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Theses and dissertations
1-1-2013
Immaterial Architecture: Composing Space From

Sound
Yawar Siddiqui
Ryerson University
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IMMATERIAL ARCHITECTURE:
COMPOSING SPACE FROM SOUND
by
YAWAR SIDDIQUI,
Bachelor of Architectural Science, Ryerson University, 2009
A design thesis project

presented to Ryerson University
in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree of
Master of Architecture
in the Program of
Architectural Science
Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 2013

© Copyright Yawar Siddiqui, 2013
i
AUTHOR’S DECLARATION
I hereby declare that I am the sole author of this thesis. This is a true copy of the thesis, including any required
final revisions, as accepted by my examiners.
I authorize Ryerson University to lend this thesis to other institutions or individuals for the purpose of scholarly
research
I further authorize Ryerson University to reproduce this thesis by photocopying or by other means, in total or in
part, at the request of other institutions or individuals for the purpose of scholarly research.
I understand that my thesis may be made electronically available to the public.
Yawar Siddiqui
Y Siddi i
ii
ABSTRACT
In the post-digital, heterotopic society, human activities have transcended the limiting confines of physical
space. The prevailing urban/architectural philosophies that defined programmed spaces by material
enclosures and boundaries are less relevant when information, programs and activities transpire independent
of such physical fields. Thus, architecture needs to address this emerging paradigm by conceiving new
types of traversable spaces. This design thesis develops the use of electroacoustic techniques to generate
immaterial sonic enclosures that allow unhindered penetration of light and matter, while blocking out sound
within a strepitous environment. Sound is explored as a material for constructing interconnected spaces
without physical boundaries. Through the use of the proposed Virtual Sonic Enclosures (VSE), this thesis aims
to provide a weak infrastructure rather than an ‘object’ such as a building to facilitate the seamless networking
of spaces and programs to generate new architectural possibilities that reflect contemporary conditions.
iii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
First, I would first like to thank my family who has supported me through this journey of composing my the-
sis. I would like to thank my parents for always having faith in me to take on such a challenge.
I would like to convey my gratitude to Colin Ripley for being an inspiring mentor who encouraged me to push
the limits of my thesis. As this thesis has a heavy technical component, I would also like to acknowledge Dr
Ramani Ramakrishnan for steering me in the right direction and believing in this project. Without his insight
and support this project could not have been possible.
I am truly grateful to all the academic and industry professionals that helped frame the project in practical
application, Dr. Anant Grewal, Dr Soosan Beheshti, Nripendra Malhotra, and Dr Werner Richardz.
Lastly, I would like to express my appreciation to all my friends and colleagues that helped and encouraged
me throughout this project.
iv
To my parents, for their unconditional support and faith.
v
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction..........................................................................................................................01
Virtual Sonic Enclosure.......................................................................................................05
The Wall...............................................................................................................................07
Division vs. Diffusion...........................................................................................................09
Weak Boundaries and Spaces............................................................................................14
Perception of Space............................................................................................................22
Auditory Spatial Perception.......................................................................................25

Experiment 01 ................................................................................................26
Experiment 02 ................................................................................................27
Materiality & Immaterility....................................................................................................29

Virtual Sonic Enclosure Technical Schematic...................................................................33
Active Noise Cancellation...........................................................................................35
Parametric Array Loudspeakers.................................................................................37
Digital Signal Processing............................................................................................39
Conclusion............................................................................................................................43
References............................................................................................................................45
Appendix...............................................................................................................................49
vi
LIST OF FIGURES
Fig. 01. Internet activity in Egypt during the revolution.

Source: http://www.opera.com/smw/2011/02/
Fig. 02. Tweet by Jared Cohen, the founder and Director of Google Ideas,
Source: http://www.dragonflyeffect.comblogare-you-tweeting-this-revolution
Fig. 03. Tweets during the Egypt uprising.

Source: http://www.dragonflyeffect.comblogare-you-tweeting-this-revolution
Fig. 04. Tahrir Square.

