One Call Away | UAL MA ISD Personal Project | by Nephelo Jiang

One Call Away

MA ISD | 2021-2022 University of the Arts London

Final Design Keywords.

Acoustic, immersive experience, dialogue, portal, public installation, journey.

People often live and reside in cities, where they make memories and develop impressions. In turn, they form personal perceptions of the area they are in, and their feelings for the space change from foreignness to familiarity, belongingness and dependence. Nonetheless, behind the sublimation of such connectedness between people and places is the experiences that we gain from these spaces, sites, or cities. Actions of individuals leave traces in these areas, and thus these places become indelible parts of people’s experiences.

Cities carry the expectations, desires, and responsibilities of the people who live in them. However, living in the city is also associated with noise and pressure. Escapism occurs in the minds of countless people. Yet, for various reasons, they cannot leave the city that they are living in. This public interactable installation is designed based on this phenomenon, with sound being used as the primary medium to create a private and immersive space for users without changing the physical location. The real-time urban soundscape of the other city fills the space, transforming it into a healing space where people can briefly escape the hustle of the city whenever they want.

Introduction

Space for Dialogue

Background of the Design Intention

Ways of Dialogue

Design Concept Map of the Journey Confessional - Confess to Oneself Telephone Kiosks - Conversation with Others Sterero and Binaural Sound

Sound as the Primary Sensory Experience

Design Stages Soundscape

Design Concept.

Listening is one of the ways in which people experience a place. Listening to the surroundings is active, and in-depth perception of the space enables individuals to internalize the space through experiences. This is often referred to as the soundscape, which has always been present in the city.

By exchanging the surrounding soundscape of two sites, the proposed intervention develops a new place that does not physically exist in the current city. Moreover, by using auditory elements to understand the space from the perspective of another city, the installation can be considered a permanent portal between cities.

Design Stages.

This project ultimately starts with human desires, where I begin to experiment with personal desires and understanding how the voices of others can affect people when making decisions. Additionally, tracking enables people to visualize their personal boundaries, which develops their characteristics and influences their actions. Subsequently, in unit 2, I examined the ways in which people can find their own voices without being heavily impacted by this overloaded environment, as individuals tend to follow the pace of the city whilst ignoring their own needs. After this, I started to explore sound in more depth, experimenting with different types of dialogues to find a way that helps people feel safe and open to talk. After

analysing the experiments and interviews, I found a space that is private and has several familiar features can be considered “safe places” for users to let their guard down. There are many telephone booths around the city of London that not only facilitate telephone conversations but are also considered to be safe meditation spaces. In the final design stage, new dialogues and conversations are opened with new places and people, using soundscapes to fill the space to create an immersive experience. The space is where dialogues with other cities could happen, I consider this public installation to be a solid feature of the environment, a call that never hangs up. Thus, it will enable people to step into the other city whenever they wish.

Human desires

How voices of others affecting people

Human desires

Social noises

How people can find their own voices

Personal boundaries Safe space

Traces behind people Private space

Dialogues

City soundscape

Acoustic experience

Body performance

Portal between cities

Public installation

for mime with absorbed sound

A theatre designed

Am I really free?

October 2021 November 2021 November 2021

hwat did I explored in an unknown space?

exist?

Are the boundaries still

Strangers are welcome to participate?

What if its under unknown circumstances?

Autra Breathe Crowd Escape

truth?

Can we see the

February 2022 February 2022 March 2022 March 2022

will dialogue

the same time,

same space at

If people exploring the

each journey?

by exploring without any limits, make of

Crowd left traces

voices? Traces 1.0 Traces 2.0 Traces 3.0

Where are my

April 2022 May 2022 May 2022 July 2022

telephone kiosk?

memory from the

Can we call a

affect people’s emotions?

H a long distance call can

Mime Chamber Telephone Kiosk Telephone Kiosk 2.0

“speak”?

be a language to

How body movements can

“Speak“

2021

2022

Fusion

What are the reasons behind choices?

of safety?

space gives people the sense

How can the

speak with no judgements?

Wishes Marks Touch

How can senses connected together?

March 2022 May 2022 May 2022 May 2022

spaces

Is there are space that I can

confide?

be more willing to

identities, will we

When we hide our

September 2022 September 2022 October 2022

Sound experiment to exchange two

Performance leaded by sound

Afield Daydreamer

use acoustic technique to exchange spaces

Public installation

One call away

need is a listener.

responder, all we

Echo 1.0 Echo 2.0 Hide Coat Dialogue

What is the definition of masks? We don’t need a

Map of the Journey.

Spaces for Dialogue

Background of the Design Intention.

People choose to live in London for various reasons, one of the most important one for foreign immigrants is to chase their dreams. London is a city that full of opportunities, where people can achieve their personal desires, for example, successful social status, work accomplishment, good income or future path and etc.

While people trying to find a place for themselves to settle down in London, stress and pressure come along at the same time. During the development stage of this project, I initiated the survey by participating anonymously asking the reason why people choose to live in London and if there are any stressful moments from then. The feedback of the questionnaire is telling me that most people need a moment to step of this city, however, they cannot because of their social responsibilities are still on their shoulder.

- Refer to Research Record for study of personal desire accomplishments.

