Symphony of Soundscape: Spatial Formation Placemaking through Contextual Auditory Experiences A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the Department of Architecture Wentworth Institute of Technology by
Daniel Quartararo Bachelors of Science in Architecture Wentworth Institute of Technology, 2015 In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Architecture April 2016
.......................................................................... Submitted by Daniel Quartararo Department of Architecture
.......................................................................... Certified by Elizabeth Ghiseline Primary Thesis Advisor .......................................................................... Accepted by Kelly Hutzell, AIA Director of Graduate Programs Š 2016 Daniel Quartararo. All rights reserved. The author hereby grants to Wentworth Institute of Technology permission to reproduce and to publicly distribute copies of this thesis document in whole or in part using paper, electronic, and any medium now known or hereafter created.
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Abstract Experiencing architecture is commonly perceived as a visual act and is rarely taken with an acknowledgment of the importance of how the senses can effect it. Finnish architect and theorist, Juhani Pallasmaa, said that to fully experience architecture is to allow it to be “measured equally by eye, car, nose, skin, tongue, skeleton, and muscle.� By taking into consideration the way in which the other senses can be incorporated into our design process, we can allow architecture to become truly transformative to the user. Sound is a material in which the architect can use it to design from. It can be used to create a connection between a site’s sonic thumbprint and those individuals that are experiencing the space. Due to its inherent associative qualities, it is common to identify something by just hearing its sound. Many are drawn to a place based on its soundscape. The connections between hearing and seeing are present yet, it is uncommon to view architecture as a spatial instrument. Can it take on a form expressing the sounds on a site? Key Terms: Sonic Thumbprint- the unique quality sound is exemplifying at a specific location Soundscape- a culmination of multiple sounds and noises Spatial Instrument- a space that is used to exemplify a sound in one or more particular ways
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Table of Contents
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Introduction
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Thesis Statement
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Argument/Relevance
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Terminology
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Personal Statement
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Structure
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Literature Review
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Topic Area
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Bibliographic Essay
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Criteria
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Design Research
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Methodology
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Frames
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Criteria Testing
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Design Outcomes
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Precedents
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Process
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Design Project
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Reflection
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Critical Analysis
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Bibliography 5
Introduction
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Thesis Statement The spatial formation of sound in architecture can create a sense of placemaking and an informed experience by expressing sounds prevalent on the site.
Why is it that we always rely upon our sense of sight when we design? Is it because we do not feel that our other senses are stronger than it or can it be that we have not developed a procedure in which our other senses become the for-runner in design?
Argument/ Relevance
On a daily basis, we are surrounded by sound. We hear in on the streets as people walk to and from their destinations. It comes from the vehicles that pass by us on the streets to the trains that travel below our feet. We use it as a way to communicate our ideas, our thoughts, and our opinions with others. Even the environment produces sound that effects how we interact with it, each other, and our surroundings. If there is a vast source of information that impacts our lives and is every so present, why is it that we are not using it to our benefit? Similarly to how we speak to one another, buildings and public spaces do the same. They tell us what makes a project successful or what is missing. To create a more experiential architecture that covers more than just the basic desire to visually appeal to us, sound needs to be incorporated into the design of a building’s spatial organization and form.
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01 “SonicofTranslation�, the urban city provides a broad range of sonic qualities that can be Symphony Soundscape: Design Through Contextual Auditory Experiences Arch Daniel Quartararo translated through architecture to identify a2016 place
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Terminology Sound (n.) - the sensation produced by stimulation of the organs of hearing by vibrations transmitted through the air or other medium; the particular auditory effect produced by a given cause
Noise (n.) - a sound of any kind Silence (n.) - the absence of any sound or noise; the state or fact of being silent
Reverberation (n.) - the reflection of a sound off of a source or felt through another material
Amplification (n.) - increasing the range and magnitude of a certain sound to draw greater attention to it
Symphony (n.) - a composition of several instruments that each produce a unique sound, they work together to form one sound
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Personal Statement
Structure Since a young age, music has always played a major role within my life. It has been a way for myself to express my individuality to taking the time to spend it with others who feel the same. What makes music so unique is that it creates a personalized experience for those that are listening to it. It is a way in which people can communicate with one another. Through the course of my collegiate experience, I have come to an understanding that in order for oneself to grow, a dialogue must be created with others so that information can be expressed, analyzed, and then exemplified in some way. What I came to understand is that through both of these topics, sound was the medium in which this form of expression took place. I began to ponder what is was that I wanted to investigate within my thesis. I have always been drawn to certain topics such as transitional spaces, urban integration, and even master planning. But going back to my initial interests, I came to a conclusion that the discovery of sound can be applied to all of these topics thus creating a unique process to design with. What makes it even more genuine is that idea of incorporating sound into architecture is something which is a up in coming topic but no one is currently doing anything about it.
