An Analysis of Prayer Room Acoustics in the Pusdai Mosque in West Java †

Abstract

Aside from being a place for congregational prayers, the West Java Pusdai Mosque is also a center for preaching and other Islamic activities in West Java. Therefore, as a place of worship for Muslims, this mosque needs to maintain a comfortable atmosphere. The comfort or solemnity of worship can be affected by the noise of the surrounding environment or the acoustics of the room. This study aims to analyze the acoustic quality of the prayer room in the Pusdai Mosque, which is influenced by several factors. This research was conducted by observing and simulating, using the Ecotect v5.50 software. A simulation was carried out with the creation of a 3D model and the addition of both the absorption coefficient of the material in the room and speakers to it. In addition, research was also strengthened by conducting literature studies on scientific articles. The simulation was carried out to determine the reverberation time and sound distribution produced by the sound sources or speakers that could indicate the acoustic quality of the Pusdai Mosque. The acoustic quality of the Pusdai Mosque is greatly influenced by the interior materials and the shape of the ceiling. Based on the results of this analysis, the Pusdai Mosque has room acoustic defects. This is due to the large use of sound-reflecting materials and the form of the ceiling, which is quite complex. This causes a lot of sound reflection to occur, causing the reverberation time to exceed the optimum limit of a 500 Hz frequency (conversational space). This causes the speaker’s voice to become an echo or hum. Therefore, the Pusdai Mosque needs to improve its room acoustics in order to create comfort and solemnity in worship. Improvement can be made by adding sound-absorbing material.