Design Strategies IMPULSE - Sustainable Facades Vol 2

Table 1. Suggested content for analysis of façade influence on the soundscape.
FAÇADE
• Height: Highest points of the façade.
• Geometrical complexity: flat; moderate
protrusions and inclinations; irregular
• Façade Materials: Description of materials
used including sound absorption
coefficients. Vegetation growing along
the façade is here considered a façade
material.
CONTEXT
• Visits: The date and time of site visits.
• Atmospheric conditions: Temperature, precipitation,
wind, sky condition.
• Street geometry: width to height ratio.
• Crowd: Presence of people in the area.
• Traffic: Density and patterns of road, rail and air traffic.
• Biodiversity: Presence of vegetation and animals in the
area.
“Façades
Soundscape”
people’s
ACOUSTIC ENVIRONMENT
• Sound Pressure Level: Measurements of the
sound pressure level in decibels.
• Frequencies: Analysis of a frequency content
on a spectrogram
• Sound source identification: Presence of
technological, human and natural sounds.
• Façade exposure diagram: a 2D plot created
for on-site surveying by having a listener giving
its back to the façade at a close distance,
looking outwards in order to analyze the
direction, distance and movement of the
sounds that the façade is exposed to.
PEOPLE
• Soundscape radar plot: Visualization of the eight
perceptual attributes of different soundscape
assessments.
• Soundscape scatter plot: : Visualization of perceived
affective quality of different soundscape assessments.
It is recommended to read the scatter plot and the
radar plot together to avoid loss of relevant data.
• Sociodemographic factors: Information of soundscape
assessment participants (age, gender, country,
education, occupation).
Figure 1. Poster with results of the soundwalk of October 25, 2023.
3. Results
3.1. Qualitative results of workshop outcomes
The workshop results provided insights into the
practical application of the framework of façades
and urban soundscape. In this case, by groups of
students who had never been exposed to that kind of
analysis and generally, without previous knowledge
of acoustics. Regardless of that, participants showed
good engagement and were able to effectively apply
the framework in their façade analyses. Overall, the
level of the poster presentation indicates that the
learning objectives of the workshop were successfully
reached with some considerations such as occasional
confusion over specific terminology used. This could
suggest that more in-depth introductory sessions
are needed to provide participants the opportunity
to familiarize themselves with the key concepts.
Each of the five locations of the soundwalk was
assigned to a group of students. The students then
chose a building at that location and visited the site
several times on different dates to identify patterns
in the area as well as the possible effects being
produced by the façade.
Three groups visited the site three times after the
soundwalk, and two groups visited the site again four
times. Then, each group prepared a poster to present
their study and explained how the selected façade
affects the acoustic environment and the soundscape
of that location. All groups said they used the Excel
file to obtain the coordinates of Pleasantness and
Eventfulness to create soundscape scatter plots.
None of them used the Python code.
In order to analyze the potential effects of façades
on the acoustic environment the following
questions were suggested: (i) how are façade
geometry and materials reflecting sound from
sources in this urban context?; (ii) how are façade
materials absorbing sound in this urban context?;
(iii) is there any noise being emitted by the façade?
To analyze the effects of façades on the context it was
suggested to ask the following questions: (iv) is the
façade design appropriate for this urban context?
(v) is the façade making the space more or less
enclosed?; (vi) is the façade affecting biodiversity in
the area?; (vii) is there visible mechanical equipment
installed on the façade?
Group 1 analyzed the “Riegel” building at the campus
of TH OWL. They described that all the materials
are reflective so sound is likely being reflected
around the façade and no absorption. However,
they argued that the visible wood of mullions and
transoms on the inner side, improved the quality
of the space. The noise generated by the façade’s
movable shading system was described as annoying
and monotonous for the location. The sounds of
children playing at the neighboring kindergarten
were considered annoying and chaotic.
Group 2 analyzed the façade of the Sparkasse
bank located at the intersection of Paulinenstraße
and Bielefelder Straße. They characterized the
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