Meeting of 26 June 2014 (Protocol No. 2/2014) Subject: REQUEST FOR OPINION REGARDING COMPLIANCE WITH PASSIVE ACOUSTIC REQUIREMENTS IN CASE OF RENOVATIONS.
PREMISE
The Central Technical Service, with note Prot. No. 000125/R.I. of 14 March 2014, received by the Presidency of the Higher Council on 19 March 2014 and registered under Prot. No. 12/2014, requested the Section’s opinion regarding the note from the Central Administration of the University of Rome La Sapienza, Prot. No. 0013086 dated 3 March 2014, received by the Service on 7 March 2014 and registered under Prot. No. 001517. Both documents are reported in full below: “With note 0013086 of 3 March 2014, registered in the STC protocol under No. 1517 on 7 March 2014 and attached here, the Director General of the Building Management Area of the University of Rome Sapienza requested an opinion concerning the legal limits for compliance with passive acoustic requirements in the case of renovation of existing buildings, as well as the limits to be applied in the case of buildings with mixed-use purposes. Given the high technical specificity of the issues raised, it was deemed necessary to request examination and an opinion from the competent Section of the Higher Council of Public Works.”“As is well known, the basis of current legislation regarding protection from acoustic pollution is Law 447 of 1995 (Framework Law on Acoustic Pollution), which provides for the issuance of various implementing measures, including those concerning the passive acoustic requirements of buildings (Art. 3, paragraph 1, letter e of Law 447/95). The implementing measure in question was issued with D.P.C.M. 5 December 1997 (Determination of the Passive Acoustic Requirements of Buildings), which defines the passive acoustic requirements and those for internal noise sources within buildings, in order to reduce human exposure to noise. It prescribes the limits, expressed in decibels, which buildings constructed after its entry into force must comply with. Regarding renovations of existing buildings, the implementing measure has not yet been issued. Indeed, the Framework Law itself, in Art. 3, paragraph 1, letter f, provides for the issuance of guidelines, by Decree of the Ministry of Public Works in agreement with the Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Transport and Navigation, establishing the criteria for the design, execution and renovation of buildings and transport infrastructures, for the purpose of protecting against acoustic pollution. To date, this decree has not yet been issued, and therefore no legal limits are currently established for compliance with passive acoustic requirements in the case of renovation of existing buildings. This interpretation is confirmed by Art. 1 of D.P.C.M. 5 December 1997, which in paragraph 1 states that: “This decree, in implementation of Art. 3, paragraph 1, of Law No. 447 of 26 October 1995, determines the acoustic requirements of internal noise sources within buildings and the passive acoustic requirements of buildings and their components, in order to reduce human exposure to noise.” Paragraph 2 specifies that: “The acoustic requirements of noise sources other than those mentioned in paragraph 1 are determined by the implementing measures provided for by Law No. 447 of 26 October 1995.” Therefore, in the case of renovations, the limits of D.P.C.M. 5 December 1997 do not apply; the applicable limits will instead be established by the decree, still to be issued, provided for under letter f, paragraph 1, Art. 3 of the Framework Law. In this regard, it is evident that the passive acoustic requirements potentially achievable in new constructions are not feasible in many cases of renovation of existing buildings. Specifically, the University has to renovate a building of approximately 20,000 m² with mixed-use purposes — offices, classrooms, laboratories, faculty offices, etc. — and therefore only partly falling under the intended use of category E (buildings used for educational activities at all levels and similar) of D.P.C.M. 5/12/1997. The percentage intended for educational activities is approximately 20% of the total area. The renovation works, as regards compliance with the passive acoustic requirements established for category E across the entire building, would require considerable financial effort and, for some rooms, would not be feasible. In view of the above, this Ministry is kindly requested to express its opinion regarding the legal limits for compliance with passive acoustic requirements in the case of renovation of existing buildings, and which limits to apply in the case of buildings with mixed-use purposes.”
CONSIDERED
The Section preliminarily notes that the Central Administration of the University of Rome La Sapienza, with note Prot. No. 0013086 dated 3 March 2014, fully reported in the Premise, requested an opinion regarding the application of the provisions of D.P.C.M. 5 December 1997, “Determination of the Acoustic Requirements of Buildings”, in the case of renovation interventions on existing buildings. In particular, the request asked for “an opinion regarding the legal limits for compliance with passive acoustic requirements in the case of renovation of existing buildings and which limits to apply in the case of buildings with mixed-use purposes.” In this regard, it is recalled that the aforementioned D.P.C.M. was issued in implementation of Article 3, paragraph 1, letter e) of Law No. 447 of 26 October 1995, “Framework Law on Acoustic Pollution”. Article 1, “Scope of Application”, establishes the following:
- This decree, in implementation of Art. 3, paragraph 1, letter e) of Law No. 447 of 26 October 1995, determines the acoustic requirements of internal noise sources within buildings and the passive acoustic requirements of buildings and their in-situ components, in order to reduce human exposure to noise.
- The acoustic requirements of noise sources other than those referred to in paragraph 1 are determined by the implementing measures provided for by Law No. 447 of 26 October 1995.
