The development of architectural styles for Christianity worship spaces began in the Middle Ages in Europe, and the Basilica church that has axial and central plans represents the style at the time. The activities of preaching and congregational singing were constantly performed in the churches, so the quality of indoor acoustics became an important design consideration. There were many corresponding studies exploring church acoustics in Europe. However, in Taiwan, only a few studies focused on the acoustical condition of the church. Therefore, this research studies the architectural styles of Tainan Theological College and Seminary Chapel (TTCSC), Wanchin Basilica of the Immaculate Conception (WBIC), and Holy Rosary Cathedral Minor Basilica (HRCMB) and obtains and documents the measured and simulated acoustical parameters of in the TTCSC and the WBIC. In fact, the measured and simulated acoustic conditions were used to study how the architecture features affect the sound quality distribution in the TTCSC and the WBIC. ISO 3382-1 has been used as the on-site acoustical measurement standard for background noise level and reverberation time, and Odeon acoustics software has been used to simulate the sound pressure level, the speech and music clarity, and the speech transmission index. The reverberation time between the on-site measurement and the simulated model was validated by using linear regression and correlation methods. These three churches in Taiwan were built based on Basilica style with an axial floor plan, because their chancels with the apses, altars, naves and side aisles separated by columns were identified as the early Basilica style. Only the TTCSC has the narthex, while balconies were found in these three churches, while they were not often used in the Middle Ages in Europe. Local elements such as Qing Dynasty sacred stone with “Imperial Edict Memorial” symbol, the special lion-head doorknocker, Chinese couplets, and the fish-head water drainage Gargoyle in these church designs, and these unique influences can be considered as the precious Taiwanese tangible cultural heritage. The acoustical characteristics and quality of these churches due to the room volume, local materials, styles of columns, apses and domes also comprise the unique intangible cultural heritage. This work studies and documents the architectural styles of the three earliest worship spaces and the acoustic characteristics of the two earliest worship spaces in Taiwan. The tangible and intangible cultural heritages of these worship spaces can be preserved, and hopefully it can be expanded in the future as the basis for the Taiwanese worship space database.

The development of architectural styles for Christianity worship spaces began in the Middle Ages in Europe, and the Basilica church that has axial and central plans represents the style at the time. The activities of preaching and congregational singing were constantly performed in the churches, so the quality of indoor acoustics became an important design consideration. There were many corresponding studies exploring church acoustics in Europe. However, in Taiwan, only a few studies focused on the acoustical condition of the church. Therefore, this research studies the architectural styles of Tainan Theological College and Seminary Chapel (TTCSC), Wanchin Basilica of the Immaculate Conception (WBIC), and Holy Rosary Cathedral Minor Basilica (HRCMB) and obtains and documents the measured and simulated acoustical parameters of in the TTCSC and the WBIC. In fact, the measured and simulated acoustic conditions were used to study how the architecture features affect the sound quality distribution in the TTCSC and the WBIC. ISO 3382-1 has been used as the on-site acoustical measurement standard for background noise level and reverberation time, and Odeon acoustics software has been used to simulate the sound pressure level, the speech and music clarity, and the speech transmission index. The reverberation time between the on-site measurement and the simulated model was validated by using linear regression and correlation methods. These three churches in Taiwan were built based on Basilica style with an axial floor plan, because their chancels with the apses, altars, naves and side aisles separated by columns were identified as the early Basilica style. Only the TTCSC has the narthex, while balconies were found in these three churches, while they were not often used in the Middle Ages in Europe. Local elements such as Qing Dynasty sacred stone with “Imperial Edict Memorial” symbol, the special lion-head doorknocker, Chinese couplets, and the fish-head water drainage Gargoyle in these church designs, and these unique influences can be considered as the precious Taiwanese tangible cultural heritage. The acoustical characteristics and quality of these churches due to the room volume, local materials, styles of columns, apses and domes also comprise the unique intangible cultural heritage. This work studies and documents the architectural styles of the three earliest worship spaces and the acoustic characteristics of the two earliest worship spaces in Taiwan. The tangible and intangible cultural heritages of these worship spaces can be preserved, and hopefully it can be expanded in the future as the basis for the Taiwanese worship space database.

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