Marakeş'teki (Fas) Ben Youssef Medresesi'nin Ses Atmosferleri

Abstract

This study investigates architectural acoustics in heritage building that is the Ben Youssef Madrasa in Marrakech (Morocco). It aims to characterize the sound atmospheres in this place of learning and community life of el-Tolba (plural of el-Tãleb: student). For this purpose, the study is divided into three parts. The first is the literature review in which we present the definitions of the key concepts, some research on the sound atmospheres in heritage buildings, the different materials and methods used. The objective of this part is to have an overview of the topic of atmospheres. The second consists of architectural conformation reading which is devoted to the identification of the architectural and spatial devices participating in the creation of these sound atmospheres. Special attention was given to the prayer hall as a place of teaching and prayer. The third part focuses on the quantitative characterization of the acoustic environment through computer simulation. The prayer hall and the central courtyard were chosen for the simulation which was done through the Ecotect V5.50. The simulation analysis is limited to three criteria: the uniformity of the sound in the prayer hall, the sound behavior and the degree of the presence of reverberation. The results show that the builders of the madrasa paid attention to the architectural acoustics. Several strategies and devices were adopted to have sound atmospheres appropriate to this building.