Indoor Soundscape Modelling - Rethinking Acoustic Comfort in Naturally Ventilated Residential Buildings

The connection to the outdoors created by open windows has so far been one of the main impediments to the adoption of natural ventilation, due to indoor noise levels easily exceeding design requirements. Starting from the apparent conflict between ventilation and acoustic comfort needs, the study explores the opportunities for shaping healthy and supportive acoustic environments through sound transmitted via ventilation openings. The research question challenges the traditional approach to acoustic design, which assumes noise annoyance reduction by merely reducing decibel noise levels, drawing inspiration from the soundscape concept. Soundscape science characterises the human response to the acoustic environment in context and can help understand if and how natural ventilation may contribute to defining spaces that sound good to their occupants. However, the soundscape framework, as described by ISO 12913 standard series, has been primarily developed for use in the context of urban planning. Through several experimental activities – a systematic literature review, expert interviews, laboratory listening tests and a large scale online survey – the work investigates (i) how the soundscape approach can be applied to the indoor built environment, (ii) what factors positively influence it and (iii) how it can be measured in residential buildings, thus framing the ‘indoor soundscape’ concept.