Introduction

Abstract

The construction or restoration of the built heritage is currently an interdisciplinary domain that draws on the input of architects, engineers, and historians. Especially where places of worship are concerned, they work toward sound ambiance quality, which depends on the contingencies imposed by the built environment, but which also has to meet specific qualitative prescriptions that may be the result of centuries of architectural and theological theorization (…) 1. From acoustics to sound ecologies. 2. Three challenges General abstract : Worship Sound Spaces unites specialists from architecture, acoustic engineering and the social sciences to encourage closer analysis of the sound environments within places of worship. Gathering a wide range of case studies set in Europe, Asia, North America, the Middle East, and Africa, the book presents investigations into Muslim, Christian and Hindu spaces. These diverse cultural contexts demonstrate the composite nature of designing and experiencing places of worship. Beginning with a historical overview of the three primary indicators in acoustic design of religious buildings, reverberation, intelligibility and clarity, the second part of this edited collection offers a series of field studies devoted to perception, before moving onto recent examples of restoration of the sound ambiances of former religious buildings. Written for academics and students interested in architecture, cultural heritage, acoustics, sensory studies and sound. The multimedia documents of this volume may be consulted at the address: https://frama.link/WSS