ASA 128th Meeting - Austin, Texas - 1994 Nov 28 .. Dec 02

3pID1. Hot topics in architectural acoustics.

Gary W. Siebein

Architecture Technol. Res. Ctr., Univ. of Florida, 231 ARCH, Gainesville, FL 32611-2004

This lecture will review some of the current topics of interest in the architectural acoustics community. There has been much recent work in trying to determine what physical factors contribute to subtle perceptions of spaciousness and source width in rooms. Efforts to standardize measurement techniques for recently proposed acoustical measures derived from the impulse response of rooms is underway as well as experiments to determine the utility of these measures in applied situations. These measures are also predicted in rooms by tests in physical scale models and computer models. Aural simulation of the effects of the architectural features of rooms on the qualities of music and speech is also being pursued. Measurements of the effects of flanking transmission, plumbing noise, and impact noise are also being refined as are recommended methods for assessing background noise levels in rooms. A significant area of activity in the architectural community that differentiates it from other technical committees occurs through the design and construction of real buildings to meet design goals based on current understandings of sound perception and propagation. Several case studies of actual buildings that have been designed to test some of the emerging knowledge gained in the laboratory will be presented.