A LANDSCAPE OF SOUND ON THE EAST COAST : REDESIGNING THE GATEWAY TO A PUBLIC PARK

Abstract

This thesis seeks to construct and orchestrate new and existing recreational sounds of East Coast Parkway in the aim to provide a heightened sense of surrounding spaces and the environment through the usage of another sense. It attempts to demonstrate that sound is just as important, if not more than sight, in the experiencing of spaces today. The brief is to introduce an acoustical gateway that also becomes the recreational landscape of sounds of East Coast Parkway. Programs introduced include a food centre for wind, a space for rain and a garden for quieter activities. Existing programs and sounds on site are taken into consideration as part of a larger set of experiences constructed by sound. The new and existing sounds that are considered for the soundscape can be classified into 3 main zones: anthrophony, geophony and general quietness. Anthrophony emphasises on the sense of various existing communities and activities on site; geophony is a second layer of sound by wind and water that is newly introduced to enhance the existing layer of community sounds, as well as to enable experiencing of the geophonic elements through hearing; general quietness is the third layer introduced as a counter point for the need for some quieter spots along the landscape of sounds. A fourth dimension, biophony, is deliberately left untouched and for its sounds to be dictated by the natural placements of trees and movements of birds. An undesirable layer of traffic noise on the other side of East Coast Parkway increases the challenge in the orchestration of these different dimensions of sounds. The architectural strategy of roofs and its structures is employed in the constructing of this landscape of sounds. This series of roofs will be either treating existing or new (amplification, reflection, containment, dampening) sounds, or producing new (as a musical instrument of wind, water) sounds through various configurations according to the respective programs and site characteristics, while they are still unified by a singular language of an expression of structure. The landscape of sounds will also engage with the larger East Coast Parkway by spilling into immediate nearby spaces or be restricted to a zone. When recreational lovers journey through this soundscape, they will be bombarded by a series of sounds that are determined by their own movement.