The remainder of the book is an exploration and understandance of how this thesis topic has to this day been explored, tested, and analyzed over the course of the “ When experiencing a academic year. work of art, a curious exchange takes place; the The Literature Review is an essay that work projects its aura, has analyzed the topic of sound on and we project our own a broader level. Before one gets to emotions and precepts on specific, a complete history of where the work.� this subject matter is in the current - Juhani Pallasmaa time needs to be comprehended so that the same issues are not reemphasized but rather approached from a different direction to explore alternative solutions. When dealing with sound, the only way to learn about it is to use it with your work. This statement has been one of the driving factors that has been explored within the Design Research section. Within this section, a process of exploration has taken place to begin to deal with the correlation between sound and architecture. It has been discussed that on a theoretical level, this topic could be thought of purely as a manifesto in which others could pick up and use for their owns projects. The issue with this is that it removes the excitement a design project explores and pushing myself to create something I can call my own. The Design Outcomes chapter pulls together all the research and exploration into a final project that expresses the connection sought at in this thesis. A series of final drawings have been created to draw together the project and presentation previously given. Lastly, the reflection and critical evaluation chapter explains the successfulness of the thesis and further potential it has.
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Literature Review
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Topic Area The study of sound is a complex process by which both scientific knowledge and the desire for a plausible solution are combined. A need to understand the effects sound can produce on the human perception of a space are infinitely explorable yet there is a lack of exploration in this field of study. On a daily occurrence, we are to narrowed in on the task presented in front of us which leads to a lack of connection to others. Patterns and mapping can allow for and determine a set of rules and guidelines which define the successfulness and potential a space holds to cultivate and nourish this need for a relationship between man and space. But for there to be a connection to the space, the space itself must exist first. As designers, we can throw up four walls and put a roof over it or place some trees on an area of grass and call these spaces that hold some sort of program. But where is the thought and desire to make them inhabitable? How do we move between the interior and exterior of the building? Does the facade sing to us or is it its silence that calls us forth? Sound is not only the device by which we communicate between one another with buts its also what holds the meaning of what a space is speaking. The ability to listen to these noises pertains to the cognitive process of a person and by first reaction can either inhibit or permit one from occupying and coming back to the programmatic elements of a room whether is be that of a library to the lobby of a hotel. This is the idea of placemaking in architecture. When the time is taken to understand what sound is conveying to us, a more cohesive experience is created between occupant and site.
02 “ Flowers in the Attic � 16
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03 ” Visualizing Sound over Time ”, a time study 18
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Bibliographic Essay
When we think of sound, we think generally of music. Whether it is from a certain genre or location, all were conceived one way or another, written down, played and then possibly reinterpreted. Before it was even played, the idea came first, then its expression, and lastly its performance. It’s a process of going from the abstract to the concrete. One can follow this same procedure when applied to noise. We can begin the process by classifying the sounds into categories and then considering them as either complex sounds which can either be abstracted into multiple layers or hold as a unique entity.
On History
Human activities produce sound, it is a connection between the modalities of the aural and the visual. To apprehend
Source: Luigi Russolo’s Awakening of a Capital 1975, pp. 90 - 91
it, one must be apart of it from within. Through the course of aural history, most of sound has only been discussed in terms of sound installations. Ricciarda Belgiojoso author of Constructing Urban Space with Sounds and Music states, “resonating vases, tuning tubes and all the other systems they have been experimenting 20
1 Belgiojoso, Ricciarda. 2014. Constructing Urban Space with Sounds and Music. Burlington, VT: Ashgate.
with to transform sounds allow for the extraction of melodic material from everyday noise.”1 This mode is a popular course of action for designers to take. They physically implement a sound into a created form to generate a scripted outcome.
On Memory
What lacks in this mode, is the relation to one’s self. Much of what we have to comprehend and what it means to deal with the sense of sound is based upon ourselves. It is a personal experience, which cannot always be clearly defined. What we can understand is that through the psychological teachings, an emotional response and connection can be formulated. It is the body as a whole that experiences in this case architecture. That whole is made up of smaller ideas and components specifically related to the senses we are using. It is a necessity to hone in on one of the senses to better understand its meaning and relationship back to the whole. When we relate to the sense of hearing, an apparent emotional response and connection can be formulated. We understand for something to be pleasing when he hear it to another thing to upsetting ourselves. This trigger holds footings within the topics of memory. “The sound of church bells in nineteenth-century rural France as a sound-mark whose acoustic arena delineated the membership of a town. All who hear it within its range understands this symbolic meaning. Now when we hear bells in the modern era, the symbolism has shifted to tell what time it is or a specific event from the church. Not only do we understand the sound the first time but every time after that our memory of the sound helps the brain draw a connection between sound and meaning every time after the first. Do we spatial understand the sound from its source or does it help to generate an image of the space around it and what it is giving meaning to?
