Let’s go through a little exercise together. I want all of you readers in the etherland to close your eyes…wait, at least finish this paragraph before you close ‘em. So, shut your eyes and start painting a mental picture of the room you are in. But instead of relying on your visual memory of the space, I want you to rely on your other senses. Don’t be afraid to make a noise and listen for the response the area gives you. If other people are in the room and question your actions, blame it on a temporary bout of insanity or web rage. Keep your eyes closed and process that auditory feedback. What do you “see” now that you didn’t see before? What acoustic characteristics do you notice? This is something your brain automatically processes that you don’t even realize is happening; part of the environmental picture your brain creates when you perceive a space.
Our bodies process changes in volume, echo, and sound absorption to give your mind a three dimension picture of space. This shapes the picture in your mind and supplements the visual references. When I worked in a recording studio, we paid special attention to what we called a “noise floor”. This is simply the quietest level, or lowest acoustic signature, you can attain or achieve in a room or space. At times, it becomes beneficial to artificially raise the noise floor to mask unwanted sounds. This can be achieved in a variety ways including adding music, natural sounds such as moving water or fountains, opening or closing a window or door. One of the great things about the auditory signature of a space is it’s much easier to change than the visual arrangement. It’s probably not as feasible to repaint / redecorate a room every other weekend, but changing the way a space sounds is relatively easy. Draw heavy curtains over a window, rearrange the furniture, roll out a heavy rug - it all has a relationship to the way a room feels.
Think about spaces that we interact with that have a unique aural fingerprint; Caves, churches & cathedrals, government buildings, museums, and libraries. These examples go back hundreds if not thousands of years, and influence our experiences in those spaces. I know everyone has at least once belted out a couple verses of “O Sole Mio” in the shower convinced they were in fact the lost Forth Tenor. Watch a child next time you enter one of these places. Sometimes they instinctively whisper in a library, or love to blast their voices into a large reverberating room to hear their own echo.
In a well designed performance hall, although some seats provide a better visual reference to the performers, the goal of the designer is to provide an equal acoustic experience for every member of the audience. Have you ever found yourself at a symphonic or operatic concert and bee moved to close your eyes and let your mind merge with the waves of sound showering your body. I even take the opportunity to revel in a great recorded performance while on my daily commute. Turn up the volume knob and envelop yourself in the sound, transporting…no, swimming into the stream of music.
When the occasion arises to influence our environment, make sure to spend some attention on the way the finished envelope sounds as well as it looks. You might find unexpected characteristics. Just like people like to be listened too, so to do buildings.
Our bodies process changes in volume, echo, and sound absorption to give your mind a three dimension picture of space. This shapes the picture in your mind and supplements the visual references. When I worked in a recording studio, we paid special attention to what we called a “noise floor”. This is simply the quietest level, or lowest acoustic signature, you can attain or achieve in a room or space. At times, it becomes beneficial to artificially raise the noise floor to mask unwanted sounds. This can be achieved in a variety ways including adding music, natural sounds such as moving water or fountains, opening or closing a window or door. One of the great things about the auditory signature of a space is it’s much easier to change than the visual arrangement. It’s probably not as feasible to repaint / redecorate a room every other weekend, but changing the way a space sounds is relatively easy. Draw heavy curtains over a window, rearrange the furniture, roll out a heavy rug - it all has a relationship to the way a room feels.
Think about spaces that we interact with that have a unique aural fingerprint; Caves, churches & cathedrals, government buildings, museums, and libraries. These examples go back hundreds if not thousands of years, and influence our experiences in those spaces. I know everyone has at least once belted out a couple verses of “O Sole Mio” in the shower convinced they were in fact the lost Forth Tenor. Watch a child next time you enter one of these places. Sometimes they instinctively whisper in a library, or love to blast their voices into a large reverberating room to hear their own echo.
In a well designed performance hall, although some seats provide a better visual reference to the performers, the goal of the designer is to provide an equal acoustic experience for every member of the audience. Have you ever found yourself at a symphonic or operatic concert and bee moved to close your eyes and let your mind merge with the waves of sound showering your body. I even take the opportunity to revel in a great recorded performance while on my daily commute. Turn up the volume knob and envelop yourself in the sound, transporting…no, swimming into the stream of music.
When the occasion arises to influence our environment, make sure to spend some attention on the way the finished envelope sounds as well as it looks. You might find unexpected characteristics. Just like people like to be listened too, so to do buildings.
Labels: Architecture Interiors
posted by Jason A. Steele at 3:49 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home