THE EFFECT OF SOUNDSCAPE PERCEPTION ON THE SENSE OF PLACE IN THE PUBLIC LIBRARY OF LUMAJANG

• Main Author: Anindya Widiarini, Nabila
• Format: Theses
• Language: Indonesia
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/76140
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

Sound is one of the important elements in forming an individual's spatial experience. For libraries, a good spatial experience has been long associated with the acoustic control to attain quietness and silence. However, in the modern age, the variety of activities accomodated in the library as a social place is now beyond its traditional function, by which has inevitably resulted in the rise of various sound sources that are affecting the way users perceive the place and their experience, known for a sense of place. This study aims to evaluate the relationship between subjective perception of soundscape and the formation of a sense of place in a regional library as a social place. Quantitative methods of statistical correlation analysis and a paired t-test were employed on the subjective responses data, while the qualitative methods were done through observation and recording to collect physical data of the building characteristic, spatial settings, and sound pressure level. The questionnaire is applied to collect subjective responses of 60 respondents (Male and female, age of 15-35), selected by accidental sampling method. The Collection Room and Co-Working Space at the Public Library of Lumajang and Public Library of Bandung were chosen as research objects considering the character of the space and the context of the library as a social place. Data analysis shows that the overall sense of place affected by the soundscape quality is different depending on the space layout and spatial function. However, it shows that the overall sense of place quality of each room is different and was not necessarily determined by the overall sound pressure level decency. The participants in this study were found influenced by their soundscape cognition of space through sound perceptions, activities, and the purpose of space. The soundscape perception evaluations of quietness and nature were significantly higher in the Collection Room than in Co-working Space in both libraries with different scores. The soundscape in the Public Library of Bandung was dominated by natural sounds that resulted in an overall better sense of place and comfort for users, while the soundscape in the Public Library of Lumajang is lacking of natural sounds and were dominated by the sound of user activities and mechanical sound from a coffee machine. There was no significant difference of sound objects preference in both libraries by which natural sounds were preffered to form a good sense of place dependance and place effect, while lower sound of footsteps, chattering, and coffee machine were preffered to form a sense of place social bonding. Soundscape experiments to improve sense of place and comfort at the Lumajang City Public Library were employed by composing a soundscape of preferred sound objects and positively related to the formation of the user's sense of place through a comparative analysis with data at the Public Library of Bandung. The results of soundscape composition experimentation show that there is a significant increase in sense of place and comfort at the Lumajang Public Library as a social place from the previous conditions, and is effective in achieving ideal conditions as is the case at the Public Library of Bandung. Recommendations and design strategies designed to enhance the sense of place and comfort through the implementation of soundscape improvements to the existing conditions can be carried out by adding natural vegetation to the open space areas and inside the Collection Room and Co-working Space at the Public Library of Lumajang. This vegetation serves as an element that produces natural sounds which are highly preferred in forming a sense of place dependance and place affect, especially for users in the Collection Room. It also functions as an absorbent material for non- preferred sound objects such as, sound of children, crowds, motor vehicles, and the traffic, that are considered to be unpleasant, distracting, and has a negative correlation with the sense of place of users in both spaces.