Reading Further into the work of Shea Trahan, I began to think of how I could put an acoustic organisation onto Liberty Hall. As I previously looked at navigation through sound I returned to this. I looked at how to vary spaces from acoustically disruptive spaces, sensorial exposing spaces, sonically resonant and reverberating spaces. I looked at precedents for this and thought of what these spaces might be used for, I found the uses may align more with a training and rehabilitation centre rather than housing.
Newgrange
From my reading of "Ancient Architectural Acoustic Resonance Patterns and Regional Brain Activity" (Ian A. Cook, Sarah K. Pajot, and Andrew F. Leuchter). I looked at Newgrange, a prehistoric, Irish megalithic structure. It's chamber was historically designed with a resonance within the human vocal range (95-120 Hz). This may have meant it was designed for ritual chanting. As such this type of resonant chamber would make a spectacular space for a choir. My focus group NCBI have their own choir group so this idea interested me greatly.
Integratron
"Located in the Mojave Desert, the Integratron is a quirky construction with incredible acoustic phenomenon. Built by George Van Tassel, the building features an all wood, acoustic dome which creates an intense sonic experience for visitors. The reverberant qualities of the space make it an ideal setting for sonic meditation sessions, as it is used currently"
"The dome of the Integratron acts as a focuser of acoustical energy for the user. From within the meditation space of the Integratron, the chanter experiences a totally immersive sonic space. The energy of your vocal h f output is amplified and redirected so as to be felt with a high level of intensity. This effect has led to the space being used for Sound Baths a sort of sonic immersion being used for Sound Baths, a sort of sonic immersion for the sake of meditative/spiritual experience." (Shea Trahan,2014)
I felt a wellness and meditation space would be a useful addition any rehabilitation and training centre.
Harvard’s Anechoic Chamber and the Silence of John Cage
"Built in 1943 and dismantled in 1971, Harvard’s echoless room famously inspired John Cage’s work 4’33”. In his 1958 lecture in Brussels, “Indeterminacy,” Cage describes the now-mythic experience:
“It was after I got to Boston that I went into the anechoic chamber at Harvard University. Anybody who knows me knows this story. I am constantly telling it. Anyway, in that silent room, I heard two sounds, one high and one low. Afterward I asked the engineer in charge why, if the room was so silent, I had heard two sounds. He said, “Describe them.” I did. He said, “The high one was your nervous system in operation. The low one was your blood in circulation.” " (http://www.sensorystudies.org/picture-gallery/untitled/)
I looked at anechoic chamber previously but due to their silence nature found them hard to place in my building all about acoustics. However on further research I have found that there is also a great acoustic quality in perceived silence. I was interested in this Harvard model as it further the uncomfortable or unusual feeling of the space by being so quiet as to allow the inhabitant feel their bodily functions. I thought these could be used as buffer spaces to make transitions between acoustic properties more stark. I also thought they could be used in areas you do not want people to congregate in as people would feel uncomfortable and move on.
Reverberation Chamber
In contrast to this I looked at reverberation chamber. I thought these spaces could work well as music rooms or other vocal training exercises. I looked at an example by Arup, A reverb chamber for Bjork’s Cornucopia tour. This space allowed her to sing "live in a small room, unaided by traditional stage amplification and audio processing". (https://www.arup.com/projects/bjork-reverberation-chamber)
Cymatics - Disruptive force
Lastly I returned to Cymatics as research by Shea Trahan. Due to the way the these spaces can be finely tuned like an instrument to a specific tone or frequency, they can tuned to encourage inner peace and harmony. These spaces could be used as acoustically therapeutic spaces for counselling and self reflection.
To create these types of spaces I needed to be able to computerise the cymatic process and gather the form needed for certain pitches and resonance. I did this using grasshopper and rhino. However I haven't completed this to a 3d form yet.
Liberty Hall
I then looked loosely at how this kind of organisation could fit into a sky scrapper such as Liberty Hall. I think I will need to look more in depth on many aspects but one will certainly be materiality and construction.