The Preference of the Environmental Sounds Suitable for Urban Public Spaces

도시 공공장소에 어울리는 환경음의 선호도 분석

It is said that the goal of the design of good acoustical environment is at first the reduction of undesirable sounds, and in addition the introduction of desirable sounds by which our minds are soothed. The task of creating the desirable sounds leads to the realization of a comfortable acoustic environment and the design of soundscape. It may be an important starting point of soundscape design to select suitable sounds for the target spaces, because each space has a different surrounding condition and requires a special ambient sound. This paper aims to survey preference of the environmental sounds suitable for the public spaces in urban areas such as parks, bus terminals. 35 kinds of natural sounds are rated by 26 pairs of adjectives. The results of psycho-acoustic experiments are as follows. 1. The proper adjectives for expressing the environmental sounds are classified into 6 groups of comfort, pleasure, fullness, variety, distinctness, naturalness. 2. Bird singing, murmuring of a stream, artificial sounds, singing of insects and animals are the affirmative order of preference. 3. Green musics consisted of music and natural sounds are preferred to the pure natural sounds. 4. Sound level relative to background noise causes various preferences to natural sounds in public spaces.