ABSTRACT
The construction or restoration of the built heritage is an interdisciplinary domain that draws on the input of architects, engineers, and historians. Especially where places of worship are concerned, they work towards sound ambiance quality, which depends on the contingencies imposed by the built environment but which also has to meet specific qualitative prescriptions that may be the result of centuries of architectural and theological theorization. The first psycho-acoustic approach to the built environment started in the 19th century with Fechner who worked on psycho-physics in an attempt to connect the physics of the outside world with the sensations felt by the receiver. It was further studied by S. S. Stevens in the middle of the 20th century, who applied this approach to acoustics by examining the sensation of loudness. The great diversity of religious buildings around the world makes it impossible to apply acoustic descriptors universally.
