| ACOUSTICS AND VIRTUAL REALITY IN SPANISH CATHEDRALS: STRATEGIC INNOVATION APPLIED TO INTANGIBLE HERITAGE TOWARDS A EUROPEAN CULTURAL IDENTITY |
| Among European initiatives "Horizon 2020" initiatives is that of "Cultural Heritage and Climate Change" wich constitutes a challenge for Europe, as a key factor of European identity.
In this context, a project on the acoustics of cathedrals as intangible cultural heritage is undertaken.
The project is intented not only for the present heritage but also for the past (acoustic archaeology) and future (intervention projects and ephemeral architectures) ones.
Virtual reality techniques are applied to combine sound and visual perception in order to expand knowledge, conservation and development of one of the most important heritage elements in Europe: its cathedrals, configured as symbols of local, national, and European cultural identity.
Physical aspects (acoustic coupling between spaces) and perception aspects (perceived quality and discrimination thresholds of acoustic parameters) are studied. The project is based on a similar work (BIA2010 20523) previously developed by the research team. The general objective: "to ascertain, retrieve, preserve, evaluate, and disseminate the acoustic heritage value of cathedrals in significant cultural or liturgical settings” is accomplished by using virtual reality techniques as well as by assessing the acoustic sensation perceived in these spaces and by investigating the ocurrence of acoustically coupled volumes and their influence on the sound field. This goal is embodied in the following specific objectives: 1. To expand the sample size to include futher cathedrals of southern Spain. Their current acoustic behaviour will be characterized by space-temporal distribution of sound energy, generation of files of their acoustic parameters databases and creation of an acoustic simulation/auralization model. 2. To explore and identify the possible occurrence of acoustically coupled volumes, by studying the influence of the type of cathedral on the sound field behavior in terms of the source location. 3. To identify, document, and select current, past or future acoustically significant configurations from a cultural, liturgical, or social point of view, in order to advance in the identification, recovery, utilization assessment, and dissemination of cultural heritage by using virtual-reality techniques. 4. To develop, for these configurations, 3D models for visualization and for acoustic simulation and auralization which will be then integrated into virtual reality models. 5. To evaluate sound field perception by means of subjetive evaluation techniques and to relate these data with those measured, by using perception tests based on auralization techniques. 6. To investigate on discrimination thresholds of acoustic parameters in these large reverberant spaces and their relationship with values proposed for cultural spaces. The project will provide a complete characterization of the measured and simulated current sound field. Simulation models will be employed to visually and acoustically recreate past situations visually and acoustically which can subsequently be utilized for the knowledge, evaluation, and dissemination of sound as part of intangible heritage. Likewise, simulation models enable the evaluation and optimization of acoustic proposals for future interventions. These tools will be then available to institutions and general public. Advances can therefore be made in knowledge of the physical sound field and in the assessment of the perceived sensation. These advances will be disseminated into the academic scope through specialized media. |