I have always wondered how much thought do boutique/commercial architects put into the acoustics of the spaces they create? As a music producer, I am acutely aware of my acoustic surroundings as they play a very important role in my line of work.
In many circumstances I have noticed architectural designs seem to pay very little consideration (if any) to the influence of acoustics on a person’s experience of an interior. Interiors are often barren of absorbent materials and contain vast areas of acoustically reflective surfaces.
We are a lot more like bats than you would think. Ever noticed when sitting in a modern movie theatre or a library how the walls seem to be closing in and you feel somewhat constricted? This is because practically all the HF reflections are being attenuated and your ear is unable to translate the dimensions of the room correctly. If you haven’t noticed this phenomenon I suggest next time you are in a cinema before the movie starts, close your eyes and let your ears feel the space.
Humans unknowingly use HF (high frequency) reflections to judge and orientate themselves within a space. The consequence of uncontrolled HF refection is an aural overload which can manifest in restlessness, irritability and being hyper sensitive to any sound. Tuning an environment to attenuate the just right about HF would arguably have a more profound influence on a person’s long term subconscious relationship with a room/volume than any aesthetic treatment. Please discuss.
I was supposed to have an acoustics course in my schedule this year, but it was removed at the last minute. I think it's telling that little emphasis is put on acoustics, I think to the detriment of architects and the people who inhabit their spaces. So I agree with you. I think the student body is going to be petitioning to have the class made available at some point to us in the future. I personally feel that it's an important aspect of spatial design.
I'm usually the one bringing up these points in the office I work in - I have a pretty extensive background in recording and audio (it's how I made money while in arch. school). "No one will be able to hear themselves think in that conference room" is a common line. My bosses don't care ("it'll be fine") - Until the client calls back a month after they moved in wanting a solution. (happened twice in the last 9 months)
Really this gets back to the segregation of building disciplines - architects claim design and only a mostly-aesthetic design, except in specialized niche markets. Also I think it's partially client driven - it's not something the average person considers often (unless they've had a problem space in the past) and typically in the design/cd phase they have other things on their mind. you can easily argue that architects should think about these things so clients don't have to, but we're still a service profession and time spent futzing with acoustic detail will be among the first hours questioned by clients when they get an invoice.
the one class I had in acoustics in arch school was high-school level basic. I think I picked up more practical knowledge from my $4.00 copy of "the new stereo soundbook" (a fairly ancient primer on recording)
I think most would argue with your closing statement - some senses are obviously more important than others depending on the application and space. giving acoustics an always-dominant role over the other senses would likely be ill advised, as would (and is) giving perma-dominace to "aesthetic" treatments.
Well it's really up to architects to again educate their clients re. acoustics, especially in common areas like restaurants and cafes where sometimes the background noise is deafening. It's frustrating when I know that a little bit of acoustic treatment would have such a marked bearing on the experience of the space. It's easy to do and not that expensive but so often it seems to be given zero attention. Aren't architects trained to holistically asses their projects? Such a shame acoustics gets the short end of the straw most of the time...
it seems recording engineers/producers are more interested in spatial qualities of sound/music than architects are about aural qualites of spaces. i often hear music producers talk about trying to achieve certain spatial qualities with songs resulting in descriptive words that are spatial: the wall of sound, airy, warm, big room, small room etc...
here's something from a previous thread:
Several people have asked me to create a dictionary of terms that I used in my book "Spaces Speak, Are You Listening? Experiencing Aural Architecture." To be broadly useful, the glossary of terms should be based on inputs from hundreds if not thousands of interested individuals. My first draft is available for download, and I am looking for suggested changes and additions. Periodically, I will report the current collective wisdom.
manamana,
what kind of work were you doing when you were in the recording/audio business?...for the past few months i've been thinking of getting an another degree (associates) in record engineering/producing. this degree will be my mistress...
we use accoustics consultants sometimes. More important, IMO, is understanding sound transmission and the way that it will effect the outside sounds on your building. knowing how to detail and build to combat this is important.
There is a returant in Pasadena that is wonderful...tilt up concrete, steel and glass. There is courtyard dining as well as interior dining. I refuse to eat inside because it is too damn loud. All the client / architect needs to do is hang some fabric or something soft in the space to mitigate all of the hard surfaces. Being a Thai resturaunt, the fabric would probably not be out of place
quite a bit depending on the project. I am presently designing a public radio station with studios for musicians and film production (news mostly, some with studio audiences) We initially were going to go the route of acoustical consultants but in the end we have decided to have a consultant provide a design review at different stages of the project. It basically means someone else (me) doing the leg work in spec'ing and designin the details and another reviewing the calculations etc to see how well it can work. It is another set of eyes and for that we are grateful whilst still saving the client a buck or two (particularly since we were going to have to pay daily rates for the consultant to fly from the uk - a two day flying journey from here)
I recommend "Deaf Architects & Blind Acousticians? A guide to the Principles of Sound Design" by Robert E. Apfel. I'm an acoustical consultant who works with architects. I've been told many times that acoustics is not important, only to be called in to fix a problem after the space is occupied.
Jul 7, 08 3:14 pm ·
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Architects and acoustic considerations.
I have always wondered how much thought do boutique/commercial architects put into the acoustics of the spaces they create? As a music producer, I am acutely aware of my acoustic surroundings as they play a very important role in my line of work.
