Esquis'Sons ! Sketching soundscapes by using parametric tools: application to the design of balconies, loggias, terraces and corridors of building facades (original) (raw)
Related papers
Esquis'sons ! Sound Sketch : A Parametric Tool to Design Sustainable Soundscapes
2016
Since the 80s, several researches have developed the theoretical notions of sound effects, sound proxemy, city sound identities, sound comfort, architectural sound prototypes which were meant to help designers consider sound in their projects. Nevertheless, taking care of the inherent sound dimensions in architectural urban projects remains an unresolved challenge. The researches of the last 30 years have shown how the sound environment qualities are forgotten in favour of visual qualities. This article presents a new method dedicated to generating simple sound sketches for architectural conception while preserving the complexity of acoustic simulation. This paper argues that the Esquis'sons! sound sketch tool reconfigures architectural design by considering an innovative view its the temporality, allowed by numeric designing tools able to intervene and offer a continuous feedback regarding sound environment.
Proceedings of the 34th International Conference on Education and Research in Computer Aided Architectural Design in Europe (eCAADe) [Volume 2]
Since the 80s, several researches have developed the theoretical notions of sound effects, sound proxemy, city sound identities, sound comfort, architectural sound prototypes which were meant to help designers consider sound in their projects. Nevertheless, taking care of the inherent sound dimensions in architectural urban projects remains an unresolved challenge. The researches of the last 30 years have shown how the sound environment qualities are forgotten in favour of visual qualities. This article presents a new method dedicated to generating simple sound sketches for architectural conception while preserving the complexity of acoustic simulation. This paper argues that the Esquis'sons! sound sketch tool reconfigures architectural design by considering an innovative view its the temporality, allowed by numeric designing tools able to intervene and offer a continuous feedback regarding sound environment.
Designing spaces and soundscapes. Integrating sonic previews in architectural modelling applications
AC-WP6-QMUL-D6.12 Report on the evaluation of the ACE from a holistic and technological perspective.pdf, 2019
Acoustics and architects are often engaged in design dialogues. While architects work on the definition of the spaces, acousticians deal with understanding in advance how these spaces will be sonically perceived by the future inhabitants. Sometimes, communication might be difficult, lacking a common vocabulary based on sound energy descriptors, frequency distribution, and perceptual dimensions. In this paper, we present the results of an online questionnaire answered by 15 professional architects asked to consider the possible integration of sonic anticipations in their design practice. The totality of the participants declared to be interested in working with a software environment enabling them to listen to (i) how changes in the geometry would affect the diffusion of sound, (ii) how changes in the materials would affect the diffusion of sound, (iii) simulate sound sources which are likely to be present in the space to be designed. Some of this percentage expressed the need to be further guided for such activity. A third of the respondents also completed an optional section which required them to test three interactive online examples, Playsound.space, Tranquil City pavement, and a javascript spatial sound demo. In discussing the results, we provide our design suggestions for the scenario depicted.
Sound atmospheres in architecture: a case study in the South of Italy
The Senses and Society - Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, 2021
This essay explores sound atmospheres on the ground of the city of Matera, Italy, through the authors’ academic practices that work across disciplinary borders, i.e. architectural design and sensory experiences, storytelling/poetry and architecture. In particular, the authors carry out a research project composed of sound recordings, perception workshops and soundscape installations for students of architecture. A designer or architectural student’s curriculum should include the acoustic properties of architectural space that may shape a user’s esthetic judgment. Matera exhibits a long history of contradictions. Seventy years ago the city bore the label, “the shame of Italy” for the precarious living conditions of the inhabitants, but today the city is listed as a World Heritage Site, and European Capital of Culture 2019. The polarities of Matera present a basis to study the characteristic soundscapes of a modern city still engraved by the past. The research represents a first attempt at methodical sonic experiments on the vast scale of the entire city of Matera with the involvement of university students, researchers, teachers, and citizens that culminated in the production of five urban soundscape installations.
Ten questions on the soundscapes of the built environment
Building and Environment, 2016
Soundscape research represents a paradigm shift from noise control policies towards a new multidisciplinary approach as it involves not only physical measurements but also the cooperation of humanity and social sciences to account for the diversity of soundscapes across countries and cultures, with more focus on how people actually experience the acoustic environments; and it considers environmental sounds as a 'resource' rather than a 'waste'. The ten questions presented in this paper range from the very basic definitions underlying the emerging soundscape 'science', to more applied topics about how to use soundscape as a design approach for the planning and management of the built environments. Although significant research activity has been conducted so far, there is still a need to systematically provide the underpinning science and practical guidance in soundscaping. Thus, the last question aims to identify the most crucial gaps in soundscape research and set the agenda for future advancements in the field.
