A preliminary field experiment to predict soundscape perception based on the biophilia hypothesis paradigm

Abstract

In a time when biophilic design is investigated mainly with the incorporation of greenery in indoor environments, this study seeks to investigate the relationship between biophilic quality and soundscape perception in oncology polyclinics with and without a garden in Ankara, Turkey. The study, which evolves in an actual environment, claims that the Biophilia Hypothesis paradigm can predict the soundscape perception. Therefore, it aims to examine the audio-visual interaction manifested in polyclinics and its effect on both soundscape perception and biophilic quality using the Biophilic Interior Design Index (BIDI) and soundscape analysis ISO/TS-12913-3 method A. For the objective characterization of the environment, both binaural audio recordings and photographs have been taken, whereas the BIDI has been back-translated by two bilingual experts. In line with the existing literature, the study’s preliminary result supports the tendency for polyclinics with a garden to score higher in biophilic quality, therefore soundscape perceptual affective quality is placed on the positive dimension of the circumplex model, whereas polyclinics without a garden score the opposite.