With the work of Wallace C. Sabine on the lecture hall of the Fogg Art Museum and concert hall of Boston Symphony Hall, a foundation for the field of architectural acoustics as a science was laid between 1895 and 1900. Prior to that, architects employed various notions in acoustic design. Previous studies by the authors have reviewed 18th and 19th century design guidelines that were based on the quantification of the perception threshold between direct sound and first order reflections, with these guidelines being followed in the design of several rooms with acoustical demands. This study reviews an alternate metric guideline, based on the directivity and propagation distance of the human voice, which was utilized in several halls also during the 18th and 19th centuries. The related acoustic experiments tested how far sound was perceivable towards the front, sides, and rear of a speaking person. These ratios were used in the acoustical design of at least five lecture halls, four theater halls, one opera hall, and one concert hall, constructed in Germany, England, and the USA. These historic designs, and comparisons to modern measures and guidelines, are reviewed.
Auralization technology has reached a satisfactory level of ecological validity, enabling its use in architectural acoustic design. Only recently have the actual uses of auralization in the consulting community been explored, resulting in the identification of a variety of uses, including (1) to present to clients, (2) to test design ideas, (3) as a verification tool, (4) as a verification tool, (5) as a marketing tool, and (6) to improve internal company discussions. Taking advantage of methodologies from ergonomics research, the present study investigates effective uses through the observation of a collaboration project between an acoustic research team and an acoustic consultant, as a case study. Two spaces have been auralized in the context of the conception of a new skyscraper during the design phase of the project. The two spaces faced different problematics: an Atrium for which three different acoustic treatment options were suggested and experienced through multi-modal auralizations and audio-only auralizations of an Auditorium where an intrusive noise was to be acoustically treated. The ergonomic observation and analysis of this project revealed key impediments to the integration of auralization in common acoustic design practices.
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