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On Space
Architecture provides spaces for an array of daily activities. It combines the choosing of materials, colors, and shapes that ultimately forms the experience on follows. Similarly to how poets have developed their own personalized language for self-expressions, so to have architects formulated a vocabulary in which it is followed to reflect upon the spatial elements and culture. It is a “native ability of human beings to sense space by listening.”2 When further recognized, sensing spatial attributes can be as easy as listening for the footprints in your room to understanding the location of stairs, walls, and open doors. The authors, Blesser and Salter conclude that we can sufficiently visualize objects and spatial geometry, which allows us to see with our ears. What creates an aural architecture is the compilation and composition of “numerous surfaces, objects, and geometries within a complicated environment”.3 In each contrasting space, even if the sound sources were to remain unchanged, the aural architecture would change. Every space has its own unique aural persona to it, which can be represented and understood. Is it possible to differentiate a public from private space? We know that physically, a lobby is the architectural tool for which everyone understands where the entrance to the building is.
perception has at least the same importance of the information captured by our eyesight.”4 Visual and aural perceptions are necessarily complimentary, but in accordance with architecture, the latter is ignored. Architects who study this topic are generally limited to the design of concert halls and theaters, though important and a necessity, society is underestimating the interrelation sound plays in the design process. “Only recently have researchers proposed to broaden the field of application sound plays in projects, similarly to how other parameters such as light are handled.”5 We understand that these applications cannot be tangible yet still they have more importance in the way we not only design but also live. “Intangible elements of ambiance and of a place can be sensuous incentives. The censorial field constitutes atmospheres that architectural conventional drawings do not always present.”6 Though these items are not physically held or placed within the architectural drawings, it’s the words and intentions that we use to instill the desired experience. We know that we must connect our sense with our experience. It’s the ability to understand how the lack of factual information on something intangible can lead to a richer outcome.
On Cognition
On Senses
Although multiple senses help to contribute to the internal formation of an experience, the contribution made by listening varies greatly amongst the individual and the culture from which they come from. Neuhaus has work based in the construction of sonic experiences. “The premise being that the ear provides crucial information for our existence and that such information is not perceptible by sight. The impact of the sonic aspect on our 22
2 Blesser, Barry, and Linda-Ruth Salter. 2009. Spaces Speak, Are You Listening? Experiencing Aural Architecture. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press. 3 Karandinou, Anastasia. 2013. No Matter: Theories and Practices of the Ephemeral in Architecture. Burlington: Ashgate Publishing Company
Being aware means that one is conscious, specifically in this manner, of sounds. Next, it is the time in which the cognitive process of interpreting the sounds holds value and truth. This methodology holds value in the process of understanding how interpretation turns into perception. If understood in means of architecture, for a space to be successful, only the people inhabiting the space can deem it so. Through listening, sounds have the capacity to produce either an overt or a subliminal effect. The overt affect corresponds to strong feels and emotions that can directly link a person and their actions to the space whereas subliminal affect corresponds to the subtle arousals, which are 4 Blesser, Barry, and Linda-Ruth Salter. 2009. Spaces Speak, Are You Listening? Experiencing Aural Architecture. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press. 5 Karandinou, Anastasia. 2013. No Matter: Theories and Practices of the Ephemeral in Architecture. Burlington: Ashgate Publishing Company
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04 “ Sound: Life Between Buildings ”
05 “ Sound: The Suburban Edge ” 24
06 “ Sound: The Integration of Landscape ”
07 “ Sound: The Streetscape ” 25
a variety of different scales and places, which signifies them as being soundscapes, they are alive. A lack of tradition theory in the realm of music has brought to aural designers attention the topic of natural and artificial sounds. Many people that those products created by man which produce some noise are artificial but after so much time, it becomes natural due to the merging of various conditions and layers in a soundscape.
Source: Schaeffer 1966, pp. 584 - 7
better, know as moods. Even if a person is to perceive and decode the information in a sound, the experience itself may not produce either of these affects. Therefore, auditory spatial awareness includes all of the parts of aural experience from its sensation/ detection, perception/recognition, and affect/meaningfulness. Much of the language used by scientists and designers involved within the field of sound or who have written about it state one term when it really means the other. Thus, when one researches and applies the results, it is good to question yourself whether it is addressing detectability, perceptibility, or desirability.
The components of a soundscape are the sonic events taking place and their modification by the aural architecture. To further discuss what aural architecture is, a separation must be made to contrast the two perspectives. Blesser states, “ just as light sources are required to illuminate visual architecture, so sound sources are required to “illuminate” aural architecture in order to make it aurally perceptible.”8 Since all sound takes place within a certain period of time, the difference between it and that of a landscape is that the latter can be represented with an instantaneous impression; the other cannot because elements can enter upon it to change its characteristics. To further analyze a soundscape and its potential. Though many sounds will be prevailing, “ those sounds which emerge because of their strong character or
On Place
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Sound signifies events talking place. Solely through sound, an entire environment complete with memories and emotions comes alive. “Listening is an important human activity just because it creates an intimate connection to the dynamic activities of life both human and natural.”7 Sounds are a resultant of dynamic action, periodic vibrations, sudden impacts, or oscillatory resonances. These resultant sounds can take place on
Image by Daniel Quartararo
6 Karandinou, Anastasia. 2013. No Matter: Theories and Practices of the Ephemeral in Architecture. Burlington: Ashgate Publishing Company 7 Blesser, Barry, and Linda-Ruth Salter. 2009. Spaces Speak, Are You Listening? Experiencing Aural Architecture. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.
