Investigation of the Acoustical Environment in A Shopping Mall and Its Correlation to the Acoustic Comfort of the Workers

Abstract

Noise in shopping centers and restaurants can reduce intelligibility and affect the comfort of the employees working for long periods in such environments. In this study, the interior acoustics of a shopping mall are studied by measuring the reverberation time (RT), with no occupation, and the equivalent sound pressure levels (L Aeq ), with occupations at different times of the day, over a period of one week. The measurements were done at different locations, chosen based on their usage (shopping areas, entrances, food courts, and playing area). The values are correlated to the subjective acoustic comfort and the experience of loudness of the staff working at these locations, as measured through a questionnaire. The average RT values that were measured ranged between 0.9 s in the food court and 1.4 s for the main entrance. The L Aeq was measured with a minimum of 58 dB in the shopping area in the early morning and a maximum of 83 dB in the playing area in the evening. The results showed an increase in the L Aeq for the afternoon and evening in comparison with the early morning and midday time (p < 0.05); similarly, the sound levels for the weekends were higher than the weekdays (p < 0.05). The questionnaire results showed that headaches and difficulties in communicating with others (speech intelligibility) are the most important problems induced by the noise in shopping malls, occurring for 47.1% and 38.2% of respondents, respectively. the users even when sound-level intensities are moderate. The author believes the solution for this problem lies in the potential economic benefits for the owner in improving acoustic conditions, and not solely on legislative measures [4].Carvalho and Pereira conducted a study on four shopping malls in Portugal. In their study, they found that the acoustical measurement exceeded the proposed ideal values and that this influenced speech intelligibility. They noticed that the malls lacked acoustical treatment and also lacked the application of absorbent materials on their surfaces [5]. In the case study done by Migneron and Migneron, the staff working in the restaurant in a mall suffered from fatigue and irritation due to their exposure to noise levels (59 dB), even though these levels were far below the dangerous levels of risk for hearing health [6]. Hodgson et al. [7] investigated the reactions of talkers to excessive noise in restaurants and concluded that the customers raised their voices to maintain good communication conditions at an average rate of 0.69 dB per each dB of overall noise. Pimentel et al. investigated the background noise in food courts and found it highly relevant to the SPLs during peak hours (during lunch time) and recommended a reduction in background noise to reduce sound levels during times of occupation [8]. In a study on 30 restaurants done by Rusnock and Bush, the noise levels were low enough to allow normal conversation tones in only 23% of the surveyed restaurants [9].Even though research has been conducted in shopping malls, the number of studies on ...

Acoustic Environment and Noise Exposure in Fitness Halls

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The relationship of soundscape and shopping behaviors in Malioboro Mall and Ambarrukmo Plaza, Yogyakarta

“…The visitors were not aware of the impact of the malls' high sound level on their hearing health. However, the workers might experience otherwise, as a study in shopping malls in Jordan found malls' workers experienced headaches because of the recurring high noise level (Alnuman and Altaweel 2020). It is vital to integrate safe acoustic levels into shopping malls for the health of both the workers and the visitors.…”

“…A study in the UK analyzed the acoustic comfort where shopping malls have been in the country for a long time (Chen and Kang 2004). A study showed acoustic comfort in shopping malls in Jordan, but there were no mentions of the cultural background (Alnuman and Altaweel 2020). A study in Russia investigated acoustic treatment significantly improved the soundscape in shopping malls (Kanev 2021).…”

Sound Environments in Large Public Buildings for Crowd Transit: A Systematic Review

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