Perceived attachment to indoor acoustic environments in high-rise residential buildings: Quantization, prediction, and population-based comparison

Abstract

Recent evidence suggests that ideal indoor residential soundscapes are not completely silent but should provide a sense of intimacy, belonging, companionship, safety, and connection to the home environment. In the present study, these aspects are defined as perceived attachment to indoor acoustic environments, according to Place Attachment Theory. A laboratory listening experiment was conducted to (1) quantify the attachment ratings across indoor acoustic scenarios with different sound-source compositions; (2) determine the acoustic factors predicting attachment; and (3) examine attachment differences by personal traits. Various acoustic scenarios were generated by integrating sound sources from different directions in high-rise residences and reproduced using a spherical loudspeaker array. While immersed in a virtual living-room environment via a head-mounted display, 46 participants evaluated attachment ratings for each scenario. Results showed that the addition of natural sounds always enhanced attachment, whereas the effects of outdoor human sounds varied by the types of indoor sounds present. Attachment perception was substantially impaired by floor impact sounds, especially in the presence of natural sounds. Attachment ratings were more effectively predicted by L_Ceq-L_Aeq. However, the variance explained was limited to 25 % even when sound types were included as predictors, highlighting the low predictive power of acoustic factors. Middle-aged individuals reported lower attachment levels than younger individuals, particularly for scenarios with combined sound sources. Counterintuitively, noise sensitivity showed overall non-significant effects, and higher sensitivity correlated with greater attachment in scenarios involving indoor sounds.