“People’s pursuit of desires progresses step by step, forming the hunting of desires. They regard the pursuit of continuously satisfying higher-level desires as the driving force of their lives.”

City Noises.

Too busy, too noisy - that’s what we often complain about when it comes to big city stress.

At the same time, we also value the recreation and variety of choices that the city offers us. But the variety of options is also an issue. Psychologists call this the Too-Much-ChoiceEffect. People who have too many options feel worse with extravagant options than with limited ones. This is urban pressure.

From the questionnaire that I made on September 2022, 45 London immigrants participated and provided their private feeling of “how space can provide the sense of safety“. Overall, people do want to leave London sometimes, however they cannot because of their social responsibilities. They need time to reconnect to themselves - in a private space, separating from others so they can focus on their own emotions for a while.

Questionnaire: About My Own Voice is Drowned Out by the Big

1. Have you ever think about escaping London for a short period of time?

Appeared in the last week

Appeared in the last month Appeared in the last year Never appeared

2. What’s the reason?

Life or emotional distress

Missing hometown, family and friends Dislike the city you are in Excessive stress

25% 36.4% 27.3% 11.4%

3. When you think about escaping from London, what are the specific reasons that stops you?

Unfinished studies

Job Responsibilities

Family responsibilities More opportunities in big cities

4. Have you ever felt lost?

Yes

No, I haven’t

5. What are the reasons you felt lost?

The surrounding environment is too noisy and fast-paced Not sure about my future direction Advice from too many people around Imperfect self-awareness

6. Do you talk to yourself when you are alone?

Yes No, I don’t

September 2022

45 Participates (Foreign Immigrants in London)

7. Which of the following can help you find your voice?

Independent and safe personal space In-depth communication with familiar people

75% 6.8% 4.5% 13.6%

31.8% 27.3% 18.2% 22.7% 22.7% 68.2% 0% 9.1%

8. If so, what is the purpose of the conversation with yourself?

Communicate with strangers Forget about stressful escape for a while Help yourself to calm down Pay attention to your emotions Improve self-awareness and improve self-confidence Revisit the reality

9. How would you talk to yourself?

Write down your thoughts by hand Talking to oneself when alone Get to know yourself side-by-side through conversations with others Think deeply

10. What properties of space make you feel calm?

Dimmed Quite

Private

Space that has natural elements

11. What qualities in an unfamiliar space make you feel safe?

Similar familiar environment Warm environment Space that is open for shaping A space that is separate from others

36.4% 40.9% 11.4% 11.4% 15.9% 52.3% 15.9% 15.9% 27.3% 22.7% 9.1% 40.9%

6.8% 29.5% 34.1% 29.5%

15.9% 25% 4.5% 54.5% 86.4% 13.6% 77.3% 22.7%

Connection Between Cities.

The temperament of each city is different, and each city has its own unique rhythm of life. The life, routine, traffic and activities of people in one city are different from another, and everyone understands this feeling. Vienna, Copenhagen or Vancouver can make us feel soothed or relaxed, while New York, Paris or Mumbai can make us feel busy and restless. The rhythm of a city is made up of completely different parts: how hurried are its inhabitants, do they have to travel long distances in the shortest possible time each day, how dense is the city, is its economy prosperous and therefore makes people time becomes “more expensive”.

Those cultures that place a high value on individual development and personal well-being have a faster pace of life than cultures that are group-oriented. Caring about the well-being of oneself and the nuclear family is a waste of time. People have to worry about their livelihoods, the creation of families, housing, the education of their children, and the creation and maintenance of one’s social image, all of which take time and effort.

ConfessionalConfess to Oneself.

‘Confession’, in a contemporary profane context means that when you are in a dialogue, every person has his own preference. In a conversation there are many ways you can talk to a person. Important in that conversation is how you take an applicable position to find trust and start the process of ‘catharses.

‘Confession’ is as a matter of fact something that happens to us in everyday life. Except in these specific conditions of the ‘confession chair’. I think confession is a generic process. We constantly refer our thoughts and behaviour to moral terms we inherited in the social ambiance we were raised in, have our doubts, guilt.

Listener Speaker

Knowing there is a listener on the other side of the space, one side dialogue could form - it is the process of confessing.

Function of the Confessionals.

The space - where the confession could happen, provide the confidants the possibility to hide their identity.

It is acting as a “mask“, to separate the confidants and the priests. At the same time it is a private space for the confess could happen.

From the original design of the confessional, it is evident that the penitent is visible to the public. During confession, dialogue happens due to the trust established between the priest and the penitent. Personal beliefs are different for everyone, and thus I tried various methods to build trust between the confidant and the space and to bring the user a sense of safety when they enter an unfamiliar space. This enables them to have dialogue without harassment.

Space for the confidant

Space for the listener

There are many ways in which dialogue can occur, but the most important thing is how the person takes an applicable position to develop trust and start the cathartic process. Facial expressions, body language, and personal emotions can all influence one’s way of talking, and people are judged on the things that they have done. This has facilitated the idea of distant “confession”, which gives people a chance to talk without revealing their identities and visual impressions. This means that they can feel free to speak out and not be judged.

From there, I started to test in what ways “mask“ can help people to hide their identity.

Mask Explorations.