8 Blesser, Barry, and Linda-Ruth Salter. 2009. Spaces Speak, Are You Listening? Experiencing Aural Architecture. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press. 9 Belgiojoso, Ricciarda. 2014. Constructing Urban Space with Sounds and Music. Burlington, VT: Ashgate.
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their continuing presence”9 can be first identified and then placed within a hierarchical system of classification for the purpose of understanding and then used in a beneficial architectural manner. Not only can sound signify a specific event-taking place, within aural architecture, there is a social component, which is present. ‘A new way of intending architecture rises from its inhabitants.”10 The need of constructing the quality of the environment according to its usage is asserted, proposing operative tools able to respond to the inhabitant’s requirements. The audience or the people of the city play an active role in the realization of a sonic city without ever being explained. Everyone chooses their paths through rings and sectors. One may choose to traverse the whole city due to experiential quality the sound is producing or others are producing. On the other hand, people can remain within their own sector due to the higher level of social interaction happening. People tend to be drawn to where others are.
On Architecture
A physical boundary is essentially a visual concept. Observers can see a small boundary even at distance locations. A listener can hear a boundary only when large or nearby. For hearing, volume remains primary and boundaries remain secondary; for vision, the opposite is true. When the social component is analyzed, a social distance for which occupants interact at, four major spheres exist; the intimate, the personal, the conversational, and the public. For each of these, a distinct distance demarcates each of these zones, which can further be broken down into experiential factors. These experiences and zones can be used to define the qualities of a space in terms of architectural design. By understanding the characteristics of these qualities and how they shape a space, we go beyond the implications and understanding of reverberating sound to that of experiential and meaningfulness. 28
design today is not because there is not a need for it but rather the lack of knowing how to do it. Through the past couple of centuries sound has been a major topic by which theorists, scientists, engineers, and designers have all played a role in advancing the topic. Many of which have collaborated together due to the similarities these different fields of research have brought about. The problem from this is that is relies heavily in the realm on quantitative instead of drawing upon the qualitative aspects it produces. “Because spaces and buildings endure, often for centuries or longer, the two-way relationship between culture and aural architecture is passed to many successive generations.”11 Once constructed, the aural architecture of a space memorializes the values of those who built it. In turn, later generations can develop newly constructed spaces that are built from the previous framework. Architects are currently in a stagnate stage of including the aural within the frameworks of architecture. We believe that by including little embellishments during the process, a true aural personality of the space is brought to life. Though it might help to differential a similar type of space from one another, it is missing the connection between that of the human and the potential for exponential experiences to arise from the situation. “Through this process, I came to the conclusion that what informs us about experience of a space is not only the representation in the form of a specific outcome. It is also the things one figures out through his attempts to analyze and represent space through this particular set of methods.”
The lack of incorporating sound within architectural
10 Karandinou, Anastasia. 2013. No Matter: Theories and Practices of the Ephemeral in Architecture. Burlington: Ashgate Publishing Company
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Criteria Primary 1. Responsive Does the architecture respond to the sounds prevalent on the site? Architecture and sound must be able to act in a unified manner. The two have become segregated for an autonomous development to occur. By maintaining a simultaneous effort, the two can exist cohesively.
2. Spatial Formation Does the form exemplify/express the desired sound quality/effect being designed for?
Secondary Desirability- a space is only as successful as the desirability it holds for those that want to occupy within. Perceptibility one can only understand where they are once they are able to understand that there is a difference between where they once were and where they are going to within a building. Detectability sound is around us but the need and ability to listen is required to comprehend a spatial understanding. Navigational- when traversing through space, a clear organizational strategy and clear connections between the interlocking of programmatic elements.
Currently in the field of architecture, methods of space formation rely primarily on basic design principles and requests from clients. The use of unconventional methods can form unique spaces.
3. Atmospheric Is there a feeling/understanding experienced related to the conditions on the site? By creating a physical presence and sensitivity to sound, a sensoral quality is emitted from the space’s architecture. Capturing this quality will make a place rather than a space.
08 “ Body, Sound, and Space “ 30
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Design Research
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Methodology The only way one can deal with sound, is to use it .Within the tests, methods, and thinking processes that come with this field of study, sound must be applied if it is to be thought of as the main topic. Film is a great way to approach many aspects of architecture that cannot be clearly represented within a simple site or section drawings that an architect produces. Much of which will be exemplified through the final project is something that captures more of an experience and an understanding of the steps and operations that will make this a successful thesis. Another method that will be applied to this project is the use of experiments through human testing. A variety of situations can be applied which we generated results talking not only in an architectural manner but also how sound is viewed on a daily basis. The key to having successful results will be to test outside of the range of architects to see the comparison between those that have previous design experience and those that do not but would be the ones who occupy the resultant aka, the building. Lastly, I believe that new types of drawings will have to go beyond the technical drawings today for there to be a true understanding of the relevance and the outcome sound can have upon architecture. What this may look like is yet to be know but through my findings and work, it will be challenged.
