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Architectural Acoustics: From Theory to Application
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Architectural Acoustics: From Theory to Application

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Acoustics and Vibrations".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 June 2025 | Viewed by 7762

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Lamberto Tronchin

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Architecture, University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy
Interests: acoustics; room acoustics; musical acoustics; emulation of nonlinear acoustic systems; 3D auralisation; multiple arrays in 3D acoustic measurements; noise barriers
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Acoustic quality in buildings is an essential aspect of the constructions’ designs. Architectural acoustics include room and building acoustics, which entail the evaluation of sound insulation or acoustic quality, and the measurement or calculus of physical acoustic parameters. Architectural acoustics encompass several topics and applications, ranging from opera houses, theatres, concert halls and auditoriums, to schools, cinemas, restaurants and open spaces. Modelling sound insulation or acoustic quality is an important component of architectural acoustics. Measurements of insertion losses or sound reflections in enclosures by means of multichannel microphone arrays, as well as 3D auralization or psychoacoustic evaluation of the sound quality in a specialized listening room, are still important components of this topic, which includes the human perception of the acoustics of enclosure.

In this Special Issue, we welcome both original research papers and review articles based on several topics regarding architectural acoustics, such as:

  • 3D auralization;
  • Acoustic measurements;
  • Sound sources in room acoustics;
  • Computational acoustics;
  • Listening room design and characteristics;
  • Speech intelligibility in rooms;
  • Acoustic design of concert halls or auditoriums;
  • Virtual acoustic reconstruction of historical venues;
  • Worship spaces’ acoustics.