Here, the limitation is to focus - I am exploring different ways of masks below in order to find out in what ways I am able to focus on my senses - not having visual as the main sense, but to use sound to allow the imagination from each participates.

2nd Mask.

1st Mask.

3rd Mask.

For the mirror masks, I am using single-sided mirror film.

Others cannot see through from the outside, which helps participates to hide their identity. However participates can still observe the outside behind the mask.

From there, I explored a few “masks“ that can be different from traditional facial masks. They are still having the same functions of masks, like hide identity, but to be in various sizes and forms.

4th Mask.

When its purpose is to stimulate people’s selfexploration, the function of the mask comes from its form and connection with people. We see the world differently through the mask.

Moving further, I started to test how I can use space as a mask, to give people the sense of safety while they are in the space.

Echo - as showing below, is designed base on the idea of confessional space.

Someone will listen.

Echo.

Collecting what people are influenced by the other’s, participates wrote down something that they don’t want to do but other’s asked them to. For example, young people are asked to be a teacher by their parents because they believe teacher is a stable job. However this person is really into the world of creative and would like to be an artist in the future.

All these words from others are echoing around us on a daily basis, so Echo, is my practice to respond to this situation. I am reflecting this phenomenon into an architectural / spatial form, creating a space that people can listen to their own voices, or enjoy a moment of silence.

I am trying to isolate the space from the environment around it acoustically, by blocking the voices from the others, the space boundary becomes a barrier for the participate to hide inside, without wearing a mask, the participate knows the space is a place of “nowhere“ so they can have the self dialogue there. From here, the space is considered to be the mask.

“People do not need a responder; all they need is a listener” (Han, 2016),

Space for Oneself.

The Echo Chamber is a space in which people can focus on their own voices, where the process of self-exploration could happen. When people are in the space, they do not hear voices from the opposite side of the chamber. The only response from the other side is the heartbeat of the person sitting in front of them. Incidentally, the heartbeat is the first and only sound we hear in the womb before we enter the world.

Developing a space where the only sound is that of heartbeats makes it easier for us to let down our defences and confide in others with a sense of safety. Not only is it a signal to listen, but it is also a form of encouragement without any judgements. Heartbeats are transferred to people on the other side of the confessional chamber via Blue tooth electronic stethoscope. They are minimal responses, and this is because any thoughtful words can generate opinions and may result in people taking a stand.

Inside speaker soundtrackleft side sound channel, confidant in black side of the chamber.

Top opening Light tunnel

Black side White side

Textured mirror

Section drawing of Echo.

By sitting face-to-face with a pane of glass in-between, the power of speaking could also work in real-life situations. The people sitting in front are the listeners and also the confidants.

Isometric X-ray drawing of Echo.

Inside speaker soundtrackright side sound channel, confidant in white side of the chamber.

Details of Echo model.

Interior space renders of Echo.

By recording the actions from each participates, I connect action of every 5 seconds to create the boundary of a person’s exploration routine. Since there are no limits, all the actions and routes are different. I grouped the traces and translated them into shapes.

In this experiment, I am trying to find out ways to see the traces after people is interacting with a space and what are their actions. The shapes as results is showing people’s perceptions with this space - some feel lost by walking in a circle; some were open to explore by wondering around; some are trying to keep the reaction to be minimized and went through the space quickly. From there, I started to use people’s action in a space to see how much they “accept“ the space.

Telephone KiosksConversation with Others.

The second space for dialogues is the telephone kiosk. Most of the time, people are not listening to each other. The problem with much of today’s communication is that it is crosstalk and not a dialogue.

The conversations with objectives usually occur via phone calls. In other words, we call people on the phone because we want to discuss stories or share information. The first phone call was made in 1876 and only contained one sentence - “Please help me, Mr. Watson.” However, as technology has developed, phones have spread rapidly into the public domain, making phone calls one of the easiest yet most important ways of communicating.

Telephone kiosks not only play a critical role in enabling people to connect with each other, but they have also played a vital role in London’s communication history. Two or more people are connected by the telephone wires located under the city, which facilitates conversation over long distances. Thus, it connects people in a simple and instant manner.

Telephone Kiosks in London.

I started to take photos of telephone kiosks in London from December 2021.

Almost all the telephone kiosks that I met are still under the using state, the network are still working to make calls. However, I did not see anyone use these kiosks are they suppose to be. People take photos with it, draw things onto it, homeless hide inside as a shelter.

I started to wonder how can I use this existing public installation to be a portal as its original function, but in a way that people can engage with it again, in this modern world that everyone has their mobile phones.

Refer to the Telephone Kiosks Handbook for more photos.

Current Telephone Kiosks Distributions.

As of January 2020, an estimated 8,000 traditional red telephone boxes remained in public service. However, as everybody has a smartphone nowadays, people do not tend to use telephone booths on the street anymore. Today, most telephone kiosks are open for adoption as an iconic British feature or to be designed by artists to reignite public awareness of them once again.

Kiosk No.1 1920 Kiosk No.2 1924 Kiosk No.3 1927 Kiosk No.4 1927 Kiosk No.5 1934 Kiosk No.6 1935

Designed by Somerville & Company

Designed by Giles Gilbert Scott

Designed by Giles Gilbert Scott

Designed by the Post Office

Designed by the Post Office

Designed by Giles Gilbert Scott

History of Telephone Kiosk.

