ACOUSTIC VIRTUAL REALITY IN ARCHITECTURE: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE AND FIRST APPLICATIONS

• Grant number: 23/05009-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Effective date (Start): September 01, 2023
• Effective date (End): August 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Applied Social Sciences - Architecture and Town Planning - Architecture and Urbanism Technology
• Principal Investigator: Ranny Loureiro Xavier Nascimento Michalski
• Grantee: Felipe Villaça Marinho
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Arquitetura e Urbanismo (FAU). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Virtual reality systems aim to represent reality and its physical attributes in an interactive computer-generated virtual environment and can be a valuable tool for architects, urban planners and designers. The possibility for professionals and their clients to take a virtual tour and "perceive" the visual appearance of the environment in a natural and realistic way, even in the design phase, is already real. However, and unfortunately, such a process only emphasizes the role of the visual appearance of the environment, while acoustics often remain neglected. The impact of architectural design on room acoustics is obvious and should not be overlooked, especially when it comes to room acoustics, building acoustics or soundscapes. A still very recent area of acoustics is virtual acoustics, which takes into account the complex situation and the ability of human hearing to assess the virtual environment, to identify sound sources and their meaning. In other words, working with virtual acoustics is equivalent to saying "Don't look at the sound. Hear the sound". In this context, the present research aims to introduce the use of acoustic virtual reality systems for the study, design and evaluation of the acoustic behavior of different environments at the Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism of the University of São Paulo (FAUUSP), where the research will be carried out.