Spaces Speak, Are You Listening? Experiencing Aural Architecture

by Blesser, Barry; Salter, Linda-Ruth

• ISBN13: 9780262513173
• ISBN10: 026251317X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-09-18
• Publisher: The MIT Press

Summary

Choice Outstanding Academic Title, 2007. We experience spaces not only by seeing but also by listening. We can navigate a room in the dark, and "hear" the emptiness of a house without furniture. Our experience of music in a concert hall depends on whether we sit in the front row or under the balcony. The unique acoustics of religious spaces acquire symbolic meaning. Social relationships are strongly influenced by the way that space changes sound. In Spaces Speak, Are You Listening?, Barry Blesser and Linda-Ruth Salter examine auditory spatial awareness: experiencing space by attentive listening. Every environment has an aural architecture. The audible attributes of physical space have always contributed to the fabric of human culture, as demonstrated by prehistoric multimedia cave paintings, classical Greek open-air theaters, Gothic cathedrals, acoustic geography of French villages, modern music reproduction, and virtual spaces in home theaters. Auditory spatial awareness is a prism that reveals a culture's attitudes toward hearing and space. Some listeners can learn to "see" objects with their ears, but even without training, we can all hear spatial geometry such as an open door or low ceiling. Integrating contributions from a wide range of disciplines-including architecture, music, acoustics, evolution, anthropology, cognitive psychology, audio engineering, and many others-Spaces Speak, Are You Listening?establishes the concepts and language of aural architecture. These concepts provide an interdisciplinary guide for anyone interested in gaining a better understanding of how space enhances our well-being. Aural architecture is not the exclusive domain of specialists. Accidentally or intentionally, we all function as aural architects.

Author Biography

As a former Professor at MIT and a founder of digital audio, Barry Blesser has spent the last 40 years working at the junction of audio, acoustics, perception, and cognitive psychology.

Linda-Ruth Salter, Ph.D., is an independent scholar who has spent the last 25 years focusing on the interdisciplinary relationship of art, space, culture, and technology.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. vii
A Personal Perspective	p. ix
Introduction to Aural Architecture	p. 1
Auditory Spatial Awareness	p. 11
Introduction to Hearing Space	p. 12
The Social Components of Aural Architecture	p. 20
Navigating Space by Listening	p. 35
Aural Enrichments in Architecture	p. 51
Application of Spatiality Principles	p. 64
Aural Space from Prehistory to Present	p. 67
The Aural Experience of Space as a Cultural Filter	p. 68
Auditory Awareness as an Extension of Religion	p. 82
Social Forces Influence Aural Spaces	p. 93
Industrialization Creates New Aural Attitudes	p. 103
Aural Arts and Musical Spaces	p. 127
Musical Space as an Artistic Abstraction	p. 129
Enclosures Produce Temporal and Spatial Spreading	p. 133
Abstract Dimensions and Artistic Concepts	p. 149
Inventing Virtual Spaces for Music	p. 163
Artistic Dimensions of Space and Location	p. 166
Artistic Implications of Technical Issues	p. 183
Art and Engineering Converge in Enveloping Sound	p. 203
Scientific Perspectives on Spatial Acoustics	p. 215
Evaluating the Aural Experience of Concert Halls	p. 217
Scientific Models of Enclosed Spaces	p. 235
Visiting the Inside of Reverberators	p. 260
Spatial Innovators and Their Private Agendas	p. 275
Social Values: Goals, Rewards, and Careers	p. 278
Intellectual Frameworks: Assumptions and Paradigms	p. 297
Auditory Spatial Awareness as Evolutionary Artifact	p. 317
Evolutionary By-Products Define Modern Humans	p. 319
Hearing as a Means for Navigating and Communicating	p. 335
Interdependence of Biology, Nature, and Culture	p. 347
Concluding Comments	p. 361
Notes	p. 365
References	p. 369
Index	p. 405
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