The first standard public telephone kiosk introduced by the United Kingdom Post Office was produced in 1921 and was made of concrete. It was designated K1 (Kiosk No. 1). Over the last 100 years, multiple versions of the telephone kiosks have emerged in order to enhance the quality of communication. Although the production of the traditional boxes ended with the advent of the KX series in 1985, many of them are still standing throughout Great Britain.

Period

1925 1930 1935 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980

Number of telephone kiosks existing 1,000 8,000 19,000 35,000 44,000 64,000 70,000 73,000

Number

K1 only K2 & K3 added K6 introduced K8 introduced in 1968

Technical Drawings of Telephone Kiosk.

The technical drawing beside shows that the telephone kiosk is designed specifically for one person to use. The only item inside the space is the telephone, and thus the function of the telephone kiosk is clear to users. No instructions are required. It is a simple space with an enclosed structure that offers private communication. Thus, in essence, it acoustically connects two people (with physical distance in between).

My design was largely inspired by this iconic permanent public installation. However, although it facilitates conversation, it also explores the possibilities of connecting individuals to others and their environments. Using the existing telephone booth network around the world and in the City of London, dialogue can be defined as an experience or occurrence. The physical distance between the connected places is forgotten due to the immersive acoustic experience encountered by the users.

Designed by Neville Conder

Designed by Bruce Martin

Kiosk No.7 1959 Kiosk No.8 1968

“The Silent Confession”.

Moving forward to use the telephone kiosk space a space for dialogue, I use video to show the idea of “exchanging spaces“ between two telephone kiosks. One is in covent garden, where central London is, the other one is in Beijing, China.

By recording the inside sound of each telephone kiosks, I switched the sound track to the person on the other side - it is a delayed call, no verbal conversation made, they listen to the sound track and react with no limit. I did not expect both of them react in a silent way - one through intense body movements, the other one was just standing inside the telephone kiosk, listen quietly.

Thus, I kept the feature of “silence“, then started to think if a dialogue have to be in a speaking way.

This experiment is telling me the importance of listening, not just to hear.

“The Silent Confession” videohttps://youtu.be/9LCp0Au1_zg

Ways of Dialogue

Sound as the Primary Sensory Experience.

American sound artist William Hellerman states that “hearing is another form of seeing”. Modern society is developed on visual priority, particularly in the modern information era. Technologies like VR are attempting to establish virtual space experiences by separating secondary sensory experiences (touch, smell, etc.) from independent visual images. However, does vision itself have the universality to represent the complete perception? As well as vision, other senses can also help people to interact with the space.

For instance, Sound (which can be the space itself) generates a physical reflection that indicates distance, whilst the direction of sound sources indicates narratives. Thus, in this public installation, sound is the primary sensory experience in space. During the auditory study, I examined methods through which people can perceive sound in space.

About Sound.

There are three elements involved in the acoustic environment, namely the source, the path, and the receiver.

From an architectural perspective (which is also relevant to my project), the source is the voices involved in human talking, whilst the path differs according to the material, its shape and the angle of reflection. The receiver is the individual who is engaged in the experience whilst in the space. I do not intend to change the medium (i.e., the air), and thus the architecture influences the final voices that the receiver hears.

All of the voices (i.e., those of the ‘others’ and the ‘environment’) in this project fall within the “audible range of hearing”, even though the sources are all different. Meanwhile, the voice of the individual can be viewed as the range of the “speech” or even lower, and the frequency and the sound pressure level are both narrower than the audible range of hearing. Thus, I am wondering whether the space can be the medium that helps to omit the voices of others from the space, which will render the dialogue from the individual as clear as possible.

Sources: Adams, T., 2017. Sound materials. Innovative sound-absorbing materials for architecture and design. Amsterdam: Frame Publishers, pp.P8-23.

The Form of Self Dialogue.

As I experimented, I am not thinking when I am speaking, although I can speak and hear my own voices at the same time, but it is not a dialogue. So I am still working on calculating the shape of the inside space and the size as well, to make the dialogue of oneself to be possible. This way, the participate can speak to him/herself, by receiving the sound after a few seconds, he/she will have time to think, where the self dialogue is formed.

Also for the next step, I will test different materials for the reverberation of voices base on the chart shown on this page.

In this chart, it is clear that to reach longer reverberation time (RT) can be challenging with low frequency sound sources (our normal talking). Thus, to have longer reverberation time for the person to hear the reflected voice more clearly and have longer time to think, increase the room volume or decrease the material’s absorption coefficient could help to achieve the goal.

During a conversation, the fundamental frequency of a typical adult man ranges from 80 to 180 Hz and that of a typical adult woman from 165 to 255 Hz.

Thus, 170 Hz was selected as reference for calculating the RT of the space. The chart below shows the reverberation time been calculated in a mixed material space.

Sources: Adams, T., 2017. Sound materials. Innovative sound-absorbing materials for architecture and design. Amsterdam: Frame Publishers, pp.P8-23.

To block the noises from the outside, I researched various sound absorbing materials then find the radiation absorption material are generally used for testing and experiments in anechoic chambers. This RAM material was used for interior of the Echo chamber experiment that I’ve done, help absorbing all the voices not only from the others but also the participates so they will not hear the content when they are talking.

