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Sound urban design

knstna

Hello to all members of archinect :)

I am an undergraduate student of architecture.
In this semester I attend an urban design course. The area given is near the sea, has a lot of green spaces and is close enough to a main traffic road
The main idea of my approach to the subjects is to design the whole area taking using the various sounds it creates.. For example the sounds of the sea and generally nature sounds eliminating the sounds of vehicles.
I would appreciate it very much if sb proposed anything about this topic

Thanx in advance
Konstantina

 
Apr 12, 09 9:33 am
Synergy

I have to ask, do your professors give you any ideas on what your "clients" for this project might be looking for? Architecture can engage all 5 sense, but I think most would agree it tends to start with the visual. Keep in mind that using sound walls, tunnels, tree lines, land berms, etc. to control incoming and outgoing sounds will have a significant impact on your projects site lines and visual qualities. The question is, are the sounds on this site so overwhelming and abnormal that they would suggest this kind of sound first design, or are they more typical, and something that can be dealt with by traditional methods?

Can you simply orient the project towards the sea, and provide only minimal glazing and program on the side with the main traffic road? It seems like a pretty standard design decision and not something that would require excessive mulling over. I don't intend to be discouraging, but to me it sounds a little bit like you are putting the cart before the horse here.

For more in depth information/suggestions, try posting a plan or some pictures to make it more clear what you are working with. You should also describe the programmatic needs of the project(ie. is this all residential) and if there are any specific limits or restrictions being imposed by your professor (ie. height limit, materials, etc. etc.)

Apr 12, 09 11:40 am  · 
 · 
knstna

Yes, i think u r right, i did not mention many characteristics of the site. It is mainly a residential area - about the 70% of the site is going to host residences. It is a rectangular area at the border of the city. One of its edges is a stream , the other as mentioned above is the sea and the main highway. There are no height limits or material restrictions posed by the professors, we're are going to put these limitations to our projects.
The deicision of orienting the project to the sense of sound is personal - there was no certain guidance from the tutors.
Of course, as you mentioned. the sight is also a dominant sense. As we approach the project at this time, we think that the two senses must be combined creating interesting places in which sight and sound are the major "ingredients". We could create sound paths towards the sea. We also imagine in the southern park of the site - in which there is the border with the sea - to design a space that will be for the recreation of the inhabitants. In that zone of the site there will be also installations creating sounds.
unfortunately, i couldn't post photos and images from the site

Apr 12, 09 12:49 pm  · 
 · 
LucasGray

Frank Gehry designed a wavy bridge for Grant Park in Chicago that is supposed to assist the acoustics of the performance pavilion he also designed. The bridge is supposed to be a buffer that reflects sound from the sunken road away from the amphitheater. It may be a precedent to look into. I'm usually not a huge Gehry fan but I think the bridge is actually a really nice project - better than the amphitheater in my opinion.

Otherwise I think using sound as a driving force for the design is a worthy exploration. That is what school is for after all - experimentation.

Apr 12, 09 1:54 pm  · 
 · 
citizen

I would start with whatever material you can find on design for the blind. I expect that sound-related issues might be a key component of that work.

Apr 12, 09 4:20 pm  · 
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