Lucky Tsaih

Water soundscape and listening impression

This paper presents the preference for water soundscape through listening evaluation. As a form of meditation, listening to water sounds is a tool that is often used to provide psychological restoration. Twenty water soundscape samples that were based on natural and man-made sounds were chosen and varied by their sound in relation to architecture and material. A semantic differential questionnaire was created with nine pairs of contractual sound qualities. Sixty-six architecture students with normal hearing participated in this listening evaluation. The results showed that 92% of the participants had a positive impression of a soft, quiet, and mid frequency sound (gentle stream) due to the listening impression of relaxation and comfort. On the contrary, 77% of the participants had a negative impression of a loud, intense, and broadband sound (rain on glass roof), due to the listening impression of noisiness and agitation. Sixty-two percent of the participants preferred the sound of rain on water due to th...

Local sonic wonders: Tectonics of measuring, modeling, and mapping aspects of soundscapes.

Soundscape theory is based on the premise that the ambient sound in an area is composed of a series of specific acoustic events that can be measured and modeled. In order to technically execute the process of measuring the specific acoustic events in a soundscape, each event must first be identified in an acoustic taxonomy and then measured in sufficient detail to allow modeling of the perceptually robust aspects of the event, so auralizations or other assessments of existing and future sounds can be made. The evaluation of site planning strategies was based on whether the sound levels at the proposed site would first comply with the noise ordinance, and second, be audible at homes when windows were open late at night at levels that might disturb sleep or be otherwise annoying. Full size simulations of sounds from entertainment establishments played into neighborhoods so people could listen to proposed sounds in their homes and yards as a method to allow citizens to participate in public hearings where ac...

Soundscape of washroom equipment and its application

The soundscape of the three washrooms at NTUST with equipment such as toilets, urinals, wash basins, showers, hand dryers, and tissue dispensers have been studied. The acoustical attributes of each type of washroom equipment have been measured, recorded and analyzed with LZFmax values for the 12.5 Hz to 20K Hz frequency bands. Despite the intermittent occurrence of equipment sounds, the overall maximum sound pressure level for the full frequency spectrum has been identified as 92 dB/ 83 dBA. It is aligned with a NC 74 curve. Such high transient sounds could disrupt sleeping in adjacent dormitory rooms and possibly reduce the quality of lecturing in adjacent classrooms. Light weight gypsum board and metal stud partitions, concrete masonry unit and concrete are the typical partitions used in washrooms of the residential, healthcare, hospitality, and schools. The transmission loss values of the partitions were calculated with Insul in the initial study. It was found that the majority of partitions studied ha...

Standing on the shoulders of an ET giant

Professor Bertram Y. Kinzey, Jr., is the main author of the Environmental Technologies in Architecture. This valuable book was first published in 1951 and has been intellectually stimulating for Architecture students at UF and around the world. It was astonishing to read through the Preface of the book. It reveals this giant’s farsighted provision on how an architect should take account of complex environmental control systems and balance them with the physiological and psychological needs of the occupants during the design process. These environmental control systems include thermal, atmosphere, and environmental control, acoustics, sanitation, lighting, electrical machinery, and power distribution, coincide with current “hot” sustainable design topics. In particular, he expresses the idea of seamless integration between the architect and his engineering consultants through entire life cycle of a project. This concept, serves as the heart of the BIM development and its implementation process. Following h...

Acoustic comfort in living environment

As population of aging people growing fast, the need of long-term care facility is also increased. In the living environment of elder people, acoustic comfort has the same importance as thermal comfort and visual comfort. This research is to study the preference of acoustic comfort through the listening evaluation with normal hearing people. The listening evaluation is based on 20 live recorded sound samples from two Taiwanese long term care facilities and a university dormitory. The listening evaluation was participated by 66 architecture students. A semantic differential scale questionnaire with 11 pairs of sound qualities for each sound sample were used. The results shown that normal hearing people have negative impression for the current acoustic comfort condition of these Taiwanese long term care facilities. All of the respondents gave negative impression to water pump machine sound due to the “noisy” and “harsh” sound qualities. A live percussive music rehearsed event was associated with “noisy” and...

Leadership in energy and environmental design acoustics compliance: Simulation versus field measurements

In classrooms, acoustics and lighting are equally critical qualities that shape the learning environment. LEED IEQ Prerequisite 3: Minimum Acoustic Performance only addresses a prescriptive requirement for compliance. LEED IEQ Credit 8.1: Daylight and Views allows several options for demonstrating achievement of minimum illumination levels: simulation, prescriptive, measurement, and combination. In examining PK Yonge Elementary School in Gainesville, Florida, field measurements of daylighting and acoustics were performed. Measurements demonstrate that 3 pm illumination levels are better than at 9 am, but model simulations show both to be the same. Model simulation results are at least 10 times better than field measurements. This discrepancy suggests that measurements are critical for more accurate results. Acoustical model simulations for reverberation time were also conducted and the results showed inconsistencies from field measurements. Both daylighting and acoustical simulations provide preliminary r...

Soundscape of band room: Listening criteria.

Three band rehearsal videos have been analyzed to investigate the specific issues that conductors address or work on during a band rehearsal. These specific issues were also identified by the conductors and music students as the listening criteria during the rehearsal through interviews with conductors and questionnaires administered to music students. The analysis of video recordings of three band rehearsals shows that the conductor addressed to issues related to intonation (17%), rhythm (27%), dynamics (18%), articulation (19%), and other musical issues such as style, phrasing, tone quality, breath release time, and/or nonmusical issues such as student’s discipline (21%) of the time. Questionnaires given to student musicians and faculty instructors yielded similar results with 73%–94% of students and 50%–83% of instructors naming these as primary issues dealt with in college and high school music rehearsals. This raises questions that these issues should form the basis for acoustical design criteria for...

Soundscape study methods of band rehearsal room

Soundscape study methods were applied to a band rehearsal room to understand the acoustical issues involved in this situation. A taxonomy of sound sources, direct observation to identify the specific sonic events and the multiple source and receiver paths involved in the complex listening and performing tasks that occur during band rehearsals were identified. It was found that students spend almost 1/2 of their rehearsal time involved with verbal instruction and discussion. Interviews with conductors and questionnaires administered to music students in three different band rooms were used to determine what musicians are listening for during rehearsals. Source and receiver combinations for physical acoustical measurements were located to study the multiple listening tasks identified in the questionnaires. Musicians were constantly trying to “hear each other” for intonation, rhythm, dynamics, articulation, and tone quality during rehearsals. Statistical models linking the qualitative results of the question...

Exploring the soundscape of nature.

A study of a state park situated along a spring fed river was conducted to try to understand the nature of the soundscape of a park intended to be used by people for recreational purposes as well as to preserve the qualities of the natural ecosystems in the area. The study explores the qualitative and quantitative aspects of the ambient sound as composed of a series of specific acoustic events related to natural sounds of wildlife, water flows and weather, human use of the park, maintenance operations by park staff, and off‐site noise intrusions from adjoining land uses. The acoustic “rooms” of the site are identified by the characteristics of their impulse responses. The rooms are linked by acoustic itineraries related to each of the user groups. Modeling of animal, weather, and human sounds is used to construct the acoustic rhythms of the site from limited, practical data acquisition of existing sounds. Recordings of real and simulated sound fields from the park were evaluated by listeners to determine ...