Conference_programme: 18.9 - Archeo-Acoustics
Lecture: Acoustic measurements, modeling and optimization of the monastery church of St. Peter and Paul of the Dominican order in Heraklion, Crete
Author(s): Schubert Gottfried , Kamaris Gavriil, Moraitis Harry, Mourjopoulos John
Summary:
The church is situated in the seaside wall in Heraklion and was built during the first years of the Venetian domination of the area (13th century) belonging to the monastic order of Dominicans. It consists of a long aisle roofed by a two-slope roof ending at a sanctuary roofed by two vaults and has an inner volume of approx. 6600m3 (Church including Sanctuary). The monastery church was used as a mosque and today in its reconstructed form is used as a festive temple and a meeting place for international, orthodox, Christian and religious congresses and cultural events such as exhibitions and music concerts. It is common that places of historical interest are renovated and utilized for different uses than those intended when built. Given that many of these contemporary uses are hindered by the excessive reverberation and external noise sources, the scope of this work is to measure, identify and propose possible corrective measures. \nRecent acoustic measurements have verified that RT values peak at nearly 10sec at 250Hz and Leq values are exceeding 43 dB(A) often affected by traffic and aircraft noise. \nPotential acoustic corrections were studied via computer model simulations. The model allowed corrective measures to be examined: (a) by increasing the absorption with appropriate panels and movable curtains placed on the side walls, (b) by directing source signal to the audience via an acoustic shell reflector. The results of the simulations were found to achieve a reverberation time of 1.3s which is the minimum appropriate reverberation time for theatrical plays and speech transmission whilst the movable curtains can achieve all the higher RT for concert use. The solutions also maintained the architectural aesthetics of the church.\nIn addition to these assessments, auralisation tests were performed using original anechoic audio samples to evaluate the results of the acoustics correction.\n
Corresponding author
Name: Mr Gavriil Kamaris
e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Country: Greece
