Speaker
Description
This study explores the effects of natural sounds, such as water sound and birdsong, on people's reactions to urban courtyards with and without the presence of sounds. A series of laboratory experiments were conducted in virtual reality (VR) environments. The first experiment investigated people's reactions to urban courtyards in terms of perceived pleasantness, perceived enclosure, and perceived spaciousness. Three-dimensional (3D) models of small and large courtyards were created with different height-to-width ratios (H/W) and features. A laboratory experiment was then conducted with three sessions: 1) audio-only, 2) audio-visual, and 3) visual-only. Additionally, the participants' physiological responses were monitored through facial electromyography (fEMG) and heart rate (HR) throughout the experiment. The second experiment focused on the restorative effects of urban courtyards. A similar experiment was conducted in VR environments and participants were asked to rate psychological restoration in each urban courtyard. Moreover, electroencephalogram (EEG) alpha waves (α-EEG) to each stimulus were measured throughout the experiment.
References
[1] Yilmaz, N., Lee, P. J., Imran, M., & Jeong, J. H. (2021). Effects of sound environment on perceived enclosure in urban street canyons.
[2] Frescura, A., & Lee, P. J. (2022). Emotions and physiological responses elicited by neighbours sounds in wooden residential buildings. Building and Environment, 210, 108729.
[3] Park, S. H., Lee, P. J., Jung, T., & Swenson, A. (2020). Effects of the aural and visual experience on psycho-physiological recovery in urban and rural environments. Applied Acoustics, 169, 107486.
| Keywords | urban courtyards; height-to-width ratio; audio-visual interaction; virtual reality, natural sounds |
|---|
