A Clamor For Quiet Space

Environmental factors such as energy and water use, lighting and ventilation are shaping 21^st century restaurant design. Noise might be the next frontier, if a former restaurateur and retired chief building inspector for San Francisco has his way. Citing the newly adopted state code that will control decibel levels in school classrooms, Richard Skaff recently approached the California Restaurant Association about developing a new building code that would require a sound level for public accommodations like restaurants. His goal is to make specific areas of the restaurant quieter for those with hearing impairments.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle’s Inside Scoop, Skaff, the executive director of Designing Accessible Communities, would like restaurants and other public businesses to consider hearing-impaired customers as well as workers who spend hours in those environments. He hasn’t yet proposed decibel levels or what percentage of the interior would have to comply.