Aural architecture of historical Turkish Baths

Bora Özyurt Z., Sü Gül Z., ŞENKAL SEZER F.

Building and Environment, cilt.288, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus) identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 288
  • Basım Tarihi: 2026
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1016/j.buildenv.2025.114034
  • Dergi Adı: Building and Environment
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, Compendex, Environment Index, Geobase, Greenfile, ICONDA Bibliographic
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: Acoustical reconstruction, Auralization, Historical acoustics, Intangible heritage, Subjective testing, Turkish baths, Virtual sound environments
  • Bursa Uludağ Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

Construction of Historical Turkish Baths was prioritized particularly after the 12th century, which has still been serving as a central element of communal life throughout the history of Anatolia. These unique structures present a variety of auditory experiences (soundscapes) due to changing user numbers and activities, which may occur individually, in groups, or simultaneously, such as rituals and gatherings that involve private and/or collective bathing, live music, and catering. Due to the unique variety of usage, the preservation and continuity of the structures are deemed essential. This study investigates the aural architectural environments of Turkish baths, over four selected baths in Bursa, Turkey: Karamustafa (15th c.), Yeni Kaplıca (16th c.), Kaynarca (17th c.), and Tahirağa (19th c.). Anechoic stimuli are created by the convolution of anechoic sound recordings (speech and folk music in Turkish) for the current and historical states of baths through auralization. The difference between the present and historical states is highlighted by the material changes, especially plastering, over time. An online listening test and field survey are used to understand user preferences and perceptions. Relationship between room acoustic conditions (reverberation time, cocktail party effect, Lombard effect) and different activity patterns are investigated together with room geometry and nature of the sound sources.