The Section therefore notes that D.P.C.M. 5 December 1997 applies to “buildings and their in-situ components”. The provisions of the D.P.C.M. are directly enforceable, except for noise sources other than those referred to in paragraph 1, which do not pertain to the matter in question and for which the acoustic requirements are determined by the implementing measures of Law No. 447 of 26 October 1995. Therefore, in the opinion of the Section, for the purposes of addressing the question posed, the fact that the decree referred to in Article 3, paragraph 1, letter f) of Law 447/1995 has not yet been issued is not relevant. That decree concerns “the indication, by one or more decrees of the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, in agreement with the Minister of the Environment and Protection of Land and Sea, of the criteria for the design, execution and renovation of buildings and transport infrastructures, for the protection against acoustic pollution”. This decree (or decrees) will indicate the “criteria for the design, execution and renovation of buildings”, without prejudice to the determination of the acoustic requirements of buildings already established by D.P.C.M. 5 December 1997 under current legislation. Consequently, the Section does not share the observation made by the Central Administration of the University of Rome La Sapienza, according to which “to date, this decree has not yet been issued, and therefore no legal limits are provided for compliance with passive acoustic requirements in the case of renovation of existing buildings”, nor the subsequent statement that “therefore, in the case of renovations, the limits of D.P.C.M. 5/12/1997 do not apply, but rather the decree, still to be issued, provided for by letter f, paragraph 1, Art. 3 of the Framework Law”.In this regard it is noted that D.P.C.M. 5 December 1997, in defining its scope of application as “buildings and their in-situ components”, did not specify that the regulation applies only to new constructions. Therefore, in the Section’s opinion, its provisions — and in particular compliance with the passive acoustic requirements — must also be applied in the case of renovations of existing buildings that include the partial or total refurbishment of technological systems and/or of horizontal or vertical partitions (floor slabs, roofing, partition walls, etc.) and/or of the external building enclosures (excluding mere painting of façades), or the subdivision of property units within the building — that is, ultimately, all renovation interventions affecting the parts of the building subject to compliance with the passive acoustic requirements regulated by D.P.C.M. 5 December 1997, as can be inferred from the decree itself. Reference is also made to the numerous opinions issued on this matter by the Ministry of the Environment, including Circular Prot. No. 3632/SIAR/98 of 1 September 1998, which states:D.P.C.M. 5 December 1997 must certainly be applied to newly constructed buildings and to the renovation of existing buildings. Renovation of existing buildings means even the partial refurbishment of technological systems, of horizontal and vertical partitions of buildings, and the refurbishment of external façades, excluding painting. (…)” Similar clarifications are found in numerous regional regulations and acoustic guidelines. In conclusion, therefore, it is considered that the limits established by the legislation (D.P.C.M. 5 December 1997) must be respected in the case of even partial refurbishment of noisy technological systems (for example heating and cooling systems, laboratories such as mechanical workshops, engine test rooms, wind tunnels or others producing similar noise levels). Likewise, horizontal and vertical partitions must comply with the above limits if refurbished, whereas mere painting or partial restoration of walls and/or plaster does not require compliance with D.P.C.M. 5 December 1997. As regards the second part of the question, namely “which limits to apply in the case of buildings with mixed-use purposes”, it is noted that the building to be renovated referred to in the request for an opinion is “a building of approximately 20,000 m² with mixed-use purposes: offices, classrooms, laboratories, faculty offices, etc., and therefore only partly with the intended use provided for by category E (buildings used for educational activities at all levels and similar) of D.P.C.M. 5/12/1997. The percentage intended for educational activities is approximately 20% of the total area.” On this aspect, the Section observes that, within the applicable regulatory framework, no provisions can be found concerning “mixed-use” buildings for the purposes of determining the relevant passive acoustic requirements set out in Table B of D.P.C.M. 05/12/1997. With reference to such cases, the Section considers that, where it is possible to determine clearly and permanently the different intended uses present within the same building, the relevant passive acoustic requirements referred to above must be applied to the areas belonging to the same intended use, treating the divisions between adjacent areas with different intended uses as separating elements between different property units. Where, on the other hand, an intended use that varies over time is envisaged at the design stage, the passive acoustic requirements to be taken as a reference must be those relating to the intended use for which they assume the highest values. Having noted this in general terms, and considering that the intervention in question referred to in the request for an opinion is located in the Municipality of Rome, reference is also made, where relevant, to the provisions of Lazio Regional Law No. 18 of 3 August 2001, “Provisions on acoustic pollution for land planning and remediation”, and to the acoustic regulations issued by the Municipality of Rome. In particular, reference is made to the obligations relating to the requirement to produce the “Predictive acoustic climate assessment” pursuant to Art. 8, paragraph 3, letter a) (school buildings) and Art. 19 of the aforementioned Regional Law No. 18 of 3 August 2001. In view of all the above, in the Considerations set out above, THIS IS THE OPINION of the Section, issued unanimously. THE REPORTING COMMISSION Dott. Arch. Maria Elisabetta D’ANTONIO ………………………….. Dott. Arch. Mario AVAGNINA ………………………….. Prof. Dott. Paolo COPPA ………………………….. Prof. Ing. Francesco BIANCHI ………………………….. The Secretary — Approved: The President in charge ___________________ _________________________ Ing. Francesca Maria BENEVENTO Dott. Ing. Giovanni GUGLIELMI
