Room acoustics education in interior architecture programs: A course structure proposal

Abstract

Soundscape research alters the notion of room acoustics from a physical phenomenon to a new multidisciplinary approach that concerns human perception of the acoustic environment, in addition to the physical calculations and measurements. Many interior architecture programs include courses that specifically focus on room acoustics. Although a brief introduction to the technical aspects of room acoustics is considered mandatory, the current course structure does not deliver sufficient information on the human perception of the acoustic environment. Therefore, the aim of the study is to reconsider the structure of room acoustic courses and present a brand-new room acoustics course structure proposal for the interior architecture programs. The study consists of two main phases. In the first phase, a database of all courses that include various topics on room acoustics is prepared through examination of the course descriptions of all undergraduate and graduate interior architecture programs in Turkey. In the second phase, the revisions to the current state of the room acoustics course structures are advised through an in-depth systematic literature review on the research area of soundscapes. Preliminary results and the initial course structure model will be presented at the conference.