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Auditory perception has been proved to have an influence on how we live and move through places and on the use of public spaces. However, despite the numerous studies that have focused on the theme of soundscape and auditory perception of urban spaces, these aspects have not been studied in connection with the design of the building surrounding such spaces. This study focuses on the influence of façade design on acoustic characteristics of an urban space and on the subjective spatial perception of the users. Simulations and auralizations have been conducted through ODEON software (v.13) on the virtual model of a small square of Turin (Italy). Different absorption and scattering coefficients of façade upholsteries have been applied to the façades of the building surrounding the square, choosing from a pool of typical building façade materials. Results of a listening test have proved that the absorption coefficient of the façades has an influence on the subjective perception of space wideness. Moreover, multiple regression analysis has been conducted in order to find a mathematical relation between space wideness perception and objective acoustic parameters. It was shown that the relation between the perceptual aspects and the objective parameters is strongly dependent on the listening position.

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The present study evaluates the effect of soundscape and lightscape variations on the perceived safety and perceived social presence in a pedestrian area through laboratory experiments. Thirty-one participants were presented with nine different virtual scenarios, in which the same underpass was reproduced under different soundscape and lightscape conditions. The participants were asked to assess each scenario considering 10 items related to perceived safety and perceived social presence. A principal component analysis allowed the 10 items to be reduced to two principal components, namely “perceived safety” and “perceived social presence”. A two-way repeated measures ANOVA analysis was conducted to assess the effect of modifications of both the soundscape and lightscape on the two components. The obtained results showed that the soundscape had an effect on both the perceived safety (p < 0.05) and perceived social presence (p < 0.05), while the lightscape variations implemented in this experiment only had a statistically significant effect on the latter (p < 0.05). The results of such studies may be of interest for public design and management as they may be conducted by means of non-intrusive and cost-effective techniques.

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