09- “ Lost in Space � 34
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Frames Spatial Exploration When we think of architecture, a simple notion of either a building or a space comes to mind first. It is understood that something physical will be created in which people will inhabit or interact with for a specific reason. The reason, is a programmatic element which explains what and why people are coming into this desired space. Similarly to how a person moves around their house because certain rooms “ We shape our dwellings, house certain meanings from areas and afterward, our dwellof sleeping to places of congregation, ings shape us.” all other buildings have this essential understanding as well. The image to - Winston Churchill the right shows a direct relationship between the experience of a space in connection to the outside. One begins by starting on the outside and moves through a specific sequence to enter the structure. Once inside, certain elements direct the occupants path and interaction with the space. At times, the meaning can get lost of where they once were but that can be due to the fact that a goal has been placed in front of them . This process of thinking is something that we do on an internal level and comes to humans as second nature. We do not think about it at certain times, we just do it. When taking the time to analyze the body’s connection to a space, it is common for us to say we are drawn to what we see. When we see elaborate parametric structures, its natural to be curious about it. But do we fully experience the architecture? Is there a way in which experience and building can be bridged? The way in which this can be achieved is through our senses. Senses allow the body to connect with its surroundings. Therefore, it can be said that architects should be designing for the body instead of the client. The client can say what type of building they 36
10- “ In, Out, Above, and Below ” 37
11- “ Sound’s Space ”
need but the process in which its realization comes through in should have been thought of with the individual in mind. Of all the senses, sound is thought of as secondary to that of the visual. We can see what a rectangle room looks like, but what happens when we close our eyes and listen to this same space?
12- “ A City’s Sound, Part I: Water Features ”
On a larger scale than a building, a city can be defined through its sonic characteristics as well. Though much of cities today are already existent, future projects can be designed by the incorporation of sounds existing on the grid. Where city street intersect, much of the population merges together. Where water is located people move around it to interact with it.
The image above shows a process of how the sounds within the soundscape of the city have been reinterpreted into a spatial formation. Through the combination of divisional walls and guidelines, an organizational strategy has been developed to form a 3D translation of how different sounds within the boundaries of the area have been formed and generated.
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13- “ Sounding Movement ” 40
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14- “ Venetian Garden’s of San Stefano ”
Sound In Place When we go to a new location, it is common for one to understand their surroundings. We look to see what others are doing and figure out whether or not we are in a situation where we feel comfortable or not to stay. Much of our understanding of a new place is grounded in what we hear around us. “ To head a sound is to see a space” Sound can be seen as a navigation tool that allows for one to explore a new - Louis Kahn place purely based upon what we are hearing around us. When people walk along the edge of a wall, a condition 42
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is formed that creates a boundary which we understand. Within a garden, the absence of sound creates a more intimate setting where one is able to distinguish the differences between where they once were and where they are going to now.
“ The life that happens in a building or a town is not merely anchored in the space but made up of the space itself.” - Christopher Alexander
When we stop at a location, the tool of listening can help us to more clearly identify the depth of the location in terms of composition. We can comprehend where certain sounds are coming from, why they are being expressed, and what they are doing for our experience of the space. These layers are always there at the places we visit and interact with on a daily basis.
15- “ Division of Sound’s Layers ” 44
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16- “ Aural Merging ”
17- “ A Plaza’s Voice ”
The urban city has a dialogue that its buildings, urban spaces, and areas of connection are all speaking to one another. To understand the whole, each part must be broken down to understand it. The buildings themselves are all developed around an essential programmatic need for the specific place. The urban spaces are where we hear different levels of activity taking place. People gather with others to talk and socialize, the heavy footsteps imply a path of circulation that is of importance to those who traverse around this area. Together, a whole environment is formed through the sounds of the buildings and those of the urban spaces working as one.
18- “ A Building’s Voice ” 46
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“ The eyes are more exact witnesses that the ears” - Heraclitus
Cognition by definition is the mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses. In the field of architecture, this ability is unfortunately overlooked. Much of what is built is based purely upon that visual aesthetic previously mentioned.
Sound is a way in which we can piece together architecture through the personal experience one feels with the physical building.
19- “ The Brain on Sound ”
Cognitive Process
As one steps through the threshold of a building, they enter upon a new aural experience. Several ways in which they can begin to orient themselves rely upon connection to past memories where the type of noise begins to reveal itself through the actions and form of the space. This is where the architecture of the structure can talk the lead in developing a process for which designers can use to connection sound and form together.
Architecture is frequently approached as a one-dimensional experience. The design field is so preoccupied with visual aesthetics that the relevance of the sensory realms become to much of an afterthought. It is important though to consider why sensory experiences are significant to the field of architecture. Like any work of art, architecture truly requires participation. One cannot truly understand and experience it without fully involving our senses. The perception of space is informed by our eyes but it is the experience of sound, smell, temperature, texture, and others that fully shape an identity of that particular space. 48
“ The historical sense involves a perception, not only of the past but of its presence.”
