Assessment of tranquility in an urban church garden

Abstract

Tranquility in view of urban church soundscape was assessed by field measurements and soundwalks. The Cathedral Myeong-dong located in the heart of Seoul was selected as a measurement site. Five sites adjacent to the church buildings were selected for field measurements and audio recordings were conducted at the sites. From the field measurements, the temporal and frequency characteristics, and several acoustic parameters of the sound environment at each site were analyzed. In addition, a general questionnaire survey was conducted to identify people’s perception on the current church soundscape and design elements to enhance the spaces. Individual soundwalks were also performed in order to evaluate soundscape perception in the church garden. From the results, the indicators representing tranquility sensation in urban church garden were investigated.