Sensuality and Proportion

a primer in sound for architects.

The information of the air

The very thing that is invisible in architecture: the air enclosed by it, is full of life, full of information.

By listening one can discern the size, shape, materials, activity of a room.
Through open windows and doors, through the vibrations transmitted by the fabric of the building: the context of the room, its relationship to the street, the hubbub of the city.

This wealth of information is a quivering of the air. Very small movements, very small amounts of energy - our hearing is incredibly sensitive - in a condition of dynamic balance, that is something always moving but overall fairly still. Something vibrating around equilibrium.

Sound

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