Byzantine Churches in Albania: How Geometry and Architectural Composition Influence the Acoustics

Abstract

The Byzantine churches built between the 7th and the 15th centuries represent an architectural typology that has been developed along with other architectural styles. The evolution of the interior organization, to be composed of only a single nave for the oldest architecture and then developed with additional lateral naves, is one of the multiple aspects that characterizes this building type, studied mainly from an architectural perspective. The variety of roof morphology, being flat, double slope, vaulted or domed, contributes to determining the overall acoustics. This paper deals with the analysis of the acoustic characteristics related to five Byzantine churches located in Albania, specifically in Berat and Cete. A comparison of the impulse response (IR) measured inside each church was given by analyzing the most appropriate acoustic parameters and in line with ISO 3382. The acoustic surveys were undertaken with a minimal furniture and without any audience. The results highlight small difficulties in terms of speech understanding, especially under a speech clarity index found to be below the optimal range limit. This shortfall is attributed to the geometry of the volumes and to the reflecting materials applied to the surfaces that facilitate the build-up of sound energy.

Soundscape in religious historical buildings: a review

“…These studies considered a variety of factors, such as building surfaces made of hard stone [22,36], timber [43,56], ceramic materials [57], and even soft materials [58][59][60]. Studies have also explored spaces of different sizes and shapes [31,33,[61][62][63][64][65][66][67][68][69][70][71] and the impact of different positions of indoor furniture on the sound field [72]. Several studies have shown that the large places of worship in cathedrals are highly reverberant spaces [36,73] with low speech intelligibility and that they are unsuitable for listening to spoken or musical sound signals [74].…”

Seeking the Nexus Between Building Acoustics and Urban Form: A Systematic Review

“…Galindo et al [ 30 ] assessed the historical Roman theaters in Spain for building acoustic performance to understand how several acoustic parameters operate in terms of temporal and spatial aspects. Sukaj et al [ 31 ] examined five Byzantine churches in Albania in terms of acoustic performance by having building variables, including roof material and morphology as well as building features. They found that slight concerns about individuals' conversations and building shape and height significantly affect acoustic environments.…”