Prediction of acoustic comfort and acoustic silence in Goan Catholic churches

Abstract

Acoustic Comfort and Acoustic Silence are determinants of tranquility in a worship space. The results presented here are part of a study that investigates the behaviour of acoustically constituted worship parameters in six Catholic churches (Goa, India). Acoustic comfort is quantified through an Acoustic Comfort Impression Index which measures the net comfort induced through the optimization of the desired subjective acoustic impressions for different types of music and different music sources. Silence Factor is constituted through the normalization of equivalent noise level (LAeq) and the subjective acoustic impressions of background noise and echoes. Regression analyses of the derived acoustic parameters generate significant results. Acoustically, the Silence Factor quadratically decays with LAeq and the Acoustic Comfort Impression Index is predicted as a multiregression on the subjective acoustic impressions of balance and clarity. Architecturally, the Silence Factor linearly grows with the width of the nave (of the church) whereas, the Acoustic Comfort Impression Index does not significantly relate with any of the tested architectural parameters. Silence Factor was found to linearly grow with Acoustic Comfort Impression Index in a church. The predictability of acoustic comfort and acoustic silence from acoustic and architectural measures can be developed into a design tool for the prediction of a tranquility factor in worship spaces.