- T.S. Eliot 20- “ Processing A Visual Sound ” 49
21- “ Compositional Soundscape ”
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Criteria Testing For one to know whether the criteria is a success or failure, a series of tests have been created. Only once the experiments have been conducted can I say if these were the correct criteria to study. 1. Examine a series of precedent studies that hold relevance once a program has been chosen for my project.(Success) 2. Qualitatively collect data to see the reasons on how and why people traverse from one area/room to the next.(Success) 3. Play a series of sounds and have a variety of participants sketch spatially their visual image of the space.(Failed) 4 and 5. Record and analyze conclusions between a buildings sounds and connections to the landscapes sounds.(Success) 6. Formulate a series of maps that unearths the hidden/unnoticed patterns sound holds on whether a space is successful.(Ongoing)
22 “ Generative Formation Studies � 52
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Design Outcomes
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Precedents
Laura Baring Gould As a sculptor dependent on the specificity of site, Gould’s interests focus on the making of objects that are paired with particular places to create environments of “introspection and wonder”. Her installations are meant to embody ephemeral and fleeting events. Their ideas are rooted in the rediscovery of perception and sensory experience. All of her projects draw upon different skills and endurance to help create an effort of meaningfulness. The final piece no matter what it is, is a “cognitive understanding and experiential wonder”.
Re • Sound 23 “ Re Sound ”
Definition: 1. To be filled with sound; reverberate. 2. To echo; to produce an echo, as a horn. 3. Poetic, to be proclaimed often; to extol loudly; to sound or utter in full resonate tones.
24 “ Re Sound ”
The project began as a choice to work with an obsolete car horn instead of a beautiful instrument. An initial understanding was brought to light by feeling overwhelmed by the cacophony of noise that fills the American social landscape. On a daily occurrence, the artists were told to move out of the way or bleat more loudly. Thus, the idea of reacting to the beauty of an environment and where the opposite ideas can congruently exist. By speaking into the Magna Vox horn located inside the bulb of the horn, contributions of words, thoughts and stories that those participants feel are missing from the noise is then broadcast around all. The statements are recorded and will, over time be acoustically processed to form the echo and vibration heard from the horn.
25 “ Interpreting Re Sound ” 56
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Douglas Hollis The natural phenomena and searching for new ways to talk about landscape and the forces which are constantly affecting it was the beginning passion of Hollis. This search led him to currently work with wind and water-activated sound structures that are developed to the specific environmental dynamics of the sites in which the installations are placed. As time progressed, the work has developed to establish a connection with the people who encounter these places. A number of his projects integrate the participant into the dynamics of the landscape by using the structures as sensory extensions of the body. Over the course of being a part of several major permanent commissions, Douglas began to perceive the “long rage implications” of these places. People would want to inhabit them and increase the meaning over time. To this day, he continues to make places where people can pause to “catch their spiritual breath in the midst of their everyday lives.”
26- “ Listening Vessels”
Listening Vessels Two parabolic, “sound lens” seating elements are situation 100’ apart, facing one another. Those that sit within it can either have a whispering conversation with each other or listen to concentrated fragments of sound from the surrounding environment. The intent of these “passive found structures” are designed to collect and focus sound in space rather than produce it. By the use of two reflectors sharing a common focal point, unusual reverberations and echoes are produced.
27- “ Listening Vessels”
28- “ Interpreting Listening Vessels” 58
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Maya Lin Lin has a strong interest in conservation and has said and written many times that her goal in her landscape art is to cooperate with nature rather than to try to overpower it and bend it to her will. Another distinct strand of Lin’s work is her landscape art, which she has created either by interceding in nature, or by imitating natural forms with synthetic media, such as mounds of shattered safety glass.
29- “ Wave Field”
Although best known as a sculptor, Lin has also worked steadily as an architect, an activity she likes to keep separate from making sculpture, since she finds that the practical, detail-oriented dimension that is so important in architectural work can stifle the creative intuition from which ideas for her sculptures well up.
Wave Field
30- “ Wave Field”
Designed for some open ground next to the University of Michigan’s FXB Aerospace Engineering building. To create a work relevant to research taking place in the building, Lin studied aerodynamics and fluid dynamics. She explains, “I discovered that turbulence resistance and the study of fluid dynamics were fundamental aspects of the field, that images of fluid dynamics were powerful and intriguing. Responding to a request for more images dealing with turbulence study, one professor sent me a book entitled An Album of Fluid Motion, by Milton Van Dyke, and one of the images was of a naturally occurring water wave called a stokes wave. The image was the one I knew I had been looking for-and with this one image, I began to translate it into threedimensional models in clay and sand, as well as sketches.”
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Process The site is filled with noise, coming from all directions and from various sources. The participants go about their day walking to and from. Erupting up from the train station below ground. Cars passing by as groups congregate on the corners huddling together waiting for the ringing of the stop light to allow them to pass. Their feet vibrate as the train glides through the station, sending an effect through everyone’s body. Voices are heard as groups of protesters gather to discuss a topic that will be voted on today at the state house. Their echo emanates between the trees and those laying down pop up their heads to see where it is coming from. They get up and join in with a crowd that is observing the event. But not all can hear the protesters for a concert is being played. The music flows through the park, reaching further than the musicians can see. Those on streets afar come out of their apartments and stand on their balconies to enjoy their own private concert. The previous story was a combination of all sonic events happening on the site in one day. But before anything can be built an understanding of sounds, their sources and the effects they have on an individual is investigated thoroughly.
