Soundscape Architecture makes a case for listening as a foundational design act — bringing together historical precedents, built projects, and art works to argue that sonic identity is as constitutive of architectural space as form or material.
About This Book
Van Lengen and Welty's practice begins not at the drawing board but with the ear. Soundscape Architecture documents their methodology for engaging with the sonic characteristics of natural and built environments: recording spaces, composing from those recordings, drawing sounds by hand and digitally, animating the resulting drawings, and producing digital paintings as a form of acoustic memory. The book situates this process within a broader intellectual framework, presenting historical examples alongside sonic installations and exemplary art works that collectively argue for the atmosphere of a place — its acoustic identity — as a legitimate and underexplored design territory. Essential reading for architects and designers working at the intersection of sensory experience and spatial design.
Key Features
- 200 pages of hand-drawn and digital visualisations of sound, design projects, and art works
- Authors: Karen Van Lengen and Jim Welty
- Published by Oro Editions
What You'll Discover
- A methodology that begins with the act of listening itself, treating acoustic recording as the first move in a design process
- How sound can be translated across media — from recording to composition, hand drawing, digital animation, and painting
- Historical examples of architecture and landscape that possess distinct, memorable sonic identities
- Sonic installations and art works presented as creative demonstrations of how built and natural environments can be designed for acoustic atmosphere
About the Author
Karen Van Lengen and Jim Welty are the authors and practitioners behind this work, with a sustained collaborative interest in the sonic characteristics of architectural spaces and landscapes. Their process integrates recording, composition, drawing, and digital media as interconnected modes of spatial inquiry.
Specifications
- Format: Hardcover
- Pages: 200
- Dimensions: 29 x 23 cm
- Language: English
- ISBN: 9781961856745
- Publisher: Oro Editions
- Publication Date: [Details available upon request]
Perfect For: Architects and spatial designers exploring sensory and experiential design, sound artists and acoustic researchers, landscape architects, and design academics engaged with phenomenology and atmosphere.