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Applied Sciences
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Architectural Acoustics: From Theory to Application—2nd Edition
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Architectural Acoustics: From Theory to Application—2nd Edition

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 September 2026 | Viewed by 1276

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 their design. Architectural acoustics include room and building acoustics, which entail evaluations of sound insulation and acoustic quality, and the measurement and 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 and acoustic quality is an important component of architectural acoustics. This comprises measurements of insertion losses and sound reflections in enclosures by means of multichannel microphone arrays, as well as 3D auralization and psychoacoustic evaluation of the sound quality in specialized listening rooms, which includes the human perception of the acoustics of the space.

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

  • Three-dimensional 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;
  • The acoustics of worship spaces.

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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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.

Keywords

  • acoustics
  • room and building acoustics
  • acoustic measurements
  • noise barriers

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Related Special Issue

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

22 pages, 33241 KB  
Article
Eigenbeam–vMF-Based Room Acoustic Analyzer: A Comparative Study with First-Order and Higher-Order Ambisonic Recordings
by Amy Bastine, Thushara D. Abhayapala and Jihui (Aimee) Zhang
Appl. Sci. 2026, 16(9), 4470; https://doi.org/10.3390/app16094470 - 2 May 2026
Viewed by 160
Abstract
Comprehensive room acoustic characterization requires resolving reflection behavior across time, frequency, and space. The recently proposed eigenbeam–vMF-based analyzer provides a framework for this by modeling the reflection field as a time–frequency-dependent directional power distribution, estimated via spatial correlation of eigenbeams (ambisonics) and parameterized [...] Read more.
Comprehensive room acoustic characterization requires resolving reflection behavior across time, frequency, and space. The recently proposed eigenbeam–vMF-based analyzer provides a framework for this by modeling the reflection field as a time–frequency-dependent directional power distribution, estimated via spatial correlation of eigenbeams (ambisonics) and parameterized using von Mises–Fisher clustering. This formulation enables a unified and interpretable description of anisotropic early reflections, their transition into diffuse reverberation, and frequency-dependent acoustic behavior. Prior work showed that the analyzer reliably captures these features using higher-order ambisonics from a 32-channel spherical microphone array (SMA) and that constraining the same array to the first order still led to retaining the dominant features. This paper investigates whether this capability extends to first-order microphone arrays with sparser spatial sampling for more economical and practical deployment. A comparative study is conducted in a recording studio with variable wall panels (wood and felt), evaluating a four-channel first-order array against a 32-channel SMA. The results reveal distinct acoustic differences between panel settings, which are consistent across both arrays. While the SMA captures finer spatial detail and prolonged anisotropic reflections more effectively, the first-order array demonstrates potential for preliminary room acoustic assessments by identifying room mode frequencies, dominant reflection directions, and highly reflective surfaces. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Architectural Acoustics: From Theory to Application—2nd Edition)
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19 pages, 7601 KB  
Article
On the Reflection of a Spherical Sound Wave from a Finite Size Surface
by Jens Holger Rindel
Appl. Sci. 2026, 16(9), 4243; https://doi.org/10.3390/app16094243 - 26 Apr 2026
Viewed by 237
Abstract
Room acoustics computer models based on geometrical acoustics usually handle the sound reflections by the assumption of plane waves. However, if the sound source is a point source, which is usually the case, the spherical wave reflection would be more correct. An approximate [...] Read more.
Room acoustics computer models based on geometrical acoustics usually handle the sound reflections by the assumption of plane waves. However, if the sound source is a point source, which is usually the case, the spherical wave reflection would be more correct. An approximate model for the spherical wave reflection is presented, starting with the assumption of an infinite plane. It was found that the errors caused due to the simplified plane wave assumption can be significant, especially for hard surfaces and near grazing incidence. As something new, the gradual transition from a spherical wave to a plane wave approximation was addressed. For sound propagation exceeding 50 times the wavelength, the plane wave approximation was found to be fully justified, but for shorter distances the spherical wave reflection model should be applied. In contrast to previous work on spherical wave reflection, the reflection from a finite-sized surface was studied. For the first time, the spherical wave reflection model was combined with the complex radiation impedance of a finite-sized surface. One interesting application example of the spherical reflection model is the attenuation of sound propagation above the audience area in a performance space. Finally, the extension of the spherical wave reflection model to higher order reflections was addressed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Architectural Acoustics: From Theory to Application—2nd Edition)
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20 pages, 3276 KB  
Article
Reaction Time to Amplitude-Modulated Tones Under Spectral Masking: Implications for Architectural Acoustic Design
by Ryota Shimokura and Yoshiharu Soeta
Appl. Sci. 2026, 16(8), 3814; https://doi.org/10.3390/app16083814 - 14 Apr 2026
Viewed by 462
Abstract
Detectability of auditory signals in built environments is a critical issue in architectural acoustics, particularly in public spaces where notification sounds must be perceived reliably under background noise. This study investigated reaction times (RTs) to amplitude-modulated pure tones under silent, white noise, and [...] Read more.
Detectability of auditory signals in built environments is a critical issue in architectural acoustics, particularly in public spaces where notification sounds must be perceived reliably under background noise. This study investigated reaction times (RTs) to amplitude-modulated pure tones under silent, white noise, and bandpass-noise conditions. Twenty young and twenty elderly participants responded to 1 and 2 kHz tones with flat, gentle, and steep onset envelopes. To describe perceptual detection in physically interpretable terms, a time-integrated sound-exposure level model, LAE(t), was applied. RT was defined as the moment when cumulative acoustic energy exceeded a criterion value relative to the hearing threshold. In silent conditions, RTs were accurately predicted by LAE(t), with onset-envelope shape influencing early energy accumulation. In noise conditions, RTs increased systematically with spectral proximity between target and masker, consistent with auditory filter theory. When spectral separation exceeded approximately four ERB numbers, masking effects were minimal, and RT approached silent-condition values. These findings demonstrate that perceptual detection timing is governed by cumulative acoustic energy and spectral masking rather than instantaneous sound pressure level. The LAE(t) model provides a detection-oriented metric that complements conventional room-acoustic parameters and may support evidence-based design of perceptually robust auditory signals in architectural environments. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Architectural Acoustics: From Theory to Application—2nd Edition)
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