Comment by jiehong

I find that sound design is famously awful in most public spaces!

For example, train stations tend to have high ceilings, so announcements are loud and full of echoes and reverbs. [0]

I think of sound a bit like WiFi: it’s better to have tons of low power speakers everywhere delivering a clear and non aggressive sound, than a handful of screaming speakers in a tight space: if you’re next to it it’s too loud, and far away it’s drown in reverb.

My guess is that architects and everyone else either don’t know or don’t care.

[0]: like the new Munich Main Station under construction, slide 2: https://entdecken.muenchen.de/en/station/26-4/