VERNACULAR ARCHITECTUREs

ACOUSTIC PANELLING VARIATIONS

HOW SOUND CAN CHANGE DEPENDING ON THE ENVIRONMENT

SOUND & ARCHITECTURE

EARLY RESEARCH

-Reed Houses. Southern Iraq (Above/Left)

-Made by ‘Marsh Arabs’ or Madan People,
living in Marshlands of Southern Iraq. Built solely using reeds from the marshlands

-Pictured here specific Reed House, Mudhif. Usually reserved for ceremonial occassions. For religious considerations, the entrance must face in the direction of Mecca and there is always an odd number of reed pillars.

Gurunsi earth houses of Burkina Faso (Above/Right)

-Made from sun-dried mix of clay, soil, straw and cow droppings moistened to a perfect mortar, -mixed by foot to create strong pottery-like structures. Made on site and easily re-applied when needed.

-Narrative expressed ornamental motifs across surface illustrating just about anything from objects used in normal daily life, to religion and beliefs

-Ventilation system regulates temperate keeping inside cool

Gathering references

Adobe Houses, Mali (Above, including image of Djenne Mosque)

-Examples of Sudano-Sahelian architecture, an eco-friendly style of building characterised by the use of mud bricks and wooden support beams that jut out of the walls.

-Interior is warm in winter and cool in summer. The buildings naturally breathe.

-Masons taught secret spells that protect the buildings.

Tvísöngur sound sculpture - Seyðisfjörður, Iceland.

Site-specific sound sculpture by German artist Lukas Kühne, located on a mountainside above the town of Seydisfjordur.

Five interconnected concrete domes of different sizes. The heights of the domes are between 2 and 4 meters and they cover an area of about 30 square meters. Each dome has its own resonance that corresponds to a tone in the Icelandic musical tradition of five-tone harmony, and works as a natural amplifier to that tone.

Denge Sound Mirrors, Dungeness - UK.

Denge Sound Mirrors, Dungeness - UK.

3D Acoustic Panels

CNC Cut wood placed over traditional acoustic panelling often found in recording studios

Wooden Acoustic Diffuser

MATERIALS

Willow Trees

Many willow tree varieties are native to the United Kingdom. Species such as White Willow (Salix Alba), Basket Willow (Salix Viminalis) and the Goat Willow (Salix Caprea) have been thriving in the British Isles ever since the glaciers melted after the last ice age and they were still part of the mainland.

The weeping willow most likely originated in China and was traded along the silk road to Europe and is now found in North America

Flexible branches make it a good option if building woven dome garden structures.

3D Printing