11th EAEA Envisioning Architecture: Design, Evaluation, Communication Conference in 2013

Track 2 | Experiential Simulation | The sensory perception of the built environment

Emotional geography & soundscape studies: beyond the cognitive approach in (sound)mapping urban spaces

ABSTRACT

According to the theoretical framework described in the 2nd conference track “Experiential Simulation: the sensorial perception of the built environment”, this proposal would illustrate the tender soundmap of Florence – an output of my doctoral dissertation – in order to claim (sound) intimacy as tool for understanding and representing the world we live in. The doctoral research I developed aimed at reaching the following goals: to promote a new “Sensuous Urbanism” (Radicchi, 2013) which not only describes the morphology but also the character, the time and the atmospheres of places; to support the integration of Soundscape Studies within the disciplinary field of Urbanism; to promote a creative approach to the sonic environment; to encourage eco-sustainable projects according to the European Regulations on noise pollution.
To support the integration of Soundscape Studies within the disciplinary field of Urbanism required me to define a new subfield of Urbanism; that allowed me to identify in the realm of “Sensuous Urbanism” the theoretical frame from which I wanted to expose the predominance of sight over the other senses; I also emphasized the importance of finding a holistic approach to the discipline of Urbanism, identifying the sonic dimension in particular as one of the possible paths leading to said objective. I then explored both soundscapes mapping tools and soundscapes design tools within the disciplinary fields mentioned above to show their limits and potentialities. In conclusion, I conceived and proposed the analytical tool of “tender soundmap” of Florence and the design tool of “sonic niche” as a resource for a design process able to achieve the ideal synthesis in designing physical and acoustic space in contemporary city.
The “tender soundmap” is an example of soundmap for the city of Florence, which I developed from scratch, where the sonic environment is interpreted from an emotional standpoint. The use and meaning of “tender”, which I refer to in my research, relates to the Emotional Geography (Bruno, 2002), and finds its origin in the Carte du pays de Tendre made by Madeleine de Scudery in 1654, the first tender map because it draws emotions and reveals feelings. The “tender soundmap” represents also an important tool for qualitative analysis of the sound environment, to be integrated to quantitative methods practiced by traditional acoustic planning, in order to go beyond the cognitive approach in (sound)mapping urban spaces. Finally, the “tender soundmap” of Florence aims at becoming a collective sound map - interactive and open source – with the involvement of the population in order to enhance and protect the Florentine urban soundscape.

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AUTHOR

Antonella Radicchi

Tempo Reale, Center for Music Production, Research and Education, Firenze, Italyd

Antonella Radicchi is an architect, doctor in urban design and researcher in soundscape studies. She is also the editor of www.firenzesoundmap.org: the "tender" soundmap of Florence is an interactive and open source tool and aims at becoming a collective sound map through the involvement and the participation of the Florentine population, city users and tourists. With this regard, since January 2013 a specific dataset called "Immaterial cultural goods" has been created within the Opendata system of the Municipality of Florence to share the data of the 'tender' soundmap according to the definition of Immaterial Cultural Heritage released by UNESCO in 2003. Antonella undertook doctoral research both at the SA+P, MIT (USA) and at the Faculty of Architecture, Florence (IT). Her dissertation "On the sonic image of the city' was awarded of the 2010 INU Award, and the 2011 Research Award ' City of Florence. She has taught and lectured both in Italy and abroad, and has also 8 years teaching experience at the university level. Since 2011 she collaborates in research projects on urban soundscapes with Tempo Reale, Center for Music Research and Education.
Her theoretical and design research involves three long-term themes, related to "Sensuous Urbanism" and focused on:
the role of the non-visual senses in environmental perception, and the value of such knowledge in urban design;
the study of urban soundscapes to achieve the design of both physical and sonic urban spaces;
the importance of intangible and emotional relationships between sounds and humans and the use of such knowledge in urban design.

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