Acoustic characterization of a museum based on the soundscape and quantitative parameters

Museums are cultural spaces for the purpose of collecting, conserving, exhibiting, and interpreting tangible and intangible heritage. The acoustic quality of these environments is critical to the visitor experience, providing environmental comfort and efficient communication, as well as influencing the understanding and appreciation of exhibitions without distractions. Nevertheless, museum acoustics lack specific technical standards and require studies focused on the visitor experience. The article presents a qualitative and quantitative evaluation of the acoustic quality of a museum with permanent exhibitions without audio resources. Background noise with and without an audience, reverberation time, and clarity of speech (C50) will be assessed. The collected data will be studied through questionnaires administered to museum visitors. The objective of the study is to enhance the comprehension of the museum's acoustical soundscape, which is associated with the acoustic characteristics of the room and artistic immersion, while also exploring related techniques and applications. This work provides input for future research and contributes to acoustic quality being a key part of museum design.