Serendipity: Acoustic Niche

The acoustic niche connects considerations in space and time. During the semester students will study the soundscape and spatial configurations of the old Botanical Garden in Zurich. The investigations will lead to a multichannel acoustic installation on-site at the “Sonic Topology” Symposium in June 2022. Through an auralised point cloud model of the botanical garden, the students will be able to reflect our perception of the artificially organic landscape as a digital model in the AV-Lab. We will use the niche theory as a method to experiment together on an acoustic intervention and the interplay with the visual environment of the garden. The acoustic niche hypothesis, as proposed by Bernie Krause in 1983, describes that the acoustic dimension of the landscape is composed of single organisms that found their niche in frequency or/and time in order to be able to communicate. The human influence with densified cities and their infrastructures make rapid changes in ecology and therefore in the soundscape of our landscapes as well. These changes can be monitored with sound. We will investigate the complex environment in time and space on site by mapping and recording it’s sounds and by laser scanning the space during the workshop weekend. This will give us the possibility to examine our acoustic intervention in a point cloud model in the laboratory environment of the AV-Lab with space for experimentation and serendipity. To be able to present our soundscape at the “Sonic Topology” Symposium and to discuss our sound intervention with experts of the fields of soundart and soundecology is a great opportunity as well.

• Course 052-0714-22 G
• 2 Lessons per Week
• 2 Credits
• Language: English and German
• Offered in: MSc Landscape Architecture, MSc Architecture