Sonic Space REPORT. Joel Sanders Architect (with Karen Van Lengen and Ben Rubin)

Transcription

1 Sonic Space Joel Sanders Architect (with Karen Van Lengen and Ben Rubin) REPORT Building upon my ongoing preoccupations with architecture and the human senses, my proposed BSA research project Sonic Space, will enable me and members of my design studio to pursue the tectonic implications of hearing. Focusing on a building type we too often take for granted, dwellings, our goal is to develop a provocative design proposition that link sight and sound in fresh and alternative ways. If all goes according to plan, our speculative design studies will find their way into a built residential commission, The Sound House, currently being developed at my office for Karen Van Lengen, Dean University of Virginia. Not a linear process, we conduct our research in three design phases. STAGE 1: VEIL Karen van Lengen, Dean of the School of Architecture at the University of Virginia, invites JSA to collaborate with her on the design of her own home sited on a steeply sloping site that commands panoramic views of the Blue Ridge Mountains an ideal setting for a house that both sees and hears the landscape. We conceive of the project as a critique of the conventional vacation house that allows occupants to visually appropriate the landscape framed through glazed window walls. Instead the three-story volume of the house is clad in a veil of metal louvers that obscures the view, encouraging its owners to focus on aural rather than visual perceptions. A circulation core allows visitors to descend from the roof terrace, pass through the house s three major living levels (master bedroom, living, guest room/study), and out to the wooded landscape below. In contrast to the house s network of introverted sonic domestic chambers, at the second floor, a cantilevered glass living bar affords panoramic views. If we are committed to the concept of wrapping the house in a shroud that highlights sound instead of sight, as the design process unfolds we find it increasing difficult to identify convincing sonic strategies that will allow the house to hear the domestic landscape. Our Ideas include a dining room and study generated according to acoustical principals, a resonant roof that amplifies the sound of wind and rain, and a device that would transform and make audible overlooked everyday domestic noises created by infrastructures like plumbing and HVAC. After sifting through a variety of alternatives, we settle on the idea of a sonic porch: nestled under the cantilevered glass living room, this outdoor room channels and amplifies outdoor environmental sounds. After producing a full-set of Design Development drawings documenting this concept we nevertheless are plagued by some of the following doubts: 1. Contrary to our expectation that acoustic principles will yield innovative forms, the project resembles our other domestic projects not governed by sonic principles. 2. Our lack of acoustic expertise leaves us unequipped to test the viability of our ideas: we need to collaborate with a consultant well versed in acoustics. 3. Composed of two elements veiled acoustic tower and cantilevered glass room our design risks reinforcing rather than blurring the boundaries between sight and sound. We decide to abandon the scheme in favor of an alternate solution. Boston Society of Architects Design Research Grants, 2004 Page 1

2 STAGE 2: HORN If seeing and hearing are interdependent senses, how to design a house that erases distinctions between eye and ear. Our second design proposal literally conflates both sense organs: we morph an orb-like eye volume that recalls an eye with an ear shaped form that funnels environmental sounds from the exterior and distributes them throughout the house s interior. Subsequently, inspired by the form of sea shells, we revise the diagram so that the audio horn and building envelope form one seamless volume. An acoustic liner doubles as upholstery; it both absorbs sound and provides a resilient surface to accommodate the human body. We review this new scheme with Ben Rubin, a Yale colleague and a renown sound/media artist. Ben s cites the work of an eccentric 16th century engraver who produced sonic architectural fantasies as a possible precedent. Further discussion with Ben raises some of the following issues: Natural vs. Synthetic: Ordinary aural environments already mix noises generated by both natural and artificial means. Rather than just focus on sounds produced by nature, shouldn t our project also harvest inorganic noise? Domestic Programs: Can the notion of audio/visual transparency not only allow occupants to acoustically contemplate nature but also respond to everyday domestic programmatic needs? The outcome of these discussions results in our final proposal, Hearways. STAGE 3: HEARWAYS Hearways, a collaboration between Joel Sanders / JSA and Ben Rubin / EAR Studio, builds upon JSA s, KVL s and EAR Studio s shared interest in architecture, technology and the human senses, to create a project that pursues the tectonic implications of sound. Architecture rarely achieves a condition that we take for granted in media: the integration of sound and image. In his book Audiovision, Michael Chion discusses the interdependent relationship between soundtrack and image; the spectator privileges the filmic image, oblivious to the crucial role that synchronized sounds plays in making sense of images seen within the virtual window of the cinema or television screen. If architects, like filmmakers, also capture views within isolated frames, they generally organize space according to visual principals, overlooking the crucial role sound plays in organizing our experience. Rejecting established hierarchies, our domestic project will put sound and vision on equal footing. Taking the structure of media as a point of departure, would it be possible to devise a home that facilitates the kind of close eye/ear coordination commonplace in film and media? We propose devising a dwelling that rethinks and extends the modernist notion of visual transparency afforded by the ubiquitous glass window to include aural transparency as well. Our design will cohesively incorporate state-of-the-art technologies to create an acoustically sophisticated home that constructs and frames audiovisual scenes, both inside and outside the house, enabling occupants to transcend spatial boundaries, making locations near and far both visible and audible. We propose a house organized around a series of hearways, audiovisual axes that connect interior domestic programs (kitchen, living, study, bedroom) with a series of exterior sites (entry path, studio, birdhouse, swimming pool) that are each framed by a strategically placed aperture. Crossing, standing, or moving along the hearway allows an occupant both to hear as well as see the framed view. For example, in the study, a hearway framing a bird feeder carries the sight and sound of birds to anyone along its path. These hearways extend beyond the walls of the house, allowing two-way communication when desired; for instance, a hearway oriented towards the entry path (framed by the kitchen window) enables an occupant to see and speak with an approaching visitor. Boston Society of Architects Design Research Grants, 2004 Page 2