Source: http://www.businessesgrow.comwp-contentuploads201102revolution-and-facebook.jpg
Fig. 05. The Virtual Sonic Enclosure.

Source: Yawar Siddiqui
Fig. 06. The VSE system.

Fig. 07. From explicit to implicit space.

Source: Meiss, Pierre von. Elements of architecture, From Form to Place.1990
Fig. 08. Spatial fields defined by vertical elements.

Source: Meiss, Pierre von. Elements of architecture, From Form to Place.1990
vii
Fig. 09. Destruction of the Berlin Wall, 1989.
Source: http://padresteve.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/berlin-wall-4.jpg
Fig. 10.Traditional hierarchic industrial society.

Source: Branzi, A. Weak and diffuse modernity: the world of projects at the beginning of the 21st century.
2006
Fig. 11. Contemporary network society

Source: Branzi, A. Weak and diffuse modernity: the world of projects at the beginning of the 21st century.
2006
Fig. 12. Map of the Internet.

Source: http://blyon.com/blyon-cdn/opte/maps/static/1069646562.LGL.2D.4096x4096.png
Fig. 13. Statistics of the increase in mobile devices and wireless services.
Source: ITU Report 2011, Morgan Stanley.
Fig. 14. WiFi Networks throughout the world.

Source: http://wigle.net/
Fig. 15. Dense WiFi networks juxtaposed over the built fabric of metropolitan cities such as Chicago (left)
and Manhattan (right).
Source: http://www.tacticalsoundgarden.net/#
Fig. 16. Sketches by Le Corbusier.

Source: http://www.vlugt.co.uk/Savoie.html
Fig. 17. Villa Savoy floor plans.

Source: http://www.vlugt.co.uk/Savoie.html
Fig. 18. The Free Plan structure.

Source: http://www.dieselpunks.org/profiles/blogs/art-history-le-corbusiers
Fig. 19. Front façade of Sendai Mediatheque.

Source: Toyo Ito Associates. http://www.toyo-ito.co.jp/WWW/Project_List/-2000_Project%20List%20pho-
to/2000_pl_en.html
viii
Fig. 20. Sendai Mediatheque. The façade at the ground level.
to/2000_pl_en.html
Fig. 21.Sketches by Ito.

to/2000_pl_en.html
Fig. 22. Loose partitions and translucent curtains.

to/2000_pl_en.html
Fig. 23. Ito. Moveable walls that allow flexible spatial configurations.
to/2000_pl_en.html
Fig. 24. Fujimoto, House Na.

Source: http://www.archdaily.com/tag/sou-fujimoto/
Fig. 25. Interior view of the living space.

Source: http://www.archdaily.com/230533/house-na-sou-fujimoto-architects/
Fig. 26. Fujimoto, House N.

Fig. 27. Fujimoto, House N.

Fig. 28. Fujimoto, House N intersection of juxtaposing programs.

Fig. 29. Tactical Sound Garden.

Fig. 30. integration of wireless infrastructures that actuate physical environments.
ix
Fig. 31. Aerial view of the sound garden.

Fig. 32. Timeline denoting architectural innovations.

Fig. 33. Section of St. Mark’s, Venice.

Source: Fergusson, James. “Illustrated Handbook of Architecture”
Fig. 34. Melioli visually maps the reverberation and echoes.

Source: Melioli, Matteo. “Inhabiting Soundscape, Architecture of the unseen world”
Fig. 35. Formal expression of the soundscape of the church.

Fig. 36. Melioli reveals “ghost spaces”.

Fig. 37. Auditory spatial perception.

Fig. 38. Experiment 01 setup.

Fig. 39. Experiment 02 setup.

Fig. 40 Graphic simulation showing various sonic environments of varying acoustic intimacy.
Fig. 41. Experiments by Kircher exploring echoes.

http://www.ameet.jp/feature/feature_20101021/
Fig. 42. Boston Symphony Hall, 1890.
x
Source: http://cbsboston.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/bso-twitter.jpg
Fig. 43. Anechoic Chamber.

