"Embedded Sound" published in On Site review 28:sound

 

"The sounds that animate architecture, and the ways in which architecture augments those sounds, can be examined by observing the essential qualities of constructed space: material and geometry.  These characteristics, plus scale and construction method, inform soundscapes that are embedded within all built environments. 

As an exploration of how sound is shaped by space, and how experience is shaped by acoustics, I offer a series of vignettes describing three distinct sites and the way in which I perceived them to be particularly defined by the acoustical quality of the architecture.  The focus is not on the behavior of an imposed sound source or signal, but rather on the ambient conditions of inhabitation." (pg 38)

on site review is an independent journal and print magazine edited by Stephanie White and published twice a year, in the Spring and the Fall.  Issue 28 centers on the theme of sound. You can listen to tracks associated with articles here and read more about the journal here.

Projected Auscultation

Projected Auscultation is a theoretical proposition which explores the creation of a social network connected only by the projected sounds of the human body.

Internal sounds are picked up by a microphone, amplified, and projected into the surrounding space. Simultaneously they are projected out to a network of locations around the city (or globally?) and amplified into these other public spaces as well.

Modified urban furniture could potentially serve as points of connection/collection of body sounds in the public realm. There are a number of different ways that this type of biometric data could be collected...perhaps even with an app for a smart phone.
 

Sounds captured at point "A" are projected at various locations as "a" 

Meanwhile, sounds captured at point "B" are projected at various locations marked "b", creating overlapping conditions. 

And so on...

A (low-quality) simulated audio experienced can be accessed here:


At any given moment there may be multiple people connected to this web of auscultation. In this way, when you participate, you become connected to the public solely through the acoustics of the inner body.  You are able to hear your own individual characteristics in conjunction with others, and subsequently, you are contributing to the formation of a temporary and constantly changing social network of displaced sounds.

Perceiving Environments through Acoustic Events

Lately, I have been referencing John Hull’s book “Touching the Rock: An Experience of Blindness” and I will again today as it presents a plethora of observations on the nature of perceiving the world through senses other than sight. At one point, Hull describes the experience of crossing a busy intersection and the confidence with which he is able to navigate the situation due to the pattern of acoustic cues that are present at the site.

“The noise of the traffic, coming from either direction, was full and rich, the peripheral sounds made by people walking on the footpath, louder on this side of the road, fainter on the other side, and all of the other echos and contours made up that acoustic shape which I call the Bristol Road. In a few moments the noise of the traffic would change. Instead of the present movement of approaching and departing rushes of sound there would be the purring of engines idling on either side. Between would be a silent space.” Hull, pg 149

A couple years ago I made a recording at a T-shaped intersection in Cambridge, MA. I was fascinated by the amount of information that was embedded within the recording itself regarding speed, direction of turns, relationship to my recording position, and of course, a documentation of the events that occurred. The recording communicates an environment of sweeping movement and dynamic fluidity.  Listen below:


The increased importance of movement and event in the constructed understanding of one’s surrounding landscape is later addressed by Hull.

“I can tell when things are moving by the sounds they make. Cars swish past, feet patter along, leaves rustle, but a silent nature is immobile. So it is that, for me, the clouds do not move; the world outside the car window or the window of the train is not moving. The countryside makes no noise as the train passes through it. The hills and fields are silent.” Hull, pg 179

The association of silence and static objects is somewhat straightforward, but by suggesting that static objects in the world in essence no longer exist since they are no longer present in one’s perception of the environment, presents opportunities for investigation and discovery. Imagine taking a photograph (or a video) and eliminating any element which does not move/make perceptible sound....how would the world be altered? 

Coming next: Projected Auscultation...linking public spaces with body sounds

 

Acoustic Effects of Precipitation

Last night it snowed for the first time this season and today it is rainy and stormy.  It seems only fitting to post about the acoustic effects that precipitation has on the perceived environment as recounted by John Hull in his book “Touching the Rock: An Experience of Blindness.”  I have included excerpts from this book previously in the post on facial vision, and it is almost certain that there will be more to come as my copy of the book is currently filled with an abundance of post-it tabs.

Concerning rain, Hull writes:

“Rain has a way of bringing out the contours of everything; it throws a coloured blanket over previously invisible things; instead of an intermittent and thus fragmented world, the steadily falling rain creates continuity of acoustic experience.

I hear the rain pattering on the roof above me, dripping down the walls to my left and right, splashing from the drain-pipe at ground level on my left, while further over to the left there is a lighter patch as the rain falls almost inaudibly upon a large leafy shrub. On the right, it is drumming with a deeper steadier sound, upon the lawn. I can even make out the contours of the lawn, which rises to the right in a little hill....” Hull, pg 29-30

I am interested in the observation that through continuous percussion, or percussive activation of the environment, we are able to form a more unified and informed understanding of our surroundings.  That the material characteristics of an object can be revealed through the high speed smack of a raindrop is compelling in itself, but that an entire "scene" can be understood through the simultaneous smacking of millions of droplets from the sky, seems to me, to present possibilities for the exploration of three-dimensional environments solely through aural means.

“The rain presents the fullness of an entire situation all at once, not merely remembered, not in anticipation, but actually and now. The rain gives a sense of perspective and of the actual relationships of one part of the world to another. 

If only rain could fall inside a room, it would help me to understand where things are in the room, to give a sense of being in the room, instead of just sitting on a chair.” Hull, pg 31

Though differing in intention, Rain Room by rAndom International, creates the framework necessary for it to rain inside a room.  Check out the installation here: http://random-international.com/work/rainroom/

Later on in the book, Hull revisits the impact of rain on his perception of the world in a more analytical way.  In addition to the cohesive view he describes above, Hull acknowledges that the differentiation that rain reveals, is what develops the richness of the now accessible "view".  For instance, Hull recounts that he first notices differences of place (in relation to his own body eg. left, right, above, below), next there are differences in speed (slow drips, rapid cascades), followed by differences in intensity (exposed areas versus sheltered areas).  Finally, differences in pitch and volume emerge relating to the material that is being struck and its orientation relative to the sky.

"This built up into a complex pattern. The more intensely I listened, the more I found I could discriminate, building block upon block of sound, noticing regularities and irregularities, filling dimension upon dimension.” Hull, pg 132

In contrast to rain, snow has the opposite effect by taking away information.  There is a saying that snow is the blind person's fog.  Hull explains why:

“What I suffer in the snow is a loss of knowledge. All my familiar points and markings, the different grades and textures of grass, gravel, asphalt and concrete, are obliterated." Hull, pg 156

The softness of a snow fall, which has no audible impact on the landscape, and the subsequent acoustic insulation that results from a thick blanket of snow, effectively shrink the area of the aural environment that one can perceive.  

“Apart from the white cane, and the sounds from the environment, the body’s knowledge of its surroundings does not exceed its own dimensions.” Hull, pg 157

It is strange to think that only a precious few degrees Fahrenheit separate a vast and accessible world from an exceedingly limited field of perception.