Acoustic evaluation of a contemporary church based on in situ measurements of reverberation time, de

Abstract An acoustic survey was conducted in a church with a modern architectural style in Curitiba, southern Brazil. The investigation used acoustic measurement methods to assess the acoustic quality of the nave and the results were compared with the NBR 12179 Brazilian National Standard, ISO 3382-1 international standard and IEC 60268-16 Standard. Integrated impulse responses were measured to determine two acoustic objective parameters: (1) Reverberation Time (RT), (2) Definition ( D 50 ) according to the international ISO/3382 and ISO/3382-1 standards. The Speech Transmission Index (STI) inside the church was calculated by computer simulation. The measured and calculated values were consistent with those proposed by the standards for speech auditoria (RT 500Hz  = 1.18 s, D 50  > 50% and STI > 0.45), and are in line with the music and speech intelligibility requirements resulting from the Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican in 1965, whose liturgical reforms involved the adoption of vernacular languages in place of Latin for religious service.

[1]  John S. Bradley.  Using ISO 3382 measures, and their extensions, to evaluate acoustical conditions in concert halls , 2005 .

[2]  L. Cremer,et al.  Die wissenschaftlichen Grundlagen der Raumakustik , 1976 .

[3]  Gino G. Sacerdote,et al.  Measurements of the Acoustical Properties of Two Roman Basilicas , 1953 .

[4]  David T. Bradley,et al.  Comparison of Measured and Computer-Modeled Objective Parameters for an Existing Coupled Volume Concert Hall , 2007 .

[5]  Steven L. Garrett.  Acoustical design in architecture , 2005 .

[6]  J. S. Bradley,et al.  Acoustics of auditoriums in public buildings , 1994 .

[7]  Francesco Martellotta,et al.  Sound propagation and energy relations in churches. , 2005, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[8]  Xiangyang Zeng,et al.  Practical methods to define scattering coefficients in a room acoustics computer model , 2006 .

[9]  Graham Naylor,et al.  Predicting Room Acoustical Behaviour with the ODEON Computer Model , 2022 .

[10]  R. S. Shankland,et al.  Acoustics of St. Peter's and Patriarchal Basilicas in Rome , 1971 .

[11]  I. Bork.  Report on the 3rd round robin on room acoustical computer simulation - : Part II: Calculations , 2005 .

[12]  Francesco Martellotta,et al.  Acoustics of Apulian-Romanesque Churches: Correlations between Architectural and Acoustic Parameters , 2003 .

[13]  M. Barron.  Using the standard on objective measures for concert auditoria, ISO 3382, to give reliable results , 2005 .

[14]  I. Bork,et al.  A comparison of room simulation software - The 2nd round robin on room acoustical computer simulation , 2000 .

[15]  Vern O. Knudsen.  THE HEARING OF SPEECH IN AUDITORIUMS , 1929 .

[16]  Wolfgang Fasold,et al.  Schallschutz und raumakustik in der praxis : planungsbeispiele und konstruktive lösungen , 2003 .

[17]  T. Houtgast,et al.  The Modulation Transfer Function in Room Acoustics as a Predictor of Speech Intelligibility , 1973 .

[18]  Francesco Martellotta,et al.  Worship, Acoustics and Architecture , 2007 .

[19]  J. C. Steinberg.  Effects of Distortion Upon the Recognition of Speech Sounds , 1929 .

[20]  António P. O. Carvalho.  Relations between rapid speech transmission index (RASTI) and other acoustical and architectural measures in churches , 1999 .

[21]  Leo L. Beranek.  ACOUSTICS AND MUSICAL QUALITIES , 1996 .

[22]  Paola Ricciardi,et al.  Guidelines for acoustical measurements in churches , 2009 .

[23]  Lauren M. Ronsse.  Speech intelligibility of lecture halls , 2006 .

[24]  I. Bork.  Report on the 3rd round robin on room acoustical computer simulation - : Part I: Measurements , 2005 .

[25]  Francesco Martellotta,et al.  Acoustics of Apulian-Romanesque Churches: An Experimental Survey , 2002 .

[26]  Sara Girón,et al.  Clarity and Definition in Mudejar-Gothic Churches , 1999 .