Observed changes in the perceived ambience of public spaces elicited by added sound

New soundscape approaches consider plus sound design to create a more positive atmosphere and to reduce the audibility of unwanted sound sources. By adding water installations, sound art or simply music for example, urban noise can be efficiently masked to a certain degree. Although this design approach appears reasonable, scarce amount of data is available regarding the potential and limitations of additive sound measures in public spaces. In this context, the enrichment of the acoustic environment by music is frequently discussed and mainly applied in indoor settings. However, such measures raise ethical concerns when it comes to subconscious effects, because they might lead to behavioral changes. In Berlin, a variety of music pieces and genres were played in public transportation waiting areas to investigate the effect of the music on the atmosphere and passengers. In order to examine the effects of the music on different assessment parameters (e.g., perceived safety, cleanliness, mood, loudness) varying data collection tools were applied insitu to investigate the implications of additive sound design based on music streams in detail. The paper presents survey results with a special focus on how the perception of the soundscapes is changed by the added sound.