Source: http://acousticenvironments.com/tools-of-the-trade-%E2%80%93-the-anechoic-chamber
Fig. 44. Resonant Chamber, RVTR, 2011.

Source: RVTR. http://rvtr.com/research/resonant-chamber/
Fig. 45. Sonic sculpture by Eusebio Sempere.

Source: http://nialldebuitlear.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/sempere20sculpture20web.jpg
Fig. 46. Sonic metamaterial also known as sonic crystals.

Source: http://www.science.org.au/nova/newscientist/ns_diagrams/072ns_004image1.jpg
Fig. 47. Leitner uses the movement of sound to create spaces of sound.
Source: Cantz. “Berhard Leitner Sound:space”
Fig. 48. “Sound Cube”, Berhard Leitner.

Source: Cantz. “Berhard Leitner Sound:space”
Fig. 49. ”SoundBits” By Robin Minard.

Source: Robin Minard. http://www.robinminard.com/minard.content.php?id=17&sh=0
Fig. 50.”SoundBits” Placement of speakers that add to the “spatial timbre”

Source: Robin Minard. http://www.robinminard.com/minard.content.php?id=17&sh=0
Fig. 51. Virtual Sonic Enclosure Schematic

Fig. 52. The VSE can be expressed into spaces created by sound.
Fig. 53. Basic principle of ANC.

Fig. 54. Cement plant. Installation of ANC silencer.
xi
Source: R. Ramakrishnan, W. Richardz. “Collaborative Active Noise Control – A case study” Canadian
Acoustics 2005.
Fig. 55. Comparison of noise at plant location and receptor location.

Acoustics 2005.
Fig. 56. ANC setup at the plant.

Acoustics 2005.
Fig. 57. Performance of the ANC system.

Acoustics 2005.
Fig. 58 Audio Spotlight AS-16, parametric array loudspeaker.

Source: J. Pompeii. http://www.holosonics.com/
Fig. 59. Comparison of sound propagation of a conventional loudspeakers and the PAL.
Source: J. Pompeii. http://www.holosonics.com/
Fig. 60. AM demodulation.

Source:http://www.softwareforeducation.com/wikileki/images/thumb/6/6a/AM-Demodulation.jpg/67px-AM-
Demodulation.jpg
Fig. 61. The simulated results of the cancellation of higher frequencies through the use of PAL.
Source: A. Tan, N. Tanaka. “implementing active noise control using parametric array loudspeaker as system
controller” 2006.
Fig. 62. The simulated results of the cancellation of higher frequencies through the use of PAL. Comparison
of disturbance and controlled signals.
Source: A. Tan, N. Tanaka. “implementing active noise control using parametric array loudspeaker as system
controller” 2006.
Fig. 63. Simple DSP configuration based on FXLMS algorithm for the VSE.
xii
Fig. 64. Multi-channel DSP configuration.
Fig. 65. This digital control system for feedforward/feedback.

Fig. 66. Single channel DSP configuration with FFT integration.

Source: C. Hansen. “Understaing Active Noise Cancellation” 2001.
Fig. 67. VSE Integration in a sonically diverse space.

Fig. 68. VSE Studio/Office space.

Fig. 69. Sound Map of Office Space.

Fig. 70. VSE Spaces.