Sony Installation, Milan, designed by Barber & Osgerby (2020).

Radiation-absorbent material

Sound Absorbing Material Study.

For the next stage, I am focusing more on how to hear the voice from the individual clearly, so only the voices from the outside will need to be fully absorbed. In this case, the RAM material can be too fragile to be exposed to the outside, so I am also looking for other materials, like acoustical plasters, which can be added as a layer on the top of other sound absorbing materials.

Most acoustical plaster systems can conform to curved, vaulted, and other complex geometries, which could combined with the sound reflection interior space that mentioned before.

Keep Memory Alive Event Centre, Las Vegas, Nevada, designed by Gehry Partners (2010).

Acoustical plaster finish

Soundscape.

Soundscape consists of the words ‘sound’ and ‘landscape’ and refers to the spatial impression created by sound. A city’s environment is largely influenced by human activities, which, in turn, create different soundscapes that become unique features of each city. These phonetic symbols are not as eye-catching as modern buildings or sculptures, but they are diffused into the city and form a part of the air that people share with the city itself. In essence, it is an audible fingerprint that represents the city’s identity.

Every place and event have a unique and distinctive sound appearance. For instance, London is associated with the whistling sound of underground trains, the multitude of languages spoken by the crowds, and the sound of traffic and construction. These “keynotes” may be sufficient to enable people to picture London in their imagination.

When moving from “hearing” to “listening”, we re-consciously tune the ear to focus on the surroundings. Hearing will re-touch the environment, and even deconstruct the inherent contours of vision, whilst simultaneously reconstructing a unique spatial structure. New discoveries and emotions will be developed through the listening experience, which will facilitate a new and different understanding of the environment. Interestingly, it is not only “background sound” that is overridden by visual images. Rather, soundscapes can exist independently or in combination with the visual environment, and this helps participants to engage in a real sensory experience in an immersive and independent space.

75%

50%

15% 20% 25% 30%

London

Akureyi, Iceland 3 4 5 6 8 9

2

About Soundscape. Highway Pedestrian + water sound

Traffic + snow

Ambulance + seagull

City + wind

Ocean wave

Rain + people talking

“Daydreamer” - Soundscape Experiment.

When I began my project, I decided to develop a soundscape that brings individuals into the environment from another place. Inside the space, a 10-minute soundtrack (see link below) is played to describe the journey. In turn, it starts a process of developing trust between the individual and an unfamiliar environment. I have applied two environmental soundscapes to represent two sites, the first of which is London city, and the second is Diamond Beach in Jökulsárlón, Iceland. Throughout the journey, details of Iceland’s sound are added to the track step by step, slowly replacing the city soundscape.

soundscape

“Daydreamer“ soundtracksoundscape exchange experiment

“Daydreamer“ soundtrackhttps://vimeo.com/770306009

Nephelo Jiang, Daydreamer, performed by Rocky Chiu, 2022

This soundtrack is the primary feature in the body performance experiment. The space takes the form of an enclosed installation in which a performer can react, whilst the movements produced by the dancer are guided by the changing sound. In response, the performer’s reaction to the installation indicates the nature of their relationship with the private space. From far away to the inside, the performer’s body language demonstrates how trust is being built in the space. Moreover, by using touch to identify the boundaries of the space, the larger space that exists in the performer’s imagination can be re-defined, and the entire performance follows the story told by the soundscape, translated into body language for the audience to feel.

“Daydreamer” - Collaborative Performance.

Extension of the space

Breaking the physical boundary

Adding imagination from the soundscape of the other city

Exploring boundary of physical space

Movements of extending the physical space, questioning what is real in body language

Overlapping physical and imagination spaces

Here, I try to use space to carry the story and put multiple clues in a time period. Spaces can also be broken and reassembled. A space is an event, and the organization of a space is a narrative.

In both performance and installation, the body plays an important role. In performance, the audience follows the performer’s body movements to experience the space according to the set plot. In the space installation, the user uses his own body movement to explore the space autonomously.

Link of performance on October, 2022 https://youtu.be/vb3CJaaT9Oo

1. What did you see or imagine during the journey of the performance?

Patterns of order and disorder: imagine yourself as a point, orbiting around the installation. When dancing, the dancer acts as a living body, and the space is another living body to him. It is no longer that he walks into a space, but the fusion of two living bodies. The elements in the space make up its consciousness, and the dancers repeatedly scrutinize and confirm the ideology of their imagined space by establishing a physical connection with the space. Thus entering into a deeper communication - dancers can give spatial attention during the performance without being influenced by the surrounding environment and other factors.

2. Within the interaction with the installation, do you feel enclosed by the surrounding material?

Does this private space make you feel a sense of safety? When both exist, an instinctive exploration of space guides his every movement. It is a process of trying to gain a sense of security in an unfamiliar space

3. While you are pushing and stretching the boundary of the installation space, what are the intentions?

What inspired you to react with the installation in the ways that you performed? Sharing time with props - under the premise of the passage of time, the dancers imagine themselves It is the role of a creator, to create the possibility of the present space and the relationship with one’s own body.

6. The sound exchange journey is one of the key aspects of the performance. How did the sound lead your movements? Sound is the connection between your reality and your imagination, something you cannot avoid in reality, like gravity. It is the choice made by the dancer as an individual in the current environment and expressed to the audience through body language. The change of music is a signal for self-discrimination, helping the dancer’s imaginary space to be more complete and three-dimensional.

8. Where did the soundtrack lead you to? What scene did you see at the end of the performance?

A romantic scene with a romantic moment in the process.

10. What did you see at the end of the performance? What did you feel after the journey? Reflect on what was left or what was left after the performance, and try to see if it can be presented differently in different spaces feel. “The space is like a womb, which gave birth to me in the last moment, and it is like a pair of hands, pushing me to a space below.”

Interview with the Performer .

Stereo and Binaural Sound.

Stereo sound is simply sound with two separate channels - usually left and right. Binaural sound is a specific type of stereo sound, it is usually recorded with two microphones spaced as if they were in place of your ears, sometimes actually in a “Kunstkopf” (dummy head), where the mics are actually placed where your ear canals would be. The result, when using good headphones for playback, is an extremely realistic sense of the space where the recording was made, and often an uncanny sense of the movement of instruments or voices around that space, even sometimes seeming to come from above or behind you.

There are even processes that attempt to make binaural sound using speakers. (After making all the calculations about the sound, they make additional calculations and corrections to “cancel” out the effects of the speakers and the room.) Most people agree that binaural recordings only “work right” with headphones. From there, I started to use the result from previous experiments of “people feel safe in a private space“, trying to minimize the sound bouncing distance so the experience could be more real. In this case, I designed an installation that fits one person each, trying to achieve the binaural sound experience.

When we are in a call, the sound is usually coming from one side, where we place the phone and speaker. However, when we are in an environment, the sound are coming from all different angles - while your left ear gets a little more sound from the left speaker, and your right ear gets a little more from the right speaker, there is a lot or cross mixing between the sides.

To create the immersive sound experience, I am aiming to design the space that can have binaural sound inside, using the idea of a “call“, to exchange the exterior sound of two cities - so the real time dialogue between people and cities could form.

“Sound is continuous, and listening is intermittent. If can make a sound structure that is listening, and the listen is continuous. Sound sculpture, sounds lasting and leaving, forming and sounding, a sculpture that lasts.”

Bill Fontana, Silent Echoes, 2022.

- Bill Fontana

Sound arts, as a specific type of art, cannot be read or see by eyes only. These artworks often referred to sound sculptures need to be experienced in person and on location.

Sound art can be said to be a primitive and three-dimensional language, record the artist’s private understanding, and use this direct contact method to immediately touch people’s memory function and affect

the audience’s emotions in the exhibition session.

Inspired by the sound art precedents, my work is presented in a way that emphasizes the auditory experience. In this way, multiple memories can be involved while people are inside the public installation, and experience can be various as a open dialogue between participates and the designed space.

Susan Philipsz: Lowlands, 2021.

Binaural Sound Arts.

3D printed model of Echo.

Voice from Others - Further Development of Echo.

As we are currently living in a world that allows all the voices to speak loudly, our voices have all been drowned out by the voices of others. We tend to give up our own voice to become part of the majority. In the Echo Chamber, the speakers around the chamber are considered as voices from others, speaking loudly around the entry on each side.

Walking through the speakers, the chamber is for the individuals to focus on their own voice, providing the space that the process of self-exploration could happen.

Outside speaker placements - initial state.

Outside speaker placementsspeakers move throughout the time period, as a record of time.

Do you have evidence?

I don’t believe it.

This is the best evidence.

Do you believe it’s true?

Do you believe it’s true?

Do you have evidence?

I believe it.

I believe it.

Do you believe it’s true?

I believe it. Do you have evidence?

I believe it.

Why do you believe it?

Is it true?

Are I don’t want This is Why Is it

Do you have evidence? I don’t believe it. This is the best evidence. Why do you believe it? Is it true?

Why do you believe it?

Is it true?

I don’t believe it. This is the best evidence. Why do you believe it?

I don’t believe it. This is the best evidence. It’s true. It’s true. It’s true.

Is it true?

External speaker soundtrackleft side sound channel, sound from others telling you what is right.

Are you sure? I don’t want it. This is what I want.

I want it.

Do you still remember what and how you love? I want it.

Are you sure?

you sure? it. what I want. do you want me to want it? real?

Why do you want me to want it? Is it real?

I don’t want it. This is what I want. It’s real. It’s real. It’s real.

Do you still remember what and how you love? I want it. Are you sure? I don’t want it. This is what I want. Why do you want me to want it? Is it real?

Why do you want me to want it? Is it real?

Do you still remember what and how you love? I want it.

External speaker soundtrackright side sound channel, sound from others telling you what to believe.

Link for Echo - please wear headphone. https://vimeo.com/769104689

Mixed media - Echo video, binaural sound and installation October 2022, London

Binaural sound experience - Echo, exhibited with earphone October 2022, London

Dialogues in a Portal Space

One Call Away.

Analysing all the experiments and interviews, I found a space that is private, dimmed and has several familiar features can be considered “a safe place” for the users to put their guard down. Hunting around the city, the telephone kiosks are designed for conversations via phone, but also having the features to be trusted as a meditation space for people in London.

In the final design stage, by creating new dialogues and conversations with new places and people, using soundscape to fill the space to create the immersive experience. Integrated the space that dialogues could happen with sound study and the existing telephone kiosks in the city, I am seeing this public installation as a concrete element in the environment – it is a call that will not hang up, it is an opportunity that people can step into the other city at any time.

Escaping the City.

This public installation is designed for those living in London and experiencing pressure for various reasons. Over 10 million people choose to live in London due to its unique features, including multicultural, historical, industry culture, world famous education and numerous lifestyle possibilities. People move to London to live a better life, some of whom come alone, and some come with their families. However, the city can feel too crowded and noisy, and thus people are often living under pressure.

“Nervousness” is a common mental state of people living in big cities, which is accompanied by the increasing population density, noise intensity and pace of life. In turn, people are becoming more and more alienated from one another (Li, 2018). When people spend too much time in a specific place, the scenery becomes stale, the faces of pedestrians seem numb, and people are generally immune to the non-stop feasting city. People are always ready to “escape” and need to be inspired by another city.

Mutual escapism is happening between the cities. Busy urbanites are rushing around from morning to evening, rushing around on the subway, seeking takeaways for three meals a day, engaging in endless meetings, and working until late in the evening. It is the same life day by day. This makes people tired. People crave a return to nature, where they can stay away from wireless coverage, listen to the birds singing, experience a quiet place, and awaken intentions to escape the comfortable life and longing for London life, wondering what life in one of the busiest cities in the world would be like, what people talk about and how interesting the city could be.

One Call Away to Another City.

It is inevitable to “escape” from the current living space. Over time, people become weary in the same environment, and thus exhaustion and irritability will follow. However, family and social responsibilities prevent people from leaving their cities. This is where this installation is required, a phone call with another city that will never hang up; a journey that can be started at any time; a concrete element that permanently stands inside the city. People who “escape” eventually return. When escaping London, most people try to update themselves, identify original intentions and prepare to step back into the city again.

And once in a while, all of it simply becomes too much. Too many words, too many sounds, too many people. What we love becomes a nuisance, draining our energy and creativity.

And suddenly, all we want is to: disrupt, leave and escape! Away from the buzz of the city that doesn’t know sleep. We long for a place where we can just be. No expectations, no deadlines, no phone calls. A lost place to clear our head and tune out our inner voice that constantly tells us to do something, go somewhere and be someone.

Immersive Acoustic Experience.

“A soundscape is shaped by both the conscious and subliminal perceptions of the listener, soundscape analysis is based on perceptual and cognitive attributes such as foreground, background, contour, rhythm, silence, density, space and volume, from which are derived such analytical concepts as Sound Event, Keynote, Sound Signal, Sound Object and Soundmark“, all the imaginative combination and balancing of sounds to create attractive and stimulating acoustic environments.

Where, participates can imagine the unfamiliar environment on the other side of the call by listening only.

Technical Elements.

The dimensions of the installation follow those of the iconic red telephone booths in London, as well as facilitating a similar experience. The space is designed to be private and suitable for one person at a time. Thus, it is a space where users can relax.

The designed space is a combination of sound isolation, sound collecting, immersive binaural sound experience, material selection, lighting design and worldwide connecting system. This public installation is permanently located in the City of London and other 16 cities around the world, can be grouped together for special exhibitions as a group installation monuments.

It is a portal between cities, it is a call that will never hang up.

Application of Sound Isolation Material.

During a conversation, the fundamental frequency of a typical adult man ranges from 80 to 180 Hz and that of a typical adult woman from 165 to 255 Hz. To eliminate hearing, create a space to be completely silent for its user, I am aiming to lower the frequency below 20Hz so human ear cannot hear.

Base on the equation on the left, the width of each RAM block is calculated to be 100mm, where the depth to be 180mm. By placing the RAM wall outside the space on the four vertical walls, the space inside can be considered as completely quiet for the users.

To fully isolate the interior acoustic space from the exterior soundscape, a chamber measuring 3m by 3m requires -18dB normal incidence for 30-1000 MHz absorber reflectivity. While the chamber size is designed to be 840mm W x 840mm L x 2000mm H, the width and height of the pyramidal absorber material are calculated to be 180mm W x 100mm H.

Where L,, W and H are the length width and height of chamber respectively. All defined equation also check with absorber dimension and distance between the transmitter and receiver to satisfied the Rayleigh range criteria. Height and Width of absorber material must greater than

Dimensions Development.

While physical journeys are experiences of places in the past, soundscape can be used to connect two distant spaces in real time. Users are withdrawn from the soundscape of their own space and step into the acoustic environment of a distant place. With intentional control of the rest of the senses, the sound received by the auditory senses at this moment challenges the physical space in which the participant finds themselves.

Overall dimensions of telephone kiosk - K6

Private space dimensions with interior materials and light box function at top

Presented on the right are some positions that users can adopt in the space, which allows participants to use the personal space without limitations. As the space is empty inside, so they have maximum freedom to experience the acoustic journey however they wish.

Sound isolation material applied to block exterior sound

The RAM material in between the panels is designed to isolate the interior space from the exterior sound environment, where the reflections fade as they bounce within the pyramidal surfaces. Extra spaces are left to allow wires to pass through. Additionally, interior burnt wood panels are used to establish a neutral, dark space feeling, with vertical wooden strips applied to visually extend the space and guide users to notice the lighting difference from above. Surround speaker systems have also been installed in the interior wall panels to help construct the immersive and trusted space.

