First space
Assignment 1
The first space is the outside space in front of the alumni lounge. It has many tables for people to have lunch or a quick coffee. Some people work there, some are having a conversation with friends and others just enjoy the nice weather. This space is particularly interesting since it is outside but also because a lot of different sound sources (people, buses from the street, bikes, glasses etc). Most of the acoustic events are human-made in that space, fro example: people talking, people walking, a bus engine, mugs that collide, the clicking of a keyboard etc. In this outside space you here very few non-human acoustic events; the wind transporting some paper over the ground or some birds that are chirping.
To me the space is very chaotic at first, a lot of different sounds are coming to me at the same time. But a conversation is held very easily, the transmission of speech is very clear. There are many background noises but you get used to it very easily.
Furthermore, i would consider this space with suggested adjectives as a noisy, clear and crisp.
Assignment 2
On this outside terrasse, there are many different acoustic events happening at the same time, some are louder than other sound some are there for a longer or shorter period of time. Altogether they form a very eclectic but still pleasant environment. Just to list a few of these sounds we here : a bus engine, various conversations, bikes, birds chirping, laughter, footsteps, mugs being stacked, the clicking of keyboards, the moving of benches, etc. The most emergent sounds are those of the motors of various busses passing by in the central road, the sudden laughter coming from a further conversation or even the multiple conversation that are being held around me and also the chirping of birds. Furthermore, the catchiest sounds, the ones that get my attention the most are those of the buses passing by, a sudden laughter from a nearby table or glasses being stacked into each other resulting in a shrill sudden sound. On the contrary, the most overheard sounds are with time those of keyboards, the chirping of the birds, footsteps of people walking by and with time also the conversations being held more further away. The overall sound scape of the outside space is actually pleasant even-though there are many different types of sounds coming together if you spend a longer period of time in these spaces you get more and more used to it. You don’t hear most of the sounds anymore even the bus motors become part of the background noise with time. You can easily hold a conversation in this space and even study.
Assignment 3
not significant
Assignment 4
In this space only the people sitting at the table, in essence, their clothing are absorbers and also the tree on the square. The trees are planted on a grid. Do they contribute that much? The gravel on the ground could be the most interesting material concerning the diffuse reflection of sound because of its irregularity. The most sound-reflecting surfaces of the outside space are: first of all, the concrete tables, and then the glass facade of the alumni lounge. The absorbers are not located in any pattern as humans sit down randomly.
Second space
Assignment 1
The second space is a circulation space in the HIL building, the staircase that connects most of the studio spaces. It is a very high parallelepiped rectangle with a small base in which are found some staircases. It is an interesting space because it can vary quickly from a very silent space to a very loud one just by the interruption of a door closing. The room is particularly echoey and every time a sound is made it is transported through the different floors. Some specific acoustic events are all human-made just like the closing of a door, a conversation, a toilet flushing, footsteps or somebody peeing.
The space is very echoey and loud when a sound is emitted. It is hard to have a phone call in that space because all you can hear is the echo of your voice. It sounds very hollow. In the acoustic slang from chatgpt, I would descirbe this space as; muddy, echoey, boomy and live.
Assignment 2
In this space there aren’t many different sounds the three main sounds are those of a door closing, the sound of speech and of footsteps. The most emergent sound is the one of the fire protection doors closing and after that the closing of the wooden toilet doors. The catchiest sound or surprising sound is definitely the one of the fire doors closing. They come and go at random moments and are very loud. The overheard sounds are those of the single toilets flushing but also a dull buzzing sound which may be the one of the lights. The space is not very pleasant to stay in for a prolonged period of time every sound is very loud and gets transported through the different floors. After a while it is very uncomfortable in the circulation space, particularly if you try to have a conversation. However if you whisper it is quite acceptable but not at normal volume of speech. In addition it is also still not a nice space to have a conversation in because you are always interrupted by a loud sound and echo of a door closing or by the sound of somebody running down the stairs.
Assignment 3
Estimated RT60 = 1,3 * 2 =2,6 sec
Assignment 4
There are no absorbers in the space. The most reflecting surfaces are the walls, the glass staircase, and the glass doors on each level. Maybe the walls are covered with a more absorbent finish but that doesn’t show in this shoebox form staircase.