Fig. 71. VSE Experiential Section

xiii
LIST OF APPENDICES
APPENDIX A
Active Noise Cancellation Test...........................................................................................................................49
APPENDIX B
Active Noise Cancellation Test with PAL.............................................................................................................50
Audiospotlight AS-16 Specifications....................................................................................................................51
MatLab FXLMS Algorithm...................................................................................................................................53
APPENDIX C
Varying Frequencies...........................................................................................................................................56
xiv
INTRODUCTION
“We put thirty spokes together and call it a wheel;
But it is on the space where there is nothing
that the utility of the wheel depends.
We turn clay to make a vessel;
But it is on the space where there is nothing
that the utility of the vessel depends.
We pierce doors and windows to a make a house;
and it is in these spaces where there is nothing
that the utility of the house depends.
Therefore, just as we take advantage of what is,
We should recognize the utility of what is not.”
-Lao-tzu. Tao Te Ching. 6th century BC.
Space is a paradoxical concept. An abstract notion describing what we humans consider to be the ever-
present ‘empty’ medium through which we define the existence of not just ourselves, but also of the place in
which we exist. From interstellar to personal, space is connected to the very impulse of our being. As Lao-tzu
understands, it is in the emptiness in which the understanding of space lies, yet it is never truly empty. As
perceptive beings, we exist in the space of sound, as “no sound exists outside of space, and no space is ever
truly silent” (Ripley, 2007). The ubiquity of sound in space defines the nature of the environment in which we live
and function as a species. The manner in which a space sounds reveals a mental image as we decipher data
such as volume, materiality, program, location and the character of a space. Sonically, spaces exist beyond
their visual and geometrical understanding through the use of echoes and reverberations. Sound presents the
possibility of an architecture that can generate and excel interactions and activities in the contemporary urban
condition.
Sound informs us of our condition in history (Attali, 1985). In the Islamic culture, the sound of the adhaan (the
call to prayer) would communicate the temporary suspension of all activities and would signal the community
to join together in prayer. Similarly, in medieval France, the ability to hear the sound of the town bell determined
whether someone was considered a citizen of that town (Blesser and Salter, 2007). Anyone living outside the
audible range of the bell was considered a foreigner. In the iPhone generation where activities and spaces
overlap irrespective of intimacy or personal space, we see that in increasingly noise saturated environments
individuals escape physical reality with the aid of sound by putting on headphones and creating a personal
zone of desired space. From the iPhone to the call to prayer, sound is the earliest form of communication that
defines cultures and spatial associations. Sound has increasingly become the definer of space, as sound not
only reveals the character of a space but also communicates sociocultural conventions.
Architecture has always been an agent of socioeconomic and cultural paradigms that have transpired
throughout human history as it represents, and conveys the societal predilection of cultural archetypes. By
1
COMMUNICATION
BARRIER
Fig. 01. Internet activity in Egypt during the revolution
Fig. 02. Tweet by Jared Cohen, the founder and Director of Fig. 03. Tweets. made possible for the people of Egypt to openly
Google Ideas, communicate and later congressional communication for the upris-
ing denouncing President Mubarak. This particular tweet was sent
via Blackberry.
Fig. 04. Tahrir Square, Egypt. The open square which be-
came the battle ground for the Egyptian Revolution of 2011.
The dichotomy of the of the virtual open space and the physi-
cal open space characterized by the square is clearly seen.
2
formulating spaces influenced by its sociocultural precedents and other environmental factors, architecture
describes the circumstances and the nature of how we live and function as a society. “The societal function
of architecture is the innovative ordering and framing of communicative interactions” (Schumacher, 2011). In
the post-digital, heterotopic society, ubiquitous wireless networks of information have transcended human
interrelations and activities beyond the limiting confines of physical space. The prevailing urban/architectural
models that determined spatial composition by means of material enclosures and boundaries such as walls
are less relevant when information, programs and activities transpire independent of such physical elements.
Architecture’s task now is the organization of and articulation of societal complexities of the post-fordist
network society (Schumacher, 2011).
Contemporary cultural mechanics have started to exploit the dichotomy of the virtual and physical space as it
is clearly evident from the increased use of wireless devices such as smartphones and tablets. These devices
virtually connect the whole world despite the physical limitations of space and time, hence, bringing upon a
revolutionary change in personal and global affairs. This is acutely illustrated through the 2011 Arab Spring
uprising supported by the immaterial wireless networks which helped topple a 30 year dictatorship that was
initiated and conducted through the exploitation of Facebook and other social media peripherals including
YouTube and Twitter. We are no longer bound by physicality when the emerging virtual realm creates a space
that enables peoples to communicate and share ideas free of any spatial, social, and cultural limitations.
Limitations which would otherwise be imposed by sanctions, borders, barriers, and walls, are dematerializing
as immaterial networks connect most of the world. With the decentralization of ideas and information free of
any barriers and constraints, a new social standard towards transparent and seamless interaction of ideas
and activities needs to be addressed architecturally. The architectural philosophies inherited from the models
of the twentieth century are irresponsive to the contemporary network society; hence, this thesis explores
the opportunity of a “traversable architecture that guarantees the penetration of territory and space, no
longer marked by closed confines, but by open filters” (Branzi, 2006) The suggested open filters assert the
construction of spaces are no longer bound by borders and barriers but by open flows of information, ideas
and cultures. Architecture and therefore, cities must generate, reflect and activate life, while organizing their
structure to precipitate life and movement (Castell, 2007).
Given the contemporary urban condition, this design thesis argues to identify and define sound as a material
through which a new type of traversable architecture can emerge. The aim of this thesis is to develop the use
of electroacoustic techniques, through the incorporation of physical and phenomenological applications of
sound to compose interconnected spaces purely out of sound and/or the lack thereof. Consequently, this
may reveal architectures existing beyond the boundaries of physicality – an immaterial architecture. As it is
explored, sound holds the potential to create permeable enclosures that allow people to freely move, and see
through, while creating an invisible sonic barrier – the Virtual Sonic Enclosure.
3
“A traversable architecture that guarantees the
penetration of territory and space, no longer marked
by closed confines, but by open filters.” (Branzi,
2006)
Fig. 05. The Virtual Sonic Enclosure. Dema-

