Scientific Article

A room acoustic calibration method for vanished architectural spaces using archival sound: A case study of the Bürgerbräukeller (1885–1979)

dieBauingenieure – Bauphysik GmbH, Karlsruhe, Germany

^* Corresponding author: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Received: 29 May 2025
Accepted: 6 July 2026

Abstract

Virtual reality auralizations offer the opportunity to interactively explore historic buildings and sites through immersive auditory experiences. In the context of historic auralizations, the calibration of room acoustic simulation models is often essential to achieve a realistic representation of the original acoustical environment. This paper presents a systematic calibration procedure for geometrical acoustics models of buildings that no longer exist, provided that an archival audio recording is available which allows for the estimation of reverberation times. By leveraging room acoustics prediction software based on geometrical acoustics, the procedure enables the creation of historically informed virtual acoustic environments, or auralizations. To develop and validate this method, a geometrical acoustic model of the Bürgerbräukeller in Munich (1885–1979) was calibrated using a historical sound recording of a speech delivered in 1939. The proposed calibration approach allows for the reconstruction of the historical soundscape of the Bürgerbräukeller during significant events – most notably the Beer Hall Putsch of 1923 – offering new insights into the auditory dimension of its history.