BUILDIN

ACOUSTICS
G
A CASE
STUDY OF
SAN
AGUSTIN
CHURCH
SANTOS, NICO IVORR E.
BARO, JUSTINE MARIE M.
CAPUYON,JYLAN JOHN C.
SALONGA, KENJI NICOLAI M.
 I. INTRODUCTION
Along with its search for wealth, the Spanish colonizers made it
a top mission to spread Catholicism in the Philippines. And to
broaden the reach of Christianity, a place for worship is needed
to bring the congregation together. As a result, churches were
built around the country for Christianity to thrive. One of these
churches was the
San Agustin Church.
• a Roman Catholic church under the auspices of The Order of
St. Augustine, located inside the historic walled city
of Intramuros in Manila.
• Known as Iglesia y Convento de San Pablo. 
• Has been rebuilt for 3 times due to man made and natural
disaster and has became the oldest church in the Philippines.
• Designated as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, under the
collective title Baroque Churches of the Philippines.
• Trompe L’oeil ceiling design
 STATEMENT OF THE
PROBLEM
APPROPRIATE ACOUSTICAL DESIGN OF SAN
AGUSTIN CHURCH TO MEET THE ACOUSTICAL
NEEDS OF THE AUDIENCE
GOAL OF THE STUDY
• TO DETERMINE THE ACOUSTIC EFFICIENCY OF THE TREATMENTS
AND TECHNOLOGIES INTIGRATED IN SAN AGUSTIN CHURCH.
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
AT THE END OF THIS RESEARCH WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO:
• TO DETERMINE THE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF REVERBERATION
• TO DETERMINE THE DIFFERENCE IN ACOUSTICAL DESIGN OF CHURCH ACOUSTIC
IN OTHER STRUCTURES.
• TO FAMILIARIZE OURSELVES WITH MATERIALS THAT ABSORBS AND REFLECTS.
• TO REALIZE THE REASON A CHURCH IS DESIGNED IN A SPECIFIC WAY,SHAPE, OR
FORM
• TO DETERMINE THE BARRIERS TO AN EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION BETWEEN
THE SPEAKERS AND THE AUDIENCE AND HOW IT SHOULD BE PREVENTED.
 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
• This study will serve as a reference for the future
architecture student in studying acoustical treatments in
churches.
• This study will contribute to the new data and information
regarding the acoustics of San Agustin Church.
• This study will encourage the architectural community to be
more familiar of the importance of acoustic in different
kinds of structure.
• This study will help the future architecture students to be
more aware of the acoustical design applied in a church.
 II. ACOUSTICAL DESIGN
FLOORPLANS

1 2
ALTAR
3 4

5 6

Angle of N
Floorplan of san Reflection
7 A 8
agustin church Angle of
V
incidence
SOUND INTENSITY: E

9 1
0
NARTHE
X
HIGH MEDIUM HIGH LOW
 MATERIALS AND
FINISHES:

SEMI-GLOSS
WHITE PAINT
ADOBE STONE

THIN CARPET

VARNISHED
WOOD
PHOTO OF: KENJI SALONGA FLOOR TILES
application:

PHOTO OF: KENJI SALONGA

 III. ASSESS AND EVALUATION
POSITIVE ASSESSMENT NEGATIVE ASSESSMENT
-Provided sound reinforcement system -Not properly angled towards the users
-Improper distribution of the speakers
limits the opportunity for the people at
the back
Provided an active cooling system Creating unwanted sound
(electrictfan)
Compliance to the new trends in
acoustic
Provided visual aid( television for crowd
interaction with priest/speaker)
Large vaulted ceiling and the dome acts May cause too much reverberation that
as a reflecting surface which could overpower the sound system
concentrates the sound to the audience
seats below
 APPLICATION

FRON 15.2
T

MIDDL 14.0
E

REAR 10.1
 IV.CONCLUSION
IN THIS RESEARCH, WE LEARNED THAT, UNLIKE THE OTHER STRUCTURES WHICH ARE
CONSCIOUS ABOUT REVERBERATION, THE NATURAL SOUND, LIKE REVERBERATION
AND ECHO,IS TYPICALLY IMPLEMENTED IN A CHURCH, FOR THEM IT MAKES THEIR
MUSICAL AND SPEECHES MORE ALIVE AND HOLY, BUT IT COULD ALSO BE AN ISSUE
FOR SPEECH INTELLIGIBILITY BECAUSE TOO MUCH REVERBERATION COULD OVER
POWER THE CLARITY OF MESSAGE DELIVERED BY THE PRIEST/SPEAKER.

THE SAN AGUSTIN CHURCH IS A GOOD EXAMPLE OF AN IDEAL ACOUSTIC FOR A

CHURCH ALTHOUGH MINOR CONFIGURATIONS AND ADJUSTMENTS SHOULD BE
IMPLEMENTED TO PROVIDE A BETTER DELIBERATION OF SOUND, MOST ESPECIALLY IN
THEIR SOUND REINFORCEMENT SYSTEMS, AND A BARRIER FREE TO AN EFFECTIVE
SOUND COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE AUDIENCE AND THE SPEAKER.

OVERALL, CONSIDERING THAT IT IS A UNESCO WORLD HERRITAGE SITE, THE SAN

AGUSTIN CHURCH WAS ABLE TO PRESERVE ITS ORIGINAL STATE BUT EVEN AT ITS
CONDITION, IT WAS STILL ABLE TO KEEP UP WITH THE NEW ACOUSTICAL TRENDS AND
APPROACHES FOR A BETTER ACOUSTICAL COMFORT OF THE USERS, ALTHOUGH,
ACOUSTICAL IMPROVEMENTS TOOK PLACE IT DID NOT HINDER THE ARCHITECTURAL
CHARACTER OF THE STRUCTURE INSTEAD IT FIT AND BLENDED WITH IT.
 RECOMMENDATION
• TO ADJUST THE PLACEMENT OF SPEAKER FOR SO EVERYONE WILL CLEARLY
HEAR THE PRIEST FAIR AND SQUARE.
• UPGRADE SPEAKERS FOR BETTER CLARITY
• SET THE VOLUME OF THE MICROPHONE AND SPEAKER TO A SPECIFIC
VOLUME(ALWAYS) THAT IS JUST RIGHT, NOT TO LOW OR TOO HIGH, SO IT WILL
NOT CAUSE TOO MUCH REVERBERATION
• USE COOLING SYSTEMS THAT ARE SILENT, QUIET, NON DISTRACTING AND
WON' T AFFECT THE SOUND CLARITY IN THE CHURCH.

V. REFERENCES
http://www.artesdelasfilipinas.com/archives/119/the-history-of-the-san-agustin-church
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Agustin_Church_(Manila)
https://ouineseventscoordination.wordpress.com/2014/04/25/san-agustin-church-intramuros-manila-
marriage-requirements/
http://www.justjeric.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/1394535800.863672.IMG_0379.jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bc/Ph-mm-manila-intramuros-
san_agustin_church_%282014%29.JPG/1200px-Ph-mm-manila-intramuros-san_agustin_church_
%282014%29.JPG