The Role of Sound in Shaping

Architectural Spaces:
A Multisensory Approach

Synopsis

Submitted By- Guide

Sudeep Srivastava Ar. Priyanka Rastogi
2000510810072 Co-guide
B.Arch 4th-Year Pl. Arundhatee Mishra
Background:
Our universe is composed of vibrations, ranging from smallest of particles to massive celestial bodies. When we hear
these vibrations, we term them as sound. So, to define it, sound is the psychological impact of vibrations on humans.
We humans can hear, on the basis of magnitude, 8 octaves more than what we can see. (Berg, 2024)
The built environment encompasses various architectural structures, urban spaces, and landscapes that shape human
experiences and interactions within communities.
‘Understanding how soundscape influences the built environment is crucial for enhancing the quality of life and well-
being of individuals residing in urban areas’ (Brown et al., 2016).
Soundscape and the Built Environment:
Soundscape, defined as the auditory environment perceived by individuals, significantly impacts the quality of
architectural spaces and urban settings. The integration of soundscape considerations in architectural design and urban
planning processes has gained attention in recent years. Architectural features, such as building materials, layout, and
spatial configuration, influence the propagation and perception of sound within built environments. Additionally,
urban design factors, including street layouts, green spaces, and transportation systems, play a critical role in shaping
the acoustic characteristics of cities.
Environmental Psychology Perspective:
From an environmental psychology perspective, soundscape influences individuals' perceptions, behaviours, and
social interactions within built environments. Positive soundscapes, characterized by pleasant and harmonious
auditory experiences, contribute to a sense of place attachment and community well-being. Conversely, negative
soundscapes, associated with high levels of noise pollution and disruptive sounds, can lead to feelings of discomfort,
annoyance, and alienation among residents.
Acoustic Design and Human Well-being:
Acoustic design principles aim to create environments that promote acoustic comfort and mitigate noise pollution.
Research suggests that exposure to excessive noise levels in urban environments can lead to adverse effects on human
health, including stress, sleep disturbances, and cognitive impairments. Thus, integrating sound-absorbing materials,
soundproofing techniques, and strategic planning of sound sources are essential for enhancing acoustic comfort and
fostering a healthier built environment

Issue Identified
Subjective Perception of Soundscapes:
Individuals' subjective perceptions of soundscapes can vary widely. Understanding the factors that influence
individuals' preferences and responses to soundscapes is essential for designing environments that cater to diverse user
needs and preferences.
Sense of Place and Community Well-being:
Positive soundscapes characterized by pleasant auditory experiences can contribute to a sense of place attachment and
community well-being. Conversely, negative soundscapes associated with high levels of noise pollution may
undermine residents' quality of life and social cohesion within communities.
Health Impacts:
Soundscape can affect individual health to varying capacity, both positively and negatively. While a calm music can
enhance working capacity, noise can actively degrade it. This being an example, there are many such effects of
sounds, thus it is important to categorise and study varies health effects.

Data Collection and Assessment Methods:

The assessment of soundscapes in the built environment involves both objective measurements and subjective
evaluations. Developing reliable methods for collecting and analysing data on soundscapes is essential for informing
evidence-based decision-making in architectural and urban design.

Need for Study

The imperative to explore how soundscape affects the built environment arises from its profound significance for
architectural design and urban planning. In architectural practice, the built environment serves as both a backdrop and
a vessel for the auditory experiences that unfold within urban spaces.
Soundscape, the intricate blend of sounds perceived by individuals, plays a pivotal role in shaping the ambiance and
character of architectural spaces. Yet, there exists a critical gap in understanding the nuanced interplay between
soundscape and architectural design. Furthermore, acknowledging the subjective nature of sound perception is
essential for architects to craft environments that resonate with diverse user sensibilities and preferences.
By investigating how soundscape influences the built environment through an architectural lens, this study aims to
inform design strategies and practices that prioritize acoustic comfort, harmony, and an increase in focus and cognitive
thinking of inhabitants, ultimately fostering the creation of more enriching and sustainable built environment.
Aim:
To study the interactions between architecture and sound, and how people modify their behaviour in response to
varying soundscape.

Objectives:
• To identify and categorize various sound elements (e.g., ambient sounds, human activities, etc.), and examine
how these contribute to overall soundscape.
• To investigate the relation between soundscape and overall well-being of an individual and examine how it
influences social interactions and community dynamics.
• To explore the use of technology to enhance positive soundscape and reduce negative impacts.

