The historic urban centers often undergo redevelopment, restoration and enhancement activities aimed at the preservation of the historical and artistic heritage and at the improvement of the citizens’ quality of life. Usually these interventions are mainly focused on architecture and urban planning, favoring the visual appearance and not considering adequately the multidimensionality of the environment perception, not least the sound environment. For this reason, the choice to adopt the "Soundscape Approach" in the design is linked to the desire of adding a significant contribution to the regeneration of urban areas, in order to make them more enjoyable and to meet the needs of all the people who really and in different ways "live" the area (dwellers, storekeepers, tourists and nightlifers). The case study of the present paper is located in the historical center of Perugia, in Italy. The acoustic analysis was performed through binaural recordings and soundwalks involving residents of the area, in order to obtain respectively objective and subjective evaluations of the soundscape. After this stage, Piazza Danti, a small square located in the very heart of the historical center, was chosen as the project area. This decision was taken together with the Municipality of Perugia since there are several problems afflicting the square, such as difficult routes for motorists, lack of urban design and, above all, nightlife noise. A comprehensive historical and architectural survey of the square allowed to understand all its morphological and functional characteristics, while a noise monitoring showed night noise levels significantly higher (even 30 dBA) than the law limits. These aspects guided the renovation project of the square: a particular focus was put on the interaction between the architectural and the soundscape design, in order to enrich the square with new sounds, while reducing some noise issues considered highly annoying by part of the citizens.
From the soundscape to the architectural redevelopment of an outdoor public space
ASDRUBALI, Francesco;D'ALESSANDRO, FRANCESCO;BALDINELLI, Giorgio;
2014
Abstract
The historic urban centers often undergo redevelopment, restoration and enhancement activities aimed at the preservation of the historical and artistic heritage and at the improvement of the citizens’ quality of life. Usually these interventions are mainly focused on architecture and urban planning, favoring the visual appearance and not considering adequately the multidimensionality of the environment perception, not least the sound environment. For this reason, the choice to adopt the "Soundscape Approach" in the design is linked to the desire of adding a significant contribution to the regeneration of urban areas, in order to make them more enjoyable and to meet the needs of all the people who really and in different ways "live" the area (dwellers, storekeepers, tourists and nightlifers). The case study of the present paper is located in the historical center of Perugia, in Italy. The acoustic analysis was performed through binaural recordings and soundwalks involving residents of the area, in order to obtain respectively objective and subjective evaluations of the soundscape. After this stage, Piazza Danti, a small square located in the very heart of the historical center, was chosen as the project area. This decision was taken together with the Municipality of Perugia since there are several problems afflicting the square, such as difficult routes for motorists, lack of urban design and, above all, nightlife noise. A comprehensive historical and architectural survey of the square allowed to understand all its morphological and functional characteristics, while a noise monitoring showed night noise levels significantly higher (even 30 dBA) than the law limits. These aspects guided the renovation project of the square: a particular focus was put on the interaction between the architectural and the soundscape design, in order to enrich the square with new sounds, while reducing some noise issues considered highly annoying by part of the citizens.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
