Accoustical characterization of historical performance structures

Abstract

Built heritage has a very distinctive cultural and aesthetic aspect embedded into it, and conservation has been concentrating on that part very religiously. India has a very rich and diverse cultural heritage, and when studying from one built form to another, it can be observed that each plan and architectural form has a very close association with the purpose it was built for. The use of daylight in these structures is very well documented and studied as these are dependent on the openings and orientation of the structure, and by documenting the structure, the light character of the structure is somewhat getting documented. The acoustics of the structure are a hidden character of a structure and especially for a place of worship and performance. It's the behavior of sound in different environments. It needs special attention and needs to be addressed subjectively. The acoustics of places for worship and performance need to be documented, and the effect of each form and architectural element should be studied. The preservation of historic buildings has an impact on their acoustics. For example, uniform use of materials and building techniques can change the acoustic properties of a building. The heritage structure with signs of acoustic characters should be documented using acoustical instruments, and a simulation of the space should be done to understand the original setting of that structure. Software that can be used for this virtual simulation is ODEON or EASE 4.3, and the instrument package required for documentation of sound is the multidirectional sound source and handheld analyzers