Hypothesis
To see, to hear, to smell and to touch are the senses through which we perceive the environment around us. It is
captured in our memory from the reminiscent of these senses.
Architecture at its core is to design spaces that can be used, celebrated and remembered by people. Sound, one of the
stimuli, plays an important part in our thinking of space. The study tries to discover the connection of world of sounds
to architecture, and how to use soundscape to affect the architecture to inculcate feelings, and make the buildings more
memorable.
Architectural spaces designed with careful consideration of sound, as a fundamental component of the multisensory
experience, will foster greater user satisfaction, improve cognitive performance, and promote overall well-being
compared to spaces where sound is overlooked or inadequately managed.
The study will also focus on understanding and using technology to produce the desired effects, and analyze its
usefulness in accordance with the required soundscape of buildings.

Scope
 The study will cover the psychological effects of sound, and how it can be used to enhance the overall user
experience of built spaces. The built spaces include residential, educational, religious and public leisure
spaces (such as museums, community center, etc.)

 The study will present the analysis of subjective nature of sound and how it can be integrated with buildings.

 The study will present with technical details on how soundscape can be introduced or blocked according to the
requirements of built environments.

Limitations
 The study will not cover built environments where only blocking noise plays an important role (such as
hospitals, factories, theaters, etc.)

 The study will not cover the physical nature of sound.

 The study will rely on second hand studies for analysis on how individuals behave to varying soundscapes.

Methodology
In order to gain better insight into the topic, multiple soundscapes will be studied to analyze their effect on human
psychology. Here, soundscapes refer to the cumulative sound of all the components in an environment that are capable
of producing sound.
A qualitative analysis of data will be done. The data will be collected through secondary studies. The data will be
sampled based on the subjective nature of soundscapes.
The sampled data will be analyzed on how it contributed to the factors of the case study, such as improvement in
cognitive performance, greater user satisfaction and overall well-being.
Then relevant primary and secondary case studies will be done, where these soundscapes can be identified and their
effects will be analyzed. Their effects will be analyzed by studying the degree to which they effect their built
environment.
Finally, technology-based interventions will be studied on how soundscape can be integrated in a better way with built
environment.
Literature Review
Hypogeum, Malta

110Hz

Chamber
length

The Hypogeum is a Neolithic subterranean structure dating to the Saflieni phase (3300 – 3000 BC) in Maltese
prehistory, located in Paola, Malta. It is often simply referred to as the Hypogeum, literally meaning "underground" in
Greek. The Hypogeum is thought to have been a sanctuary and necropolis, with the estimated remains of more than
7,000 people documented by archeologists, and is among the best-preserved examples of the Maltese temple building
culture that also produced the Megalithic Temples.
The Hypogeum at the end has an oracle room, where prayers were believed to be offered. The chamber was created to
resonate with the prayers.
The chamber in the hypogeum is created at the exact multiples of 110Hz, so when the prayers are offered, the chamber
resonates with the prayer, amplifying the sounds.
As the sound originates from source and reflects, both the waves get superimposed on each other, resulting in
constructive interference. This results in the formation of a standing wave.
This represent how resonance can be used to inculcate sound in the built environments, forming one of the two major
components that are widely used to study sound in respect of architecture.
The Baptistery of St. John, Florence

The Florence Baptistery, also known as the Baptistery of Saint John, is a religious building in Florence, Italy, and has
the status of a minor basilica. The Baptistery is one of the oldest buildings in the city, constructed between 1059 and
1128 in the Florentine Romanesque style.
The chambers reverberate sound, four times to create four different reflections that sound one after another in proper
timing to intensify the prayers offered.
The first reflection is created due to the inner colonnade, the second reflection is created due to the outer colonnade
and some reflections get stuck between the inner and outer colonnade, resulting in the third reverb.
Due to the height of the baptistery a fourth reverb is created, which takes the longest time to reach the source. Later, a
resonating chamber was added to amplify the sound.
This formed the second important component of sound, i.e. reverberation, which can be widely integrated with
soundscape of building.
References
• Brown, Lex & Gjestland, Truls & Dubois, Danièle. (2015). Acoustic Environments and Soundscapes.

• Berg, Morten Roar (2014). Our visual focus– The eye versus the ear.

• Mattia, Giovanni. (2003). Sound and noise: Physiological, psychological and sociological effects.

• Jablonska, Joanna & Trocka-Leszczyńska, E. & Tarczewski, Romuald. (2015). Sound and Architecture –
Mutual Influence.

• Debertolis, Prof.agg & Coimbra, Fernando & Eneix, Linda. (2015). Archaeoacoustic Analysis of the Hal
Saflieni Hypogeum in Malta. Journal of Anthropology and Archaeology.

• D'Orazio, Dario & Fratoni, Giulia & Rossi, E. & Garai, Massimo. (2020). Understanding the acoustics
of St. John’s Baptistery in Pisa through a virtual approach. Journal of Building Performance Simulation.

• Grueneisen, Peter. Soundscape: Architecture for sound and vision