Date of Graduation
5-2025
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Architecture
Degree Level
Undergraduate
Department
Architecture
Advisor/Mentor
Messadi, Tahar
Committee Member
Uribe, Lia
Second Committee Member
Colangelo, Jessica
Abstract
Historically, concert venues, such as large cathedrals and expansive Greek theaters have used heuristic methods for optimizing the experience of sound in accordance with the architectural essence of space. A shift in this design stratagem emerged in the late 19th century when Wallace Clement Sabine invented formal definitions for reverberation time and employed quantitative measurements to design Boston's Symphony Hall. This departure from iterative, qualitatively measured sound led to a counter-culture in the 20th century called subjective acoustics. Using generally agreed upon variables such as brilliance, warmth, spaciousness, intimacy, clarity, and liveliness, researchers began surveying audiences to see if quantitative sound could match the qualitative experience of an audience member. The purpose of this inquiry is to answer the question: how does sound interact with architecture and space from the perspective of a musician and an audience member?
Keywords
Lahti; Wroclaw; Aarhus; oboe; acoustics; performance
Citation
Hanauer, C. (2025). Subjective Acoustics. Architecture Undergraduate Honors Theses Retrieved from https://scholarworks.uark.edu/archuht/86
Included in
Music Performance Commons, Other Architecture Commons, Other Arts and Humanities Commons, Other Music Commons
