Sound is blue

This seminar week explores how to design by ear, using CAD-integrated acoustic tools. Students will record the soundscape of a chosen space within HIL at different times and in different uses, then analyse the recording’s sound events, spectral qualities, and causal relationships. Based on this analysis, the task is to imagine alternative soundscapes: removing, filtering, adding, or modifying sounds to reshape the room’s atmosphere. These imagined scenes are then transformed into acoustic intentions and, finally, into concrete architectural interventions — material, geometry, form — that would make the space sound as imagined.

Students are introduced to a range of tools: room acoustics simulation (ray tracing, image-source methods), sound editing (Reaper, Audacity), AI-based soundscape analysis and generation (sound event detection, large language models, text-to-audio diffusion models), and auralization to render the redesigned soundscape audible.

The seminar week is linked to the LivingLab HIL project.

Schedule

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
9:00 – 10:00	Introduction	Input 3 Soundscape theory	Input 4 Sound is blue app tutorial	Project work	Project work
10:00 – 11:00	Input 1 Acoustics 101	Sound design workshop	Input 4 Sound is blue app hands-on	Project work	Project work
11:00 – 12:00	Blindfold Walk	Sound design workshop	Input 4 Sound is blue app hands-on	Project work	Project work
12:00 – 13:00	Lunch Break	Lunch Break	Lunch Break	Lunch Break	Lunch Break
13:00 – 14:00	Input 2 Audio recording and analysis	Task 2 Soundscape design	Input 5 Room Acoustics simulation	Project work	Project work
14:00 – 15:00	Task 1 soundscape analysis	Task 2 Soundscape design	Input 5 Room Acoustics simulation	Project work	Project work
15:00 – 15:30	Coffee Break	Coffee Break	Coffee Break	Coffee Break	Coffee Break
15:30 – 16:00	Task 1 soundscape analysis	Task 2 discussion	Group matchmaking	Project work	Final Exhibition
16:00 – 17:00	Task 1 discussion	Task 2 discussion	Project brainstorming	WIP presentations	Final Exhibition
17:00 – 18:00	Task 1 discussion	Task 2 discussion	Project brainstorming	WIP presentations	Final Exhibition

Tasks

Task 1

Record and analyse a soundscape in the HIL building. Capture the essence of the space.
Output:

5-minute presentation (including playback)
1-minute soundscape (after cuts)
Annotated spectrogram: what kind of sounds, spectral qualities, rhythms, sound locations, etc.
Soundscape sketch (hand-drawn)

You can stage sound events in the space if necessary

Task 2

How would you “renovate” the soundscape of your recorded space?

Choose a space in HIL or re-use your previous recording from yesterday
Add/edit/remove sounds in the soundscape using:
- Multiple tracks
- EQ filters
- Fading effects
- Volumes
- Automations

Output: Apply Aural architecture approach

Site analysis: Present the existing conditions (30-second soundscape)
Acoustic intentions: what do you want to change and why (Soundscape representation/sketch)
New soundscape (1 minute)

Task 3

Suggested steps:

Model your space (3D model + acoustic model)
Explore possible soundscapes/scenarios/acoustic conditions (concept phase)
Curate two sound scenes to focus on
Explore acoustic solutions through simulations

Output: SW assignment post + 15-minute presentation

Your presentation and the post should include:

Analysis of the original soundscape (sketches, spectrograms, etc.)
Acoustic/soundscape intentions
Architectural/acoustic gestures (How did you implement the changes)
One saved “Sound is blue” project, containing:
- 2 sound scenes at different times of the day and/or usage scenarios
- 2 listening positions
- 1 to 2 acoustic simulations (assigned acoustic materials)

Only for the post
For each sound scene and listening position: