Consonance - U play. Column Pavilion - Sound Space & Body

Consonance - U play. Column Pavilion - Sound Space & Body

Dobos, C.

Jennen, P. (mentor)
Rommens, O. (mentor)
Schoonderbeek, M. (mentor)

Architecture and The Built Environment

Public Building

Border Conditions

2014-07-01

Our modern and contemporary architecture has been greatly engaged with the visual aspects of space often excluding the non-material dimensions that create overall the atmosphere and the experience of space. Architecture is not only the images we see, but in fact a multidimensional experience, which goes beyond the visible. From this perspective to space my research question was formulated as: how can the characteristic and qualities of sound become an alternative way of mapping, interpreting and designing space? The way I approached my research on sound and space in relation to architecture is based on the theory of B.Blesser and L_R. Salter in the combination of R. Ganchrow. All architecture theoreticians dealing with the relation of sound and space, suggests that in the perception of sound the observer is the vantage point , the center of space , and from this point sound is able to deform and distort the perceived space. In the Aural Architecture: The invisible character of space, Blesser and Salter theorize the aural arenas that shaped around the observer, who is the center of space. They emphasize that the materiality of the physical space is able to reconfigure our aural arena. They suggest that sound interacting with reflecting surfaces acts like amplifiers of the aural space, while absorbing materials shrink our acoustic arenas. Based on this and on the deformable character of sound mentioned by Ganchrow, it is arguable that sound interacting with reflective material expends while absorption shrinks the physical limitation of the space as perceived by the observer. One example of applying this theory is by a mapping started with decomposing the space first into elements that produce sound and second to architectural elements that influence the character of sound, such as materials that reflect (amplify) and absorb , producing a wide catalog. This is followed by breaking down the site into spatial compositions - from narrow to wide spaces which influence the character of sound. From all the inventory mappings, what interested me is how sound interacts with space and how it is able to transform the perceived space by reflection and absorption (similarly to vision) which was tested to represent by different mapping methods such as transcriptions, photograph, collage, spatial narratives, and experimental perspectives. As a conclusion of the research, on a social level sound is an emotive medium of space. It influences the perception of space and it shapes or deforms social relationships. Sound is also a performativity medium of space (city) that is shaped by its inhabitants and belongs to its inhabitants. Another important spatial aspect of sound can be found in its interactive character . Sound interacts not only with the observer, but also with the space itself. Sound by nature belongs to space and therefore to architecture. Sound in space adds multiple dimensions to the built environment such as time, movement (though reverberation) and rhythm. By those characteristics sound is bonded with architecture.

sound space body

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:c1b24d85-c62a-46c5-9c50-55b6ef6209eb

Student theses

master thesis

(c) 2014 Dobos, C.