Sound Study: The Person
The Individual
The Pair
The Group
The Musician
The Activity
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Site Selection When we move around the urban city, sounds are coming all around us. Each one has a distinct language that describes not only what is happening but also how we interact with the site. By spending an initial time exploring several locations in the city for my thesis to take place. It was revealed to me that just one location is enough due to the complexity and uniqueness. Therefore, the location of the project takes place on the Northeast section of the Boston Commons. Through further studies and investigations, three distinct places have been selected.
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Sound Studies The following are a series of sound studies conducted on the chosen site for the project. Each set represents sound in a different way and what the source of the sound is that is being mapped. Guitar
Over the course of five days, the individual was studied and how they interacted with the site. Specifically, the musician, the individual, the group, the pair and the activity. Singer
The Musician
Flute
The Musician
The Musician
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The Individual
The Individual
The Individual
The Individual
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Park Street Station: Areas of Sound Release
Translation The following step after analyzing the site, is to translate the sounds into a representation that can be transformed into a spatial formation. Through a series of expressive diagramming of comparing sounds and sources. By proceeding in this manner, certain discoveries were made including the correlation between sound source and range of its impact. Even a history of what has happened on certain locations. This knowledge has influenced the project into three interventions. Each one relies on rules and guides to express the quality of the site.
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Design Project
A B D
C
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“Sonic Memory” The first intervention of the site expresses the ability for architecture to take on the memory that a concert produces. When one experiences music, they are able to express themselves how they want it. But most of the time, people want to be able to hear and capture the sounds. This intervention creates a series of landscape formations that capture the music played on various locations in the park and cultivate them into a inhabitable space. In the thought that this sonic event will not always be produced. These forms have the capacity to used as moments of rest to relax in the city.
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Passage of Translation
Transition
Sonic Barrier
Passage of Translation
Transition
Sonic Barrier
Passage of Translation
Transition
Sonic Barrier
39- “Intervention 1 Translation” Site Section A: Scale: 1/16”=1’
Translation
40- “Intervention 1: Sonic Memory”
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Sonic Memory:
Scale: 1/16”=1’
Absorption
“Auditory Soapbox” The second intervention of the site expresses the ability for architecture to produce a place to express themselves specifically through dialogue. The history of the site portrays that this location has been used for protesters to voice their opinions. It stands across from the state house were these issues being voiced are often discussed. When viewed from afar, the intervention and the state house are also in dialogue between one another. The structure has the ability to hold public debates that everyone on the site would understand.
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42- “Intervention 2 Translation” Site Section B: A: Scale: 1/16”=1’
Translation
43- “Intervention 2: Auditory Soapbox”
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Site Section Auditory Soapbox: A: Translation Reverberation (Dialogue)
Scale: 1/16”=1’
“Experiential Instrument” The third intervention of the site expresses the ability for architecture to act as an instrument that is able to reverberate with the individual. This architecture creates a series of spatial formations that respond to the sounds of the train and the activity that is happening above it. It takes in the sound, cultivates it and then releases it out or keeps it in.
Site Section C: Scale: 1/16”=1’
44- “Intervention 3 Conditions” Current Condition
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Site Section C: Scale: 1/16”=1’
Translation
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Experiential Instrument: Scale: 1/8”=1’
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Projection
46- “Intervention 3 Experiential Instrument”
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47- “View from the stairs”
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48- “Intervention 3 Conditions
Site Section D: Scale: 1/16”=1’
Current Condition
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Site Section D: Scale: 1/16”=1’
Translation
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50- “View from ground floor”
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51- “Intervention 3: Experiential Instrument” Experiential Instrument: Scale: 1/8”=1’
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Projection
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52- “View from top platform”
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Reflection
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Critical Evaluation From the beginning of the semester, it has been a challenge. The idea of sound in architecture has always revolved around the idea of creating rooms and spaces that have good “acoustic� properties. After beginning my studies and exploration of a site, it came to me that architecture can create a place based upon the sounds there. I wanted to strengthen this idea by having the architecture take on a form to express these sounds. Many professors have said that your thesis will haunt you throughout your career. I believe this to be true now that I am seeing all the work I have done as Phase I. By being critiqued by a new panel of professionals, I now see new approaches I could have taken and then how I can push the idea even further. I believe this thesis was a success in conveying a topic that needs to be realized in the field of architecture. What was lacking was some of the transitional pieces that helped to express a form based on sound. But, this can always be reworked because sound is always changing.
