Sound emitted by physical space and invisible spaces built by sound

Abstract

This research presents a first attempt to define the concept of sound-space from the aesthetic and auditory experience of sound in space, through the observation of the interactions between sound and architecture revealed by sound perception. The importance of sound in the configuration of space regards architecture not as its constructive conditions, but instead, as a sensible environment where sound builds animated environments. The case studies for the experiment are industrial spaces and sublime wartime architectures, abandoned infrastructures at the margins of memory, and the urban, uninhabitable places with unique and exacerbated acoustics. A series of compositions were made from the field recordings within the case studies, to work with the subjective interpretation of a sample of people using reactive listening as the main methodology. This aesthetic experience translates acoustic information through comparisons and associations that use the senses, synesthesia, memory, personal and social constructions of reality, and the affective relationship we have with the environment to give shape and definition to the sound-space.