Restaurants are spaces where people gather to eat, talk, share, and spend time. They are also facilities where food is prepared and served to others. Restaurants have garnered much attention over the last several years as having high sound levels with some customers having difficulty in communication among patrons and staff. However, spaces such as cafeterias, dining rooms in country clubs, retirement centers, and hospitals serve similar functions as restaurants and suffer from similar acoustic issues. Acoustic measurements of alpha bar, reverberation time, reflected sound energy, noise reduction, and STI were made in various types of dining spaces that have required acoustic treatment. Data from these types of spaces have been added to the data previously collected at restaurants, to provide general information about the acoustics of dining spaces. The results show that dining spaces can be broken into similar treatment categories, regardless of the specific type of space. The sample of rooms was also analyzed by architectural and interior design style to identify design trends that affect the acoustical metrics in dining spaces.

Auralizations and other computer model studies were used to predict qualitative and quantitative measures of speech intelligibility in classrooms under realistic conditions of background noise and reverberation. Speech intelligibility tests were given to college students in two classrooms and one racquetball court at 5 signal-to-noise ratios. Auralizations of the speech intelligibility tests were made from computer. Speech intelligibility tests were then administered in a sound booth using the auralized material. Fifteen different acoustical measurements related to speech intelligibility were also made at multiple locations in the actual classrooms and in the computer models of the classrooms. The scores on the speech intelligibility tests given in the actual rooms in the five noise conditions were closely duplicated in the equivalent tests conducted in a sound booth using the simulated speech signals obtained in the computer models. Both quantitative and qualitative measures of speech intelligibility in the actual rooms were accurately predicted in the computer models. Correlations (R2) between acoustical measures made in the full size classrooms and the computer models of the classrooms of 0.92 to 0.99 were found.

A proposed soundscape design method to evaluate acoustical impacts of planning and building projects on the surrounding community as a way to work toward net zero noise impacts is summarized. The concept of net zero impacts is borrowed from ecological planning where buildings are designed to produce as much energy as they use. The idea of a net zero noise impact is one where a building or planning project does not increase the existing ambient noise level during its use. The first step in this process is to define the nature of the existing ambient soundscape in the vicinity of the project. The method includes long term acoustical measurements of ambient sounds, short term detailed measurements of specific acoustic events, focus group meetings with residents and stakeholders to identify and evaluate acoustical issues, methods to map qualitative aspects of the soundscape, computer modeling of various types to assist in developing design alternatives, evaluation of possible weather effects, qualitative and quantitative assessments of calibrated aural simulations of design alternatives, and postconstruction verification methods. Examples from multiple case studies of large scale infrastructure and building projects are used to document strengths and weaknesses of the proposed method.

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This paper describes seven elements of soundscape theory that can be applied to the design of architectural spaces including worship spaces, music education spaces, justice facilities, museums, performing arts centers, libraries, restaurants and schools. The paper is focused on the transformative steps that must be taken to translate soundscape data and analysis into the physical form of a building where sound is conceived of as a generator of form and is not necessarily a result of the form. Case studies of recent research and architectural studio classes involved with the design of performing arts facilities will be presented to illustrate how sound can become a part of the conceptual structure of buildings in addition to one of the functions to be accommodated in buildings. The concept of a sonic niche in location, time, level, pitch and form becoming a tangible architectural intervention in a building is explored as one way to translate soundscape theory into architectural space.