Architects, architecture, and the effects of sound

Why architects should use their ears more – June 2012 TED talk by sound expert Julian Treasure on the physiological, social, psychological, and behavioral effects of sound.

In this short talk, Treasure demonstrates how statistics reflect the sound qualities of space.  The louder the spaces, such as hospitals, the more distracted the staff is and the less calm the patients are.  Treasure also conducts a simulation that exposes the audience to what “reverberation” in a classroom can do to intelligibility of the speaker.  He then follows that simulation with another in which the reverberation is reduced by 60% and the difference is startling.  He stresses acoustics in educational environments and cites how education systems can improve simply by providing spaces that are more suitable for listening – for learning.

Via a link posted by Matthias (from Bolidt) on the Sustainable Healthcare LinkedIn discussion group; the quote here is from Matthias’ link.