1.

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Measurement Of Acoustical Characteristics Of Mosques In Saudi

Arabia

Abdou, AA

ACOUSTICAL SOC AMER AMER INST PHYSICS, JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL

SOCIETY OF AMERICA; pp: 1505-1517; Vol: 113

King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals

http://www.kfupm.edu.sa

Summary

The study of mosque acoustics, with regard to acoustical. characteristics, sound

quality for speech intelligibility, and other applicable acoustic criteria, has been

largely neglected. In this study a background as to why mosques are designed as they

are and how mosque design is influenced by worship considerations is given. In the

study the acoustical characteristics of typically constructed contemporary mosques in

Saudi Arabia have been investigated, employing a well-known impulse response.

Extensive field measurements were taken in 21 representative mosques of different

sizes and architectural features in order to characterize their acoustical quality and to

identify the impact of air conditioning, ceiling fans, and sound reinforcement systems

on their acoustics. Objective room-acoustic indicators such as reverberation time (RT)

and clarity (C-50) were measured. Background noise (BN) was assessed. with and

without the operation of air conditioning and fans. The speech transmission index

(STI) was also evaluated with and without the operation of existing sound

reinforcement systems. The existence of acoustical deficiencies was confirmed and

quantified. The study, in addition to describing mosque acoustics, compares design

goals to results obtained. in. practice and suggests acoustical target values for mosque

design. The results show that acoustical quality in the investigated mosques deviates

from optimum conditions when unoccupied, but is much better in the occupied

condition. (C) 2003 Acoustical Society of America.

References:1988, 268 IEC SOUND SYS 16

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Copyright: King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals;http://www.kfupm.edu.sa