Eleventh International Conference on The Constructed Environment

Abstract

Streetscape design is one of the disciplines that have an effective role in the quality of urban soundscape however, a noticed absence of linking between urban soundscape and streetscape design. This research aims to link urban soundscape with streetscape design by creating guideline for design process of soundscape by employing streetscape design. In current study, preference level of urban soundscapes has been designed based on streetscape design elements are examined. First, permutations process was applied for six streetscape design elements, each streetscape element was connected to one acoustic component of the soundscape and with road traffic noise RTN as a major source of the noise, in order to formulate soundscape proposals. Fourteen proposed situations represent soundscape design have been chosen as sample for conducting the experiment. Each situation has been used to create two audios with two sound pressure levels SPL of RTN to produce twenty-eight audios. A total of twenty subjects took part in a laboratory experiment to evaluate preference level of audios with the aid of 3D created. The results showed that soundscape preference level of multi-sounds situations (situations has three acoustic components) was gained a higher percentage than singular situations when road traffic noise level is 73 dBA, unlike previous studies. In contrast, in case of low road traffic noise level (66 dBA) preference level is getting higher in singular situations than multi-sounds situations. Finally, four stages guideline of urban soundscape design based on streetscape design was extracted which enable examination of soundscape quality before design interventions.