3 APPLIED TECHNOLOGY These audible links are accomplished using available technologies that include newly-developed ultra-focused speaker systems (Audio Spotlight, Hypersonic Sound, parabolic speakers, surfacecontact transducer speakers), as well as a combination of microphone techniques (PZM, parabolic reflector, traditional electric condenser) to create the seamless linking of interior and exterior spaces. Solar-powered radio-frequency transmitters would allow for the permanent installation of remote microphones at exterior sites such as the birdhouse or the swimming pool. We would develop digital signal processing and application software to provide adaptive noise-gating and optional processing of sound, allowing either the direct transmission of natural sounds or their transformation into an imaginary soundscape derived in real-time from actual environmental sounds. In addition to using electronics to capture and transmit sound, we will also investigate the tectonic implications of natural acoustic principles, exploring ways to generate compelling spaces whose form and materials are derived from their acoustic and well as visual properties. PROJECT STATUS Building on the research conducted under the auspices of the BSA Research Grant, JSA, KVL and Ear Studio are currently seeking funding that will enable them to develop the Hearways project. Our goal is to make architectural representations that describe the house as an audio/visual instrument (plans, sections, model). In addition, we hope to demonstrate the dynamics of our concept by making an animated simulation with a 5.1 surround sound and if funds allow, a full-scale mock-up of a hearway that will make real the experience of integrating sound and image. Boston Society of Architects Design Research Grants, 2004 Page 3

4 Sonic Space Joel Sanders Architect (with Karen Van Lengen and Ben Rubin) ADDENDUM 01 HEARWAYS Hearways, a collaboration between Joel Sanders / JSA, Karen Van Lengen / KVL and Ben Rubin / EAR Studio, builds upon shared interests in architecture, technology and the human senses, to create a project that pursues the tectonic implications of sound. Architecture rarely achieves a condition that we take for granted in media: the integration of sound and image. In his book Audiovision, Michael Chion discusses the interdependent relationship between soundtrack and image; the spectator privileges the filmic image, oblivious to the crucial role that synchronized sounds plays in making sense of images seen within the virtual window of the cinema or television screen. If architects, like filmmakers, also capture views within isolated frames, they generally organize space according to visual principals, overlooking the crucial role sound plays in organizing our experience. Rejecting established hierarchies, our domestic project will put sound and vision on equal footing. Taking the structure of media as a point of departure, would it be possible to devise a home that facilitates the kind of close eye/ear coordination commonplace in film and media? Hearways proposes devising a dwelling that rethinks and extends the modernist notion of visual transparency afforded by the ubiquitous glass window to include aural transparency as well. Our design cohesively incorporates state-of-the-art technologies to create an acoustically sophisticated home that constructs and frames audiovisual scenes, both inside and outside the house, enabling occupants to transcend spatial boundaries, making locations near and far both visible and audible. Our project is organized around a series of hearways, audiovisual axes that connect interior domestic programs (kitchen, living, study, bedroom) with a series of exterior sites (entry path, studio, birdhouse, swimming pool) that are each framed by a strategically placed aperture. Crossing, standing, or moving along the hearway allows an occupant both to hear as well as see the framed view. For example, in the study, a hearway framing a bird feeder carries the sight and sound of birds to anyone along its path. These hearways extend beyond the walls of the house, allowing two-way communication when desired; for instance, a hearway oriented towards the entry path (framed by the kitchen window) enables an occupant to see and speak with an approaching visitor. Applied Technology These audible links are accomplished using available technologies that include newly-developed ultra-focused speaker systems (Audio Spotlight, Hypersonic Sound, parabolic speakers, surfacecontact transducer speakers), as well as a combination of microphone techniques (PZM, parabolic reflector, traditional electric condenser) to create the seamless linking of interior and exterior spaces. Solar-powered radio-frequency transmitters would allow for the permanent installation of remote microphones at exterior sites such as the birdhouse or the swimming pool. We would develop digital signal processing and application software to provide adaptive noise-gating and optional processing of sound, allowing either the direct transmission of natural sounds or their transformation into an imaginary soundscape derived in real-time from actual environmental sounds. In addition to using electronics to capture and transmit sound, we will also investigate the tectonic implications of natural acoustic principles, exploring ways to generate compelling spaces whose form and materials are derived from their acoustic and well as visual properties. Boston Society of Architects Design Research Grants, 2004 Page 4

5 Boston Society of Architects Design Research Grants, 2004 Page 5

6 Boston Society of Architects Design Research Grants, 2004 Page 6

7 Boston Society of Architects Design Research Grants, 2004 Page 7

8 Boston Society of Architects Design Research Grants, 2004 Page 8

9 Boston Society of Architects Design Research Grants, 2004 Page 9

10 Sonic Space Joel Sanders Architect (with Karen Van Lengen and Ben Rubin) ADDEDUM 02 CONTACT INFORMATION Joel Sanders Yale University 515 Canal Street New York NY Boston Society of Architects Design Research Grants, 2004 Page 10