Speech interference in food courts of shopping centres

The acoustics of food courts were investigated. Maximum A-weighted sound pressure levels (SPLs) were defined, based on studies of quality of communication among people in noisy places. A survey in twelve food courts was carried out and two case studies were selected, which presented poor quality of communication. An analytical formula to evaluate the SPL was employed and good agreement was obtained between these evaluations and in situ measurements. However, further studies would be necessary to confirm the applicability of the analytical procedure since it was assumed in the calculations that the sound field was diffuse. Noise from other sources apart from speech significantly affected the SPL and it appears that this is the main aspect to be tackled in the acoustical design. Potential improvements on the acoustics of these enclosures were investigated. Several arrangements of absorbent materials were considered and application on the ceiling was generally the best option.