Kansei Engineering applied to music hall design

Abstract

In this work it is proposed a methodology of analysis to evaluate music halls (opera houses, theatres and venues for classical music and orchestra performances) from the user’s point of view. This field of study has been traditionally tackled from the perspective of experts and, for a first time, Kansei Engineering is proposed to improve the design of this kind of venues. The methodology used to carry out this work is based on differential semantics and Kansei Engineering. By means of these tools, a system has been developed in order to analyse perceptions related to acoustical aspects of music halls. Identifying the attributes perceived by the user, based on his/her own mental scheme, has made possible to determine the contribution of each attribute to global perceived assessment. Thus, the disadvantages originated by using only experts are avoided and therefore, the study is driven towards the user. This technique will be useful to characterize design features which satisfy user’s needs and wills. As a result, the proposed methodology defines the “product” music hall from the acoustical focus, based on the point of view of the users. In order to achieve this aim, it was used a sample of 221 users classified as “non experts”: neither professional musicians, nor acousticians nor people related in any professional way to concert halls. Regarding main results, a semantic field was obtained which showed 5 factors able to explain 61,5% of the variability. Then, this semantic field was taken as a basis to build up a regression model to predict the response of the users before a particular music hall. The model showed that some parameters that have been usually considered by experts to evaluate the acoustic quality of an auditorium, were not relevant according to user’s criteria. Thus, it is necessary to point out that these premises should be taken into account when planning a new design for this kind of venues. In conclusion, this tool will enable to optimize design features of music halls since they will fit the set objectives for users; and it may become a powerful tool for both architects and acoustic engineers