A Framework for Interactive Sonic Design into Architectural Spaces
Master Thesis, Sonic Arts Research Center, Queen’s University of Belfast
Fully funded by the Alexander S. Onassis Public Benefit Foundation
Abstract:
Time and space are two phenomena that have been investigated the most over the centuries, although their association still remains a mystery. However, they need each other to exist; time cannot occur without space, and space is meaningless without time. Sound and architecture are directly related with time and space accordingly, and the practices of these art forms many times foresee the fusion of their spectra. The importance of this correlation is high as it may provide a way to experience and inhabit spaces alternatively, enhance our wellbeing, and elevate our state of mind. This thesis provides a framework for the design and implementation of sound into architectural spaces, using flexible, modular, and effective software programming techniques. Moreover, socio-spatial information is closely observed and analyzed into control parameters that define interactively the sonic elements, and the ambience they create intends to form an improved perceptual space.
Motivation
For a long time now architecture is approached as a physical object, made with solid materials and a purpose to remain silent in stasis. However, this is not the case anymore as buildings can facilitate further functions that re-contextualize the architectural practice and establish a new symbol of cultural communication. These functions accommodate more flexible and imaginative aspects for the design and development of a space that is focused not only on the visual domain but also evokes a number of sensorial modes, which can transform the understanding and comprehension of our environment accordingly.
The power spaces have to shape our personality, memory, and experience, is a matter of importance and it may affect drastically many psychophysiological responses of a person. According to this reason, the architectural practice needs to provide harmonious environments with relaxing atmospheres in order to smooth tension and anxiety, and at the same time create dynamic conditions that are able to alter either our perception of the space or the space itself. New dimensions of thought propose ways for varying and adapting functionality into living architecture, creating possibilities for interactive communication, or even further expression of intellectual and emotional states.
Evolution is always shifted according to the technological advancements that also change the infrastructure of society and the way our brains function and perceive the surrounding world. Novel trends in digital and sensor technology have been developed to create new forms that register fluidity by defining the atmosphere, changing the architectural structure, or altering the spatial perception. A significant matter has become the need to accommodate human desire, and calibrate our environment with custom interfaces that are even more creative, supportive, and efficient.
The ethereal nature of sound has the power to penetrate our bodies and minds, and sonic adornments have the ability to give richness and texture to the architectural space, a consideration that enhances aesthetics, creates pleasant moods, and conveys significant meaning. Since digital technologies have become the determinant mechanism in architectural design, it is easier to realize sound as flexible material for the attainment of perceptual and emotional engagement. According to this, digital technology can be used for the sonification of an environment as a way to redefine the aural identity and adjust our lifestyle into the evolutionary process of inhabitancy.
In the present thesis, I explore the relationship between sound, architecture, and interactivity, and I seek ways to approach sound design as a vehicle for communicating and affecting aural awareness, experience, and perception. In order for such a vision to be realized, a system that is coherent, functional, adaptable, dynamic, and flexible needs to be devised. For this reason, I have developed a Computer Vision Analysis system that processes and analyzes socio-spatial information like motion, presence, position, or circulation, to determine measurable data for the distribution into the Sonic Architect, a software program that statistically analyzes the incoming information, and creates control parameters for sound design in an easy, efficient, and configurable way. The system intends to become a framework that enables the discovery of strategies for the sonic beautification and design of a space.
The objectives that I am mostly interested in, concern the ways architectural spaces can be sonified; that is to provide a sonic environment that is relevant to its contexts and has the ability to enhance our perception and our well-being. I explore strategies for sound design that is approached as a function of architectural practice, so that it relates to aesthetics, compatibility, and operation, in such a way that does not violate the setting, the context, or the inhabitant that co-exists with them. Moreover, I consider the fact of interaction and sensor implementation, feature extraction, and mapping to the parameters of sound that needs to behave in relation to the space it occupies. Finally, I try to observe and criticize if this concept may enable a new state of consciousness according to both practices of sound and architecture.
In summary, the proposal of this thesis is to integrate sonic design into the architectural formation and treat sound as an important ingredient for the construction of a setting. Therefore, it would become possible to define further expressional qualities to every environment, convey meaning and information, and also transform inhabitancy into a fascinating and engaging experience.
