On the influence of different facade materials on the auditory perception of a urban space

The study investigates the influence of different façade materials on acoustic characteristics of a small urban square and on listeners’ space wideness perception on the basis of auditory stimuli. It is aimed at enhancing awareness on how different façade design can influence the outdoor environment under multiple aspects. The investigation has been conducted through virtual acoustics, by means of simulations and auralisations performed with Odeon (v.13) software. A listening test with a 3 factorial design levels has been implemented to investigate subjective assessment of space wideness. Results showed that the absorption coefficient of the facades and the listener position significantly affect the perceived wideness of spaces, while scattering coefficient is not influential. Moreover, a comparison with objective parameters resulting from simulations has being perfomed, in order to draw a first hypothesis on what parameters could explain the differences in the perception of dimensions of a urban space through auditory stimuli.