Page 30 - Summer2022

TEACHING ARCHITECTURAL ACOUSTICS hundreds of thousands of dollars. A course favorite is the Radio Craftsmen (1957) Xophonic bookshelf speaker that housed 50 feet of plumbing tube/hose to create time- delayed reverberant energy. It is always wonderful to introduce students to the world of cymatics, visualizing sound waves through different media. Ernst Chladni is credited with discovering the node and antinode patterns from frequencies induced in a plate cov- ered in salt or sand, but credit is also due scientists such as Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo Galilei, Robert Hooke, and Sophie Germain. We might not see sound likened to not seeing wind, but we see the effects of the wind. Online videos of Schlieren photography catch students’ attention because the rippling of sound waves are visible. Although we don’t dive deep into human anatomy, we discuss the basics of the ear to understand how vibrations are translated and energy is converted into something understandable. An opera singer hitting certain frequencies and breaking a glass has some form of cool factor, but it’s surprising to students to learn of the modulus of elasticity as the glass is wobbling in a slow-motion video just before the modulus of rupture. The cornstarch monster is fun to demonstrate (see youtube. com/watch?v=kevqQHZSeao), but I have destroyed a few speakers in the process. Students have also expressed inter- est in the cultural-, social-, and gender-related aspects of stereotypes and damaging effects of “vocal fry.” Although most students don’t recognize David Byrne as the lead singer of the rock band Talking Heads, they like hearing about his collaboration with some other artists and musicians to activate spaces known as “playing the building” (Byrne, 2005). People pressed keys on a modified organ to trigger solenoids and hammers connected to beams, sprin- kler lines, and pipes to reveal the aural personality of the space through the direct and reverberant energy. The space was activated beyond its typical occupancy and made us question if the result was noise, art, music, or a combination. This helps introduce an assignment to design and build a homemade instrument with found materials. Sonic deception is also a hit with the students. What is known as the Ghost Army (The National WWII Museum, no date) strategically placed inflatable tanks and ampli- fied wire recordings up to 15 miles away from enemy lines during World War II. The sights and sounds were convincing and successful. On another note, who knew water could be bent with low-frequency sound waves, sound deprivation therapy tanks exist, fire could be extin- guished with low frequencies, or conversations could be captured through vibrating glass? Thank you, inventors and scientists who disseminated them. I use photos and videos of places I have visited as teaching tools. Musikverein in Vienna, Austria, is always referenced due to its articulation, shoebox-shape proportions, and how people experience the natural acoustics. Every New Year’s Day, the audience chairs are removed and stored in a cavity below the floor for the annual ball, which means the audience is typically sitting on what could be likened to an acoustic guitar resonant chamber. Notre-Dame du Haut in Ronchamp, France, emphasizes the binaural character- istics between proximity to the faceted/chamfered/splayed heavy concrete wall versus the opposing planar wall. Other examples include Myerson Hall in Dallas, Texas, and KKL in Lucerne, Switzerland, which are both flanked by an operable reverberant chamber and overhead canopy. There are sectional models of the Paris Opera House that help convey how distance and layers nestle the performance area away from the street noise and deep within the con- fines of structure. Red Rock Amphitheater in Colorado and 333 Feet Underground in Tennessee provide examples of rock formations resulting in diffusion and envelopment. These examples help tie conversations about materials, dis- tances between stage and audience, and number and slope of seating to historic Greek and Roman architecture. Research and Practice: Demonstrating Principles into Reality In addition to teaching students through traditional courses, I demonstrate and practice those principles through funded research, publications, service-learning design-build projects, and professional practice. The advancement of knowledge through pedagogy stirs stu- dent and community interest into tangible and measurable physical results. The active process of creating and making results in real-time design to occur while developing both small and full-scale prototypes. The teaching tool is simple: students not only see but also hear the connection between materials and the resultant environment, weaving acoustics and aesthetics together. I also share professional projects where I have been architect and/or acoustical con- sultant, including collaborations with other firms. These new and adaptive use projects show future generations methods of implementing concepts into practice and learn from lessons in the field (Figure 5). 30 Acoustics Today • Summer 2022