2019
One of the most important research field to enhance the environment is ”soundscape” that concentrates on urban and indoor sound environments, with a focus on improving the quality and pleasantness. The ability of designing sustainable soundscapes and the necessity of it, have led to a new discussion in standardization of soundscapes. Most of the detailed work of the working group on perceptual assessment of soundscape (ISO/TC 43/SCI/WG 54) focuses on soundscape quality, analysis methods and parameters on open public spaces. However, indoor soundscaping, which is a more recent research topic is as important as the urban soundscape because people spend 80% of their time indoors. Therefore, its standardization and application in the architectural design process is very crucial to improve indoor soundscape quality. In this study, present policies and applications about noise management and soundscape are assessed and international regulations are compared. In addition, deficiencies in b...
Soundscape approach for a holistic urban design
In the last decade we are witnessing a paradigm shift in our understanding of urban space; now it is defined with human experience rather than physical quantities. The full spectrum of human experience is usually summed up with the term 'atmosphere' and encompasses the influence of color, light, texture of materials, temperature, humidity, odor, and sound on individuals. Within this trend soundscape research has developed its tools, like soundwalking and laboratory listening experiments coupled with sound recordings, in order to achieve a multidimensional holistic approach to understand soundscapes and necessities of local people. However laboratory experimentation, usually focusing on audio characteristics of a place, underestimates the cooperation between sensory modalities which plays a complex role on overall satisfaction of end users. Therefore, an ecological assessment of environments should take into account the multisensory and interdependent nature of human perception. In this preliminary study it is aimed to demonstrate the potentiality of a multisensory (audio-visual) evaluation technique, involving the end users during the design process and administration. The presented technique employs immersive virtual reality and auralization technology for a realistic presentation of environmental stimuli in laboratory conditions and captures various objective and subjective psychological responses of individuals to evaluate satisfaction due to presented environment. The multisensory evaluation technique has been applied to a case study in historic neighborhood Triana of Seville (Spain). This initial study is concluded with a demonstrative virtual reality application and with insights on possible future directions on multisensory evaluation supported soundscape and urban design.
2014
Does a building contain its own Voice? And if so, can that Voice be discovered, transformed and augmented by soundscape design? Barry Blesser's writings on acoustic space, discuss reverberation and resonant frequencies as providing architectural spaces with characteristic listening conditions related to the architectural space's dimensions and materiality. The paper argues that Blesser and Salter expand such discussion into pantheistic speculation when suggesting that humanity contains the imaginative capacity to experience spaces as "living spirits". This argument is achieved by building on the speculation through the discussion of a soundscape design methodology that considers space as containing pantheistic qualities. Sonic architectures are created with electroacoustic sound installations that recompose existing architectural soundscapes, to create the conditions for the emergence of the Voices of buildings. This paper describes two soundscape designs, Revoicing the Striated Soundscape and Subterranean Voices, which transformed existing architectural soundscapes for the emergence of Voices in a laneway and a building located in the City of Melbourne, Australia.
Buildings, 2014
Does a building contain its own voice? And if so, can that voice be discerned, transformed and enhanced by soundscape design? Barry Blesser discusses the reverberation and more specifically the eigentones of a space, resonant frequencies with extended lifetimes that provide architectural spaces with a characteristic acoustic quality related to its dimensions and materiality. But the sonic qualities of an architectural space extend beyond a consideration of acoustic characteristics. What of a space's poetic properties, its own unique personality? Can soundscape design uncover such qualities of architectural spaces, and if so, can sonic architectures emerge through the recomposition and augmentation of existing sonic infrastructures? This paper describes two soundscape designs, Revoicing the Striated Soundscape and Subterranean Voices, that transformed existing sonic infrastructures for the realization of a building's Voice through the recomposition of on-site sounds.
City Ditty: An Immersive Soundscape Sketchpad for Professionals of the Built Environment
Applied Sciences
Soundscape planning remains a challenge to many urban practitioners due in part to a scarcity of soundscape design tools. While many sound planning tools exist, they are generally geared towards acousticians rather than professionals of the built environment (e.g., urban designers, planners, or landscape architects). This paper walks through the user-centered design process for the development and evaluation of a new soundscape design tool, City Ditty. A User-Centered Design approach was utilized to identify and develop functionalities that would benefit urban practitioners that do not currently specialize in sound. This began with a literature review of existing soundscape tools, followed by a user needs assessment with professionals of the built environment, consisting of a workshop including focus groups, tech demos, and a collaborative soundscape design exercise. These results funneled into the development of City Ditty: an immersive soundscape sketchpad that facilitates rapid a...