Rudimentary structures where acoustics played an important function can be found in the times of ancient Greeks. We are, of course, talking about amphitheatres, which were designed so that sound could be heard equally well in the whole theatre without an additional sound system. Since then, the field of acoustics has evolved greatly; however, the exploration of virtual acoustic environments remains a fairly new approach.

Research in the field of acoustics is being developed at InnoRenew CoE. In the newly equipped acoustics laboratory in Koper (later to be moved to the new InnoRenew CoE building), Dr Rok Prislan is performing several experiments and research on virtual acoustic environments. This area is especially important in room acoustics, and because restorative environmental and ergonomic design (REED) is one of InnoRenew CoE’s key research areas, it is crucial to understand how acoustics can create a healthy and creative work environment for people.

The primary question is how to achieve optimal or high-quality acoustics of the room. Quality is a word that needs to be precisely defined because, as Dr Prislan said, “this term is very general, and it is necessary to clearly define what we actually want from room acoustics.”

InnoRenew CoE can respond to the challenges of room acoustics research with its state-of-the-art research equipment purchased with European funds from the Horizon 2020 Framework Programme and the European Regional Development Fund as well as co-financing from the Republic of Slovenia’s Ministry of Education, Science and Sport.

For more about this topic, listen to the interview Na poti do dobre akustike prostora (3rd program of Radio Slovenia – Ars program), where Dr Prislan spoke about how the ancient Greeks designed their amphitheatres, how we perceive room acoustics today and the research of acoustics performed at InnoRenew CoE.