In many circumstances I have noticed architectural designs seem to pay very little consideration (if any) to the influence of acoustics on a person’s experience of an interior. Interiors are often barren of absorbent materials and contain vast areas of acoustically reflective surfaces.
We are a lot more like bats than you would think. Ever noticed when sitting in a modern movie theatre or a library how the walls seem to be closing in and you feel somewhat constricted? This is because practically all the HF reflections are being attenuated and your ear is unable to translate the dimensions of the room correctly. If you haven’t noticed this phenomenon I suggest next time you are in a cinema before the movie starts, close your eyes and let your ears feel the space.
Humans unknowingly use HF (high frequency) reflections to judge and orientate themselves within a space. The consequence of uncontrolled HF refection is an aural overload which can manifest in restlessness, irritability and being hyper sensitive to any sound. Tuning an environment to attenuate the just right about HF would arguably have a more profound influence on a person’s long term subconscious relationship with a room/volume than any aesthetic treatment. Please discuss.
I was supposed to have an acoustics course in my schedule this year, but it was removed at the last minute. I think it's telling that little emphasis is put on acoustics, I think to the detriment of architects and the people who inhabit their spaces. So I agree with you. I think the student body is going to be petitioning to have the class made available at some point to us in the future. I personally feel that it's an important aspect of spatial design.
I'm usually the one bringing up these points in the office I work in - I have a pretty extensive background in recording and audio (it's how I made money while in arch. school). "No one will be able to hear themselves think in that conference room" is a common line. My bosses don't care ("it'll be fine") - Until the client calls back a month after they moved in wanting a solution. (happened twice in the last 9 months)
Really this gets back to the segregation of building disciplines - architects claim design and only a mostly-aesthetic design, except in specialized niche markets. Also I think it's partially client driven - it's not something the average person considers often (unless they've had a problem space in the past) and typically in the design/cd phase they have other things on their mind. you can easily argue that architects should think about these things so clients don't have to, but we're still a service profession and time spent futzing with acoustic detail will be among the first hours questioned by clients when they get an invoice.
the one class I had in acoustics in arch school was high-school level basic. I think I picked up more practical knowledge from my $4.00 copy of "the new stereo soundbook" (a fairly ancient primer on recording)
I think most would argue with your closing statement - some senses are obviously more important than others depending on the application and space. giving acoustics an always-dominant role over the other senses would likely be ill advised, as would (and is) giving perma-dominace to "aesthetic" treatments.
Well it's really up to architects to again educate their clients re. acoustics, especially in common areas like restaurants and cafes where sometimes the background noise is deafening. It's frustrating when I know that a little bit of acoustic treatment would have such a marked bearing on the experience of the space. It's easy to do and not that expensive but so often it seems to be given zero attention. Aren't architects trained to holistically asses their projects? Such a shame acoustics gets the short end of the straw most of the time...
it seems recording engineers/producers are more interested in spatial qualities of sound/music than architects are about aural qualites of spaces. i often hear music producers talk about trying to achieve certain spatial qualities with songs resulting in descriptive words that are spatial: the wall of sound, airy, warm, big room, small room etc...
here's something from a previous thread:
Several people have asked me to create a dictionary of terms that I used in my book "Spaces Speak, Are You Listening? Experiencing Aural Architecture." To be broadly useful, the glossary of terms should be based on inputs from hundreds if not thousands of interested individuals. My first draft is available for download, and I am looking for suggested changes and additions. Periodically, I will report the current collective wisdom.
The current version is available for download at:
http://www.blesser.net/downloads/Glossary.pdf
The introduction to aural architecture is available at:
http://www.blesser.net/downloads/Chapter1.pdf
Suggestions and comments can be posted here as replies, but they should also be emailed to me.
Regards,
Barry Blesser
bblesser@alum.mit.edu
manamana,
what kind of work were you doing when you were in the recording/audio business?...for the past few months i've been thinking of getting an another degree (associates) in record engineering/producing. this degree will be my mistress...
we use accoustics consultants sometimes. More important, IMO, is understanding sound transmission and the way that it will effect the outside sounds on your building. knowing how to detail and build to combat this is important.
There is a returant in Pasadena that is wonderful...tilt up concrete, steel and glass. There is courtyard dining as well as interior dining. I refuse to eat inside because it is too damn loud. All the client / architect needs to do is hang some fabric or something soft in the space to mitigate all of the hard surfaces. Being a Thai resturaunt, the fabric would probably not be out of place
quite a bit depending on the project. I am presently designing a public radio station with studios for musicians and film production (news mostly, some with studio audiences) We initially were going to go the route of acoustical consultants but in the end we have decided to have a consultant provide a design review at different stages of the project. It basically means someone else (me) doing the leg work in spec'ing and designin the details and another reviewing the calculations etc to see how well it can work. It is another set of eyes and for that we are grateful whilst still saving the client a buck or two (particularly since we were going to have to pay daily rates for the consultant to fly from the uk - a two day flying journey from here)
I recommend "Deaf Architects & Blind Acousticians? A guide to the Principles of Sound Design" by Robert E. Apfel. I'm an acoustical consultant who works with architects. I've been told many times that acoustics is not important, only to be called in to fix a problem after the space is occupied.
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