Dr. Lamberto Tronchin
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 6384 KiB  
Article
Influence of the Sound Source’s Position on the Stage on the Speech Perception in the Auditorium
by Stefan Brachmański and Piotr Kozłowski
Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(24), 11727; https://doi.org/10.3390/app142411727 - 16 Dec 2024
Viewed by 741
Abstract
Constant efforts to achieve the best possible speech intelligibility during theatre performances were the motivation for the research presented in this article. The acoustic conditions in a theatre hall depend not only on the design of the room acoustics, but also on the [...] Read more.
Constant efforts to achieve the best possible speech intelligibility during theatre performances were the motivation for the research presented in this article. The acoustic conditions in a theatre hall depend not only on the design of the room acoustics, but also on the stage decoration and the positioning of the sound source (actor) on stage. The ACR (Absolute Category Rating) method recommended by the ITU was used to investigate the influence of the decorations and the position of the speaker on stage on the subjective evaluation of the listeners’ perception of speech. Subjective tests were carried out in situ and in the laboratory based on recordings made in the facility that was the subject of the measurements. An extensive analysis of the results was carried out, taking into account individual aspects of the tests, such as the type of decoration, speaker position, listener position, and the way the recording was made. Based on the discussion of the results, the conclusions are presented. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Architectural Acoustics: From Theory to Application)
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18 pages, 6687 KiB  
Article
Air Attenuation in Octave Bands and How to Normalize Room Acoustic Measurements to a Standard Atmosphere
by Jens Holger Rindel
Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(22), 10139; https://doi.org/10.3390/app142210139 - 6 Nov 2024
Viewed by 1394
Abstract
The air attenuation of pure tones as a function of temperature and humidity is well known and described in ISO and ANSI standards. However, room acoustic measurements are performed in octave bands, which is the reason for the complicated, non-linear behavior of the [...] Read more.
The air attenuation of pure tones as a function of temperature and humidity is well known and described in ISO and ANSI standards. However, room acoustic measurements are performed in octave bands, which is the reason for the complicated, non-linear behavior of the air attenuation. It is known that room acoustic measurement results depend on air temperature and humidity, and these atmospheric data should always be reported in connection with room acoustic measurements. A calculation model for the air attenuation can make it possible to normalize the room acoustic results. For accurate results, it is possible to apply a summation method on each time sample in the impulse response. An approximation to the air attenuation at and above 1 kHz is possible by linearization using the pure-tone attenuation of two different frequencies, one frequency valid for the early part of the impulse response and another frequency valid for the later part of the impulse response. The purpose of the suggested methods is to make it possible to normalize room acoustic measurements to a standard atmosphere. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Architectural Acoustics: From Theory to Application)
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14 pages, 9655 KiB  
Article
3D Acoustic Map Analysis of the National Theatre of Zagreb
by Lamberto Tronchin and Antonella Bevilacqua
Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(11), 4365; https://doi.org/10.3390/app14114365 - 22 May 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1299
Abstract
Rapid technological advances in recent decades have led researchers to refine the accuracy of their studies. In the field of acoustics, the impact of new devices is noticeable, especially in the investigations of cultural heritage buildings. The selection of a seat in theatres [...] Read more.
Rapid technological advances in recent decades have led researchers to refine the accuracy of their studies. In the field of acoustics, the impact of new devices is noticeable, especially in the investigations of cultural heritage buildings. The selection of a seat in theatres and concert halls has always been a concern, since the live experience of artistic performance depends on the quality of hearing and sight view. This paper deals with the elaboration of 360° acoustic maps made in the National Theatre of Zagreb, one of the opera theatres investigated with the Sipario project. The analysis of the main acoustic parameters has been carried out, starting with site measurements describing the acoustic response at various representative points of the main hall by covering the audience area. In addition, acoustic maps have been created for some selected positions based on a 3-degree-of-freedom (3dof) technique that allows a panoramic visualization of the impulse responses (IRs). This methodology completes the determination of early and late reflections that contribute to the acoustic quality of a place. In addition to the interest of experts in acoustics, this methodology can also be adopted by music lovers who can find a reasonable explanation for seat selection when booking their tickets. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Architectural Acoustics: From Theory to Application)
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17 pages, 1969 KiB  
Article
An Estimation of Speech Privacy Class Based on ISO Parameter
by Miloš Bjelić, Tatjana Miljković, Miomir Mijić and Dragana Šumarac Pavlović
Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(3), 967; https://doi.org/10.3390/app14030967 - 23 Jan 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1647
Abstract
This paper examines speech privacy in both residential and commercial spaces. The ASTM E2638 standard defines the Speech Privacy Class (SPC) parameter, which measures speech privacy based on the signal-to-noise ratio at the listener’s position. This paper proposes estimating the SPC value using [...] Read more.
This paper examines speech privacy in both residential and commercial spaces. The ASTM E2638 standard defines the Speech Privacy Class (SPC) parameter, which measures speech privacy based on the signal-to-noise ratio at the listener’s position. This paper proposes estimating the SPC value using relevant ISO parameters commonly used in European practice: the apparent sound reduction index in dB (defined by ISO 16283-1, 2 standards) and the equivalent ambient noise level in dBA (defined by the ISO 1996-1 standard). The estimated value of the SPC parameter in this paper is referred to as the Speech Privacy Index (SPI). A diverse range of situations, i.e., rooms, was analyzed in the field. These rooms varied in terms of purpose, organization, dimensions, furnishings, isolation from other spaces, and internal and external environments. The results of the experiments demonstrate a strong correlation between the SPC value estimated according to ISO parameters (the proposed method) and the SPC as defined in the ASTM E standard. This indicates that the proposed method can provide an indicator of the state of speech privacy in buildings. The significance of the proposed calculation method (i.e., the STI parameter) lies in its ability to be applied at the building design stage, as well as after its completion, during routine testing. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Architectural Acoustics: From Theory to Application)
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16 pages, 1798 KiB  
Article
Open-Plan Offices: Comparison of Methods for Measuring Psychoacoustic Intelligibility Parameters
by María P. Serrano-Ruiz, José A. Yarza-Acuna, Erwin A. Martinez-Gomez and Gabriel Ibarra-Mejía
Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(15), 8650; https://doi.org/10.3390/app13158650 - 27 Jul 2023
Viewed by 1597
Abstract
The acoustic conditions of open-plan office spaces influence the well-being and productivity perceived by users. However, with an inadequate evaluation of the workspace, acoustic design in open-plan offices can be a factor that alters user performance. Such is the case in Mexico, where [...] Read more.
The acoustic conditions of open-plan office spaces influence the well-being and productivity perceived by users. However, with an inadequate evaluation of the workspace, acoustic design in open-plan offices can be a factor that alters user performance. Such is the case in Mexico, where there are no adequate standards to evaluate specific acoustic conditions such as intelligibility. For this reason, this case study aims to evaluate different types of measurement methods for intelligibility. This study was carried out at a university in northern Mexico. The sound measurements were based on the Mexican standard for noise analysis and the ISO 3382-part 3 standards for acoustic measurements for open-plan offices. The psychoacoustic parameters evaluated were reverberation and intelligibility, using objective methods determined on S/N and subjective methods based on loss of consonant, where it was analyzed the distance between the sound source and zones classified by building design characteristics. The results indicated at which points the intelligibility effects increased. We also observed that reverberation remained stable in this office and that the subjective methods presented a larger measured sound effect than the objective methods. This finding establishes that subjective methods conform to Lognormal behavior, which is applicable to other linguistic elements describing speech behavior. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Architectural Acoustics: From Theory to Application)
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