Sound of Bremen

2016

The project is based on the question “Who owns the air?”. If you take a closer look at the air element, you will know that it consists of many small molecules that are displaced, as sound waves generate sound. Sound behaves differently depending on its environment. In addition to direct sound transmission, it can be absorbed, reflected or dampened. The sound fills the air and the air fills the city.

The totality of city sounds creates the city acoustics, a term used for the variety of acoustic events typically found in urban environments: road and air traffic, acoustic signals, people, music, nature and construction noise. Such events can be assigned to different components, which help analyze individual soundscapes. The term soundscape was coined by the Canadian composer and sound researcher R. Murray Schafer, who in 1971 brought the “World Soundscape Project” into being. Schafer classifies soundscapes according to three main characteristics: keynote, signal and soundmark. The keynote describes the basic tone, the basis of the soundscape, for example road traffic. Signals, or signal sounds, are clearly contoured sounds: they are usually warning signs, like bells, whistles, horns, sirens, etc. The third component is made up of soundmarks (orientation sounds). They are site-specific and give a soundscape its acoustic recognition value. The connection between sound and landmark, the soundmark, makes the connection between sound and a specific location very clear.

The sound archive presented in the exhibition INTERSPACE showed that Bremen offers a variety of sounds that are not immediately perceived the first time you listen around. According to a survey with the local citizens it became clear that sound is perceived as one-sided. The investigation of three characteristic locations showed also that not only the tram dominates the area, but also repeated construction noises, too. This is at least what affected the soundscape of Domheide / Marktplatz at the time of the exhibition. In order to acoustically enhance these places, it was necessary to remove the disturbing sounds. On the other hand, positive and identity-forming sounds were suggested for the areas of Schlachte and Europahafen. The soundscapes could be permanently changed through different interventions of new materials and platforms.

Presented at INTERSPACE, Citylab Bremen
1st Prize | Cityinitiative Bremen Jury
Recognition | School of Architecture, Hochschule Bremen

Together created with:
Nele Dörschner, Esther Gajdacz, Henning Schnaars, and Miriam Walter.

Website (in German)