Investigation of the Acoustics Performance of the University’s Lecture Rooms by using Economical and Feasible Design Improvement Strategies

Abstract

Students encounter difficulties in speech comprehension because of unfavorable classroom acoustics conditions, which subsequently affect their cognitive development and academic performance. Therefore, optimal listening conditions are required to ensure that listeners perceive and recognize speech effectively. This invites numerous studies to explore plausible acoustic interventions and treatments as an initiative to remediate the issue. Thus, this study seeks to a) identify the actual acoustic conditions in two (2) classrooms in the Faculty of Built Environment, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, and b) establish economical acoustic design strategies for future improvements. This quantitative study embarks on on-site acoustic measurements to evaluate the reverberation time and background noise level of the selected classrooms. The data from the on-site measurement is applied for 3D model verification for the simulation process. The establishment of plausible design treatment alternatives is further analyzed through simulation using ODEON software. The simulation process yielded the effects of a) material surface treatment and b) sound field amplification systems on several acoustic parameters. The findings reveal that the surface treatment using low-cost material and the installation of sound field amplification significantly enhanced the classroom acoustic quality and are feasible to be implemented for future improvements.