If it wasn’t so rainy outside today I would be documenting aural environments of interest (and potential sites) around the area…but as it is quite damp I will look forward to doing this in the upcoming week.
Recently, I have been reading Barry Blesser’s book Spaces Speak, Are You Listening? which is an interdisciplinary text that broadly addresses the connection between humans and the aural environments they inhabit. He uses the term “aural architecture” to describe the interwoven relationship between spatial awareness, social behavior and the design of physical space. In addition to Spaces Speak, I was able to listen to a lecture Blesser gave in Amsterdam (available on his website located here) both of which were extremely effective at emphasizing the fundamental qualities of an aural environment.
Recently, I have been reading Barry Blesser’s book Spaces Speak, Are You Listening? which is an interdisciplinary text that broadly addresses the connection between humans and the aural environments they inhabit. He uses the term “aural architecture” to describe the interwoven relationship between spatial awareness, social behavior and the design of physical space. In addition to Spaces Speak, I was able to listen to a lecture Blesser gave in Amsterdam (available on his website located here) both of which were extremely effective at emphasizing the fundamental qualities of an aural environment.
Subsequently, it has become troubling to me that I have a tendency to represent sound in my diagrams and concepts as static visual images which only capture individual (or successive) moments of a truly dynamic phenomenon. I realize that, by its very nature, sound is dynamic and temporal…it is constantly in flux, ever changing, with varying textures and densities in response to locations, habitation and sources. I find the relationship between the physical qualities of static structures of the built environment, and their activation through multiple overlapping sound sources over time fascinating! Therefore, it only seems appropriate that a more dynamic technique should be used to communicate their qualities.
While this simulation is only an abstract diagram of the behavior of sound waves within a proposed context, at the very least, it begins to communicate the inherent properties of time and motion associated with sound that static images cannot. I think it will also be necessary to identify and document (in real time) environments that can then be examined and serve as a starting point for further investigations.
In addition to the layering of sound events, the notion of layering can also be brought into the physical construction of an intervention as a way to organize both visual and aural experiences. The useful quality of built up layers is that they encourage multiple variations along the length of a structure. Physical layering allows for the building up of mass and thickness though not necessarily visual opacity (depending on material). It also allows for the degree of separation to become a variable to be manipulated.
What I mean by "degree of separation" is the relative directness of the path that sound waves must travel through each layer. For example, the images below were taken from the Architectural Acoustics Design Guide that was published by Acentech (an acoustical consulting firm in Cambridge, MA). The diagrams show that when the pathway between layers is direct (at any point along the way, including at studs), sound will more easily be transmitted through a structure. If, however, there is a disjunction between the layers, particularly an air space with or without insulation, the sound waves will not as effectively be transmitted. Perhaps this property could be employed to create a layered wall which allows for different experiences due to the different qualities of transmission along its length.
What I mean by "degree of separation" is the relative directness of the path that sound waves must travel through each layer. For example, the images below were taken from the Architectural Acoustics Design Guide that was published by Acentech (an acoustical consulting firm in Cambridge, MA). The diagrams show that when the pathway between layers is direct (at any point along the way, including at studs), sound will more easily be transmitted through a structure. If, however, there is a disjunction between the layers, particularly an air space with or without insulation, the sound waves will not as effectively be transmitted. Perhaps this property could be employed to create a layered wall which allows for different experiences due to the different qualities of transmission along its length.
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| Acentech, Architectural Acoustics Design Guide, pg 37 |
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| Acentech, Architectural Acoustics Design Guide, pg 37 |
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Posted below is a possible wall layout which allows for both areas of exposure, where experiences are separate and distinct, and also an area that is physically sheltered, yet shares the aural experiences of both spaces. In the Ripple simulation, the red overlapping horizontal bars represent walls. There are two sources in this simulation: one plane wave coming from one side of the construct at one frequency (1000Hz for instance) and one plane wave coming from the other at half the frequency (500Hz for instance). Relative to the wavelengths, the walls overlap for about 12 ft. Due to diffraction, the sound environments of both sides of the wall combine in the overlapping area. It is then "trapped", caught in between the parallel surfaces.
Posted below is a possible wall layout which allows for both areas of exposure, where experiences are separate and distinct, and also an area that is physically sheltered, yet shares the aural experiences of both spaces. In the Ripple simulation, the red overlapping horizontal bars represent walls. There are two sources in this simulation: one plane wave coming from one side of the construct at one frequency (1000Hz for instance) and one plane wave coming from the other at half the frequency (500Hz for instance). Relative to the wavelengths, the walls overlap for about 12 ft. Due to diffraction, the sound environments of both sides of the wall combine in the overlapping area. It is then "trapped", caught in between the parallel surfaces.
While this simulation is only an abstract diagram of the behavior of sound waves within a proposed context, at the very least, it begins to communicate the inherent properties of time and motion associated with sound that static images cannot. I think it will also be necessary to identify and document (in real time) environments that can then be examined and serve as a starting point for further investigations.