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Bibliography
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Image Citation 01- Quartararo, Daniel.“ Sonic Translation “. Digital Collage. 2016 02- Leitner, Bernhard.“ Flowers in the Attic ”. Digital Image. Accessed November 15, 2015. http://www.archdaily.com/168979/ bernhard-leitner-sound-spaces
15- Quartararo, Daniel.“ Division of Sound’s Layers ”. Photo Collage. 2015 16- Quartararo, Daniel.“ Aural Merging ”. Digital Collage. 2015 17- Quartararo, Daniel.“ A Plaza’s Voice ”. Digital Collage. 2015
03- Quartararo, Daniel.” Visualizing Sound over Time ”. Digital Collage. 2015 04- Quartararo, Daniel.“ Sound: Life Between Buildings”. Hand Drawing. 2015 05- Quartararo, Daniel.“ Sound: The Suburban Edge ”. Hand Drawing. 2015 06- Quartararo, Daniel.“ Sound: The Integration of Landscape ”. Hand Drawing. 2015 07- Quartararo, Daniel.“ Sound: The Streetscape ”. Hand Drawing. 2016 08- Quartararo, Daniel.“ Body, Sound, and Space “. Digital. 2016 09- Muxel, Andreas.“ Lost in Space ” . Digital Collage. Accessed November 16, 2015. http://www.andreasmuxel.com/ artresearch/lost-in-space/
18- Quartararo, Daniel.“ A Building’s Voice ”. Digital Collage. 2015 19- Quartararo, Daniel.“ The Brain on Sound ”. Digital Collage. 2015 20- Quartararo, Daniel. “ Processing A Visual Sound ”. Model Photo. 2015 21- Quartararo, Daniel.“ Compositional Soundscape ”. Hand Drawing. 2015 22- Quartararo, Daniel.“ Generative Formation Studies ”. Diagrams. 2015 23- Gould, Laura Baring.“ Re Sound “. Photo. Accessed April 11, 2016. http://www.laurabaringgould.com/slideshow/resound.html 24- Gould, Laura Baring.“ Re Sound “. Photo. Accessed April 11, 2016. http://www.laurabaringgould.com/slideshow/resound.html 25- Quartararo, Daniel.“ Interpreting Re Sound ”. Hand Drawing. 2016
10- Quartararo, Daniel.“ In, Out, Above, and Below ”. Collage. 2015 11- Quartararo, Daniel.“ Sound’s Space ”. Collage. 2015
26- Hollis,Douglas.“ Listenign Vessels “. Photo. Accessed April 11, 2016. http://www.discoverygreen.com/listening-vessels
12- Quartararo, Daniel.“ A City’s Sound, Part I: Water Features ”. Collage. 2015
27- Hollis,Douglas.“ Listenign Vessels “. Photo. Accessed April 11, 2016. http://www.discoverygreen.com/listening-vessels
13- Quartararo, Daniel.“ Sounding Movement ”. Diagram. 2015
28- Quartararo, Daniel.“ Interpreting Listening Vessels”. Hand Draw ing. 2016
14- Quartararo, Daniel.“ Venetian Garden’s of San Stefano ”. Photo Collage. 2016
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29- Lin, Maya.“ Wave Field “. Digital Collage. Accessed April 11, 2016. http://www.mayalin.com/ 105
30- Lin, Maya.“ Wave Field “. Digital Collage. Accessed April 11, 2016. http://www.mayalin.com/
46- Quartararo, Daniel.“Intervention 3 Experiential Instrument”. Digital Collage. 2016 47- Quartararo, Daniel.“View from the stairs”“. Perspective. 2016
31- Quartararo, Daniel.“ Interpreting Listening Vessels “. Hand Draw ing. 2016
48- Quartararo, Daniel.“Intervention 3 Conditions. Section. 2016
32- Quartararo, Daniel.“ Sonic Range of People”. Diagram. 2016
49- Quartararo, Daniel.“Intervention 3 Translaiton. Diagram. 2016
33- Quartararo, Daniel.“Sonic Thumbprints”. Axonometric. 2016
50- Quartararo, Daniel.“View from ground floor”. Perspective. 2016
34- Quartararo, Daniel.“ Sound Study Series of the Musician”. Dia grams. 2016
51- Quartararo, Daniel.“Intervention 3: Experiential Instrument”. Section. 2016
35- Quartararo, Daniel.“ Sound Study Series of the Individual”. Diag rams. 2016
52- Quartararo, Daniel. “View from top platform”. Perspective. 2016.
36- Quartararo, Daniel.““ Reverberation”. Diagram. 2016 37- Quartararo, Daniel.“ Site Plan”. Plan. 2016 38- Quartararo, Daniel.“Intervention 1 Conditions”. Section. 2016 39- Quartararo, Daniel.“Intervention 1 Translation”. Diagram. 2016 40- Quartararo, Daniel.“Intervention 1: Sonic Memory”. Section. 2016 41- Quartararo, Daniel.“Intervention 2 Conditions”. Section. 2016 42- Quartararo, Daniel.“Intervention 2 Translation”. Diagram. 2016 43- Quartararo, Daniel.“Intervention 2: Auditory Soapbox”. Section. 2016 44-Quartararo, Daniel.“Intervention 3 Conditions”. Section. 2016 45- Quartararo, Daniel.“Intervention 3 Translation”. Diagram. 2016
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