Simone Torresin

Bio: Simone Torresin is an academic researcher from University of Trento. The author has contributed to research in topics: Soundscape & Medicine. The author has an hindex of 7, co-authored 13 publications receiving 190 citations. Previous affiliations of Simone Torresin include Free University of Bozen-Bolzano.

Combined effects of environmental factors on human perception and objective performance: A review of experimental laboratory works.

Abstract: This study reports the outcomes of a literature survey aimed at exploring how different environmental factors-that is acoustic, thermal, visual, and air quality stimuli-interact in affecting building occupants' perception and performance. Recent laboratory studies have been collected, and their methodological approaches reviewed in terms of experimental design, adopted exposures conditions, perception and performance assessment methods. Results have been summarized and compared to identify interaction patterns between environmental factors and possible practical implications for improving the design of both experimental studies and the built environment. The analysis allows highlighting limitations, potential improvements and future opportunities in this field of research, thus providing a reference for further investigations aimed at a deeper understanding, modeling, and prediction of the impacts caused by the main indoor variables on human comfort and performance.

Assessment Methods and Factors Determining Positive Indoor Soundscapes in Residential Buildings: A Systematic Review

Abstract: The design of an indoor acoustic environment positively perceived by building occupants requires a perceptual approach to be adopted in order to define what makes it sound good. Soundscape standards ISO 12913 have been introduced to assess how the acoustic environment is perceived, in context, by people. According to the standards, a straightforward characterization of a soundscape as positive is currently possible only through measurements by persons, because of a current gap in linking perceptual metrics to acoustic or psychoacoustic measurements. In addition, despite applying also to indoor contexts, methods and perceptual metrics described by the standards have been mainly derived from studies related to outdoor urban environments and it is not clear whether they could be directly applied indoor. For this reason, a systematic review was performed to investigate: (i) Data collection methods used in the literature for indoor residential soundscapes and (ii) factors, output of such methods, that characterize them positively. For this purpose, a systematic review has been conducted in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines (preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses) guidelines. The Scopus database was searched for peer-reviewed journal papers published in English, between 1 January 2009 and 24 June 2019, including: (1) field or laboratory studies relevant to residential buildings and (2) studies assessing factors that influence the perception by building users of indoor acoustic environments. The search excluded studies related to: (a) Speech perception issues; (b) noise-induced sleep disturbance; (c) acoustic perception by hearing impaired building users; (d) perception of vibrations or impact sounds. The search returned 1087 results. After the screening process, 37 articles were finally included. Given the differences in methodologic approaches, a quantitative meta-analysis could not be performed, and a qualitative approach was adopted instead. A large part of the selected literature reflected a general effort of minimizing noise annoyance by reducing noise exposure and, in particular, noise levels. Questionnaires and guided interviews were used to capture people’s perception, while the adoption of soundwalks and non-participatory behavioral studies did not emerge in the review literature and need further investigation. The evaluation of a variety of auditory sensations both in their positive and negative dimensions, beyond annoyance, would be required to explore the positive perceptual potential of sounds. Besides sound level, a variety of factors related and unrelated to the acoustic environment were found to affect perceptual outcomes and a framework of evaluation has been proposed as a reference for future assessments. Results encourage the integration of soundscape methodologies into IEQ research, in order to enhance user health and well-being.

Acoustics for Supportive and Healthy Buildings: Emerging Themes on Indoor Soundscape Research

Abstract: The focus of the building industry and research is shifting from delivering satisfactory spaces to going beyond what is merely acceptable with a wave of new research and practice dedicated to exploring how the built environment can support task performance and enhance people’s health and well-being. The present study addresses the role of acoustics in this paradigm shift. Indoor soundscape research has recently emerged as an approach that brings a perceptual perspective on building and room acoustics in order to shape built environments that “sound good” according to building occupants’ preference and needs. This paper establishes an initial discussion over some of the open questions in this field of research that is still in an embryonic stage. A thematic analysis of structured interviews with a panel of experts offered a range of perspectives on the characterization, management, and design of indoor soundscapes and health-related outcomes. The discussion pointed out the importance of both perceptual and multisensory research and integrated participatory design practices to enable a holistic view regarding the complex building–user interrelations and the design of just cities. Soundscape methodologies tailored to the peculiarities of indoor soundscapes can help to measure and predict the human perceptual response to the acoustic stimuli in context, thus reducing the risk of mismatches between expected and real building experiences. This perceptual perspective is expected to widen the scientific evidence for the negative and positive impacts of the acoustic environment on human health, well-being, and quality of life. This will support prioritizing the role of acoustics in building design and challenge many current design practices that are based on a noise control approach.

The Design and Analysis of Experiments

Abstract: THE DESIGN AND ANALYSIS OF EXPERIMENTS. By Oscar Kempthorne. New York, John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1952. 631 pp. $8.50. This book by a teacher of statistics (as well as a consultant for \"experimenters\") is a comprehensive study of the philosophical background for the statistical design of experiment. It is necessary to have some facility with algebraic notation and manipulation to be able to use the volume intelligently. The problems are presented from the theoretical point of view, without such practical examples as would be helpful for those not acquainted with mathematics. The mathematical justification for the techniques is given. As a somewhat advanced treatment of the design and analysis of experiments, this volume will be interesting and helpful for many who approach statistics theoretically as well as practically. With emphasis on the \"why,\" and with description given broadly, the author relates the subject matter to the general theory of statistics and to the general problem of experimental inference. MARGARET J. ROBERTSON

The fluid mechanics of natural ventilation

Abstract: Natural ventilation of buildings is the flow generated by temperature differences and by the wind. The governing feature of this flow is the exchange between an interior space and the external ambient. Although the wind may often appear to be the dominant driving mechanism, in many circumstances temperature variations play a controlling feature on the ventilation since the directional buoyancy force has a large influence on the flow patterns within the space and on the nature of the exchange with the outside. Two forms of ventilation are discussed: mixing ventilation, in which the interior is at an approximately uniform temperature, and displacement ventilation, where there is strong internal stratification. The dynamics of these buoyancy-driven flows are considered, and the effects of wind on them are examined. The aim behind this work is to give designers rules and intuition on how air moves within a building; the research reveals a fascinating branch of fluid mechanics.