thus, when we have completed an Orfield Labs Sound Quality Study and know which sounds are problematic, the acoustic camera and the anechioc chamber allow us to find the exact positions those sounds are coming from.

Specialties. Since our foray into measurement many years ago, we have learned that most architectural projects do not provide appropriate performance, as there are no standards, and there is no measurement

As a result, we have been providing expert legal assistance in the assessment of architectural failures for over 30 years, and we have helped our clients to avoid common pitfalls that are made when clients go to vendors for advice, rather than retaining experts. Even though we don't market to the legal field, we have been involved with over 50 legal cases in the lighting, acoustics, audio and human factors fields. Much of our work is due to the large inventory of complex measurement systems.

Philosophy. It is our belief that buildings which incorporate standards and testing provide far better spaces for occupant satisfaction, and dramatically reduce the risks of design failures on the part of design teams.

Summary. Whether our clients are looking for single discipline testing or comprehensive building performance testing of all disciplines, we can help them to reduce their risks and increase their user satisfaction via the use of scientific definitions, computer models, technical measurements and advanced calculations. There is no other independent design research lab in the U.S. with these capabilities.

And since we use the power of each of the perceptual areas of our work, we don't solve problems in one discipline only to have our solutions create problems in other disciplines, as is common on design teams with single discipline consultants.