Acoustic Improvement Proposal in Historical Building: The Example of The Main Lecture Hall at The Beyazıt Campus of Istanbul University

Abstract

In the restoration of historical buildings, it is essential to preserve the design decisions of the original period of the buildings. The interior richness of historical buildings should be preserved and the interior volumes of historical buildings should not be reduced, contrary to their original period. In addition, current standards and current needs should be taken into account in the restoration of historical buildings. In this study, the acoustic improvement study of the main lecture hall in Istanbul University Beyazıt central campus was detailed. Acoustic improvement decisions taken in line with the original period of the main lecture hall have been clarified. In the acoustic improvement proposal, which was carried out without reducing the volume of the main lecture hall, it was suggested to increase the total absorption rate in the space. The design decisions of the original period of the main lecture hall were tried to be preserved as much as possible and the acoustic improvement work was detailed in this direction. In line with the DIN18041 standard, it was observed that the reverberation time values required to be provided indoors were within the desired range, and thus, the auditory comfort conditions in the interior were increased. In addition, the main lecture hall was modeled in 3D and analyzed with the help of the acoustic program. With the acoustic improvement proposal, the intelligibility level of the speech was improved in the space.