Breaking the Architectural Sound Barrier: How New Audio
Technologies are Reshaping Space
Jim Lutz
University Of Memphis
http://deptart.memphis.edu/index.php?id=38,0,0,1,0,0
Summary
While much of the current architectural discourse centers around the
use of technology as it relates to design visualization and fabrication,
there is also a rising interest in the potential of digital applications
to create multi-sensorial and sentient environments. This presentation
examines three genres of audio technology first developed for non-architectural
uses that have subsequently been adopted by designers wishing to explore
issues of aurality in their work. The three examples of emerging sound
related technologies that will be discussed are:
Digital audio controllers:
Recent developments in the area of audio controllers, the electronic
means through which sounds can be organized or modified, have potential
for architectural uses. Both haptic (relying on touch or physical contact)
and free-gesture (relying on movements in space) type controllers have
previously been utilized by musicians and sound artists seeking a means
to more directly interact with audio sources.
Signal conversion:
There have recently been significant innovations in how sounds are delivered
from their generative source to the auditory system. Developments in
audio transducers and piezoelectric diaphragms could allow building
skins to act as both microphones and speakers. Additionally, innovations
in ultrasound and bone conduction technologies are redefining our conventional
understanding of “hearing”.
Electronic noise control:
Stepping beyond the idea of noise masking (blanketing unwanted sounds
beneath an added layer of “white noise”), these emerging
technologies electronically negate unwanted ambient sounds using a variety
of strategies. Finding its first applications in noise reducing headphones
and wireless telephone earpieces, manufacturers of open office furnishing
systems are already experimenting with this technology on an architectural
scale.
While there are many possibilities to develop architectural applications
for new and innovative audio technologies, these three areas present
immediate opportunities for meaningful integration and illustrate how
the gap between architecture and emerging technologies can be successfully
bridged.
Biography
Jim Lutz is an architect and assistant professor in the Architecture
Program at the University of Memphis (USA). He holds a Master of Architecture
degree from Syracuse University and a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture
from the University of California, Berkeley.
Since 2000, the nexus of architecture and music / sound and space has
been the focus of his academic research. He has presented papers on
the topic to the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture,
Society of Architectural Historians, College Art Association, The American
Institute of Architects, Southeast College Art Conference, and the College
Music Society, among others.
