recap: examples of sound art exploration includes ‘I am Sitting in A Room’ by Alvin Lucier where the room becomes a composer as it effects the frequencies generated. also, art/sound installations by Bernhard Leitner looks at sound as an architectural material, as sound gives you a complete sense of space/room – through sound the sense of spaces emerge.
sound ecology: this has a range of applications – health implications to do with sound and to measure and improve levels of productivity in a work environment. ancient buildings also took account of sound architecture. in the baptistry in Pisa, the echo lasts 12 seconds. shopping malls also use them – to delineate play areas, quiet areas etc and this is used to manipulate how and where shoppers move through the space and stop to shop.
shay trahan: this architect looks at the resonance properties of buildings. his research began by resonating metal plates with sand and discovered that at certain frequencies the shape of the sand would change. he made these 2d images into 3d models and became new forms for space.
latent sound: architecture contains within it the potential sounds but also needs the production of sounds by people – a latent and a physical making of sound. intimate spaces may not resonate but public spaces may.
auditory architecture: a group in Berlin is looking at auditory architecture in the city led by Thomas Kuzitsky. how do public buildings and spaces shape the acoustic environment? they find that the monotony rather than volume of sound that causes problems for urban dwellers – the constant rather than loud noise.
case study waterscapes: the waterscapes of Sheffield England, led by researchers Jian Kang and Yiying Hao discovered that loud soundscape of water acts as a soundproofing for other sounds. e.g. the loudness of water fountain masks the sound of traffic – like a sonic wall. interestingly, even soft and quiet sound of water draws attention away from traffic sounds – creating an intimate sound environment. culturally we have learned to filter out certain sounds – plumbing noises etc.
sound, behaviour and social control: as in a clockwork orange – participants are forced to listen to music to manipulate behaviour. the military also use sound as torture, sound is also used by the state to highlight issues in demonstrations, or to quieten and dispel crowds. some low frequency weapons can damage internal organs, some high frequency sounds can make eardrums burst. malls use alarm sounds in areas to deter teenagers from loitering.
case study – spine architects: in Hamburg the train stations had become a hub for drug taking and prostitution and tried to clean up this through soundscapes. they built a massive jukebox where the general public could chose the sound and music. choosing personal and favourite songs shifts the perspective from public to a more intimate and local space. when these experiences were recorded and placed on the internet then the perspective became global.
elaine crowe 
Leave a comment