Exterior shell added

External Wall Panel

RAM Material

Internal Wall Panel

Internal Microphone

The sound field microphone is located on the ceiling of the inside space. Although the external sound monitors collect sound from the surrounding area, the original communicative function of the telephone booth is facilitated by acoustically connecting the user and the other environment. It is up to the user to decide whether they want to use it.

Sound Monitor

There are four sound monitors inside the exterior wall panels that collect environmental sound in real-time and transfer it to the other telephone booth. The sound monitors ultimately serve as microphones, sending voices to the receiver on the other side, after which a dialogue is created. There are sound monitors on all four sides of the vertical walls, meaning that sound is collected from 360 degrees.

Exterior Sound Collection & Interior Binaural Immersive Experience.

Internal Speaker System

Inset surround speakers are installed in the inside vertical walls of the installation. They are located 1650mm from the standing surface and are in line with the average levels of human ears. Thus, the speaker system creates a realistic auditory experience that immerses users in the ambient sounds. The speaker system is hidden inside the interior vertical walls, while each speaker panel is connected to the sound monitor in the corresponding directions. The space itself produces the live soundscape of the connected city, enabling users to hear real sounds from the installation in the other city.

Worldwide Connection.

As the kiosks are connected via telephone lines worldwide, I have decided to use this connection to transfer sound from city to city. In London, there are 16 iconic red telephone booths that are still in perfectly usable condition (as shown below). All 16 telephone kiosks are connected to kiosks in other world cities, changing the external soundscape of the city.

City of London boundary

Public Installation Locations - London

Connecting two cities acoustically could enable a multitude of different narratives to take place inside and outside the public installation. Although people can use it as a meditation space, where they can listen to the sounds of another city in real time, it can also be used as a container, where users can make confessions in a safe, relaxed, and open atmosphere. They can share their stories, worries or anxieties. The space also serves the original function as a telephone booth, with auditory systems and thus, people located in different cities can communicate with each other.

The anonymous chat enables users to let their guard down and focus on their emotions whilst interacting with a stranger from the other side of the world. As the lighting condition does not align with the physical environment, participants may forget about the current passage of time.

Lighting Design.

Studies have shown that to develop an environment conducive to relaxation, soft, low-illumination lights are required. Thus, the lighting conditions in the immersive space are designed to be dimmed. This largely reduces the amount of information present in the urban environment and replaces it with acoustic features from another city. When a user enters the space, the visual cacophony of the physical environment is dimmed, which generates an automatic increase in hearing sensitivity. The light source is hidden and shaded whilst emitting soft light to illuminate the space. The diffused light strips are low-key elements of the acoustic journey, which guide the atmosphere.

All 16 telephone booths around the world that connect to London are in different time zones. Thus, there is a light box at the top of the installation that imitates sunlight conditions. By implementing 12 lighting levels, the top light follows the lighting conditions of the distant city, which visually enhances the credibility of the sound journey. The ambient light inside the space continually follows that of the destined city, which completes the experience of experiencing the other city.

Worldwide Connection From 16 Installations Around the World

Through the exchanging of sound, the public installation gives users an opportunity to explore another city. It thus serves as a portal between the places, which is permanently accessible from both sides.

Images in this map are the actual scene and environment of the telephone kiosks currently located in 16 different cities around the world. As the current telephone network is still in good using conditions, all these telephone kiosks are able to be connected to London, make the real-time sound exchange happen.

Future Development Possibility.

The public installations are currently located around the world, however, because of it’s size and connecting system, the installations can be moved to other places.

Since the telephone system is a mature technique that can be duplicated, more installation can be made to be connected. In this way, more cities can be included into the “global acoustic dialogue“, the distribution of the installations can be expanded as will.

To introduce this global installation to more people, a group of installations can be exhibited together as one of the options, as showing below. Other ways and methods can be developed overtime.

As cities become busier and busier, those who live in them start to feel stress. Our own voices are drowned out by the noise of the crowds and society. People want to escape, but they do have responsibilities that compel them to stay. The public installation is designed to provide journeys to other cities around the world without changing the physical location. Through the London telephone booths, the city is connected to another 16 cities around the world. This is facilitated through immersive acoustic experiences.

A person can feel the space around them as soon as they step into one of the telephone kiosks. They can hear ocean waves from Ireland Island in Bermuda, or people chatting Minnan language in Taiwan or China. They must listen carefully to the sounds in order to understand what is happening at the moment in another city. Thoughts begin to race, with participants imagining themselves in another city on the other side of the world, exploring their surroundings, which are completely different from London. They can converse with strangers if they want to or can just stay quiet with closed eyes, forming the environment in the imagination. This is a time for people to focus on themselves, and this private space enables them to hide away from the hustle and bustle of the city.

When you are ready, recharged and reconnected to yourself, it is easier to step out of the space and return to London. You can just open the door and feel the familiar chaos. It may seem as though the city is louder than before, but your state of mind is now calm and stable.

These telephone kiosks will stay in the city permanently. Thus, people can go on a journey whenever they need to.