Speaker
Description
World Heritage sites often have high reverberation times and low speech intelligibility, which are rarely suitable for their new, modern‑day functions. This paper shows how the acoustic refurbishment of two rooms can be achieved while preserving their architectural and historical character.Both rooms are located in the Central building (Building K) of the Budapest University of Technology and Economics: the Main Hall (Aula), which is often used for ceremonies and musical performances, and a regular classroom, one of the largest lecture rooms in the building.Initial measurements using interrupted noise and impulse sources showed extremely high reverberation‑time values in both rooms, which explain the generally negative subjective opinions about their overall acoustical quality.To obtain a more detailed evaluation, we performed impulse‑response measurements using a swept‑sine signal and also created and circulated a subjective questionnaire among the audience and musicians of the Main Hall and the students using the lecture hall. In addition, the rooms were analysed using CATT‑Acoustic software.Based on these observations and analyses, we determined where sound‑absorbing materials could be placed while respecting the visual integrity of these historic spaces. The effects of the proposed solutions were also analysed and are presented here.