terialized boundaries allow the penetration of
not only spaces but also culture.
4
Fig. 06. The VSE system, allows people to
see through it, pass through it but filters out
sound.
THE VIRTUAL SONIC ENCLOSURE
The Virtual Sonic Enclosure (VSE) is an immaterial enclosure constructed purely out of sound. It is an envelope
that allows the unobstructed penetration of sight and physical movement while filtering out sound. The VSE
technology is based on principles of active noise cancellation to generate invisible zone(s) of silence around
the user. This is an attempt to conceive architecture that is designed and built by sound and/or the lack thereof,
thus, generating spaces without the employment of physical materiality. As a result, this eludes at the possibility
of creating new traversable interconnected spaces defined by sound.
The project explores the interactions between the technical understandings of the manipulation of sound as a
material to instigate new meaning that lies within the shaping of the physical world which could inform the idea
of immaterial architecture. The understanding of the correlation of sound and space has two facets that will be
discussed in this thesis. While phenomenology gives us the understanding of the experience of the space, the
physical understanding of the phenomenon of sound provides scientific insight into the physical execution of
the experience in that space. This thesis discusses the phenomenological understanding of sound and how
such an understanding can communicate architectural space beyond physical representation. To do this, the
execution of the VSE system takes into account the perceptive power of the mind to create illusory spaces
expressed through electroacoustic means.
The thesis explores the VSE as an interface that communicates the contemporary urban conditions. Through
the use of the proposed VSE, this thesis aims to provide a weak infrastructure rather than an ‘object’ such as a
building to facilitate the seamless networking of spaces and programs to generate new architectural possibilities.
The VSE explores the need for spaces that encourage transparency in society and culture. Architecture, thus,
has the potential to dematerialize to the point that it is completely invisible. - an immaterial architecture.
5
Sound n.
1. The sensation produced by the stimulation of the organs of hearing by
vibrations transmitted through the air or other medium.
2. Mechanical vibrations transmitted through an elastic medium, travelling

in are at a speed of approximately 343.2 m/s (1236 km/h) in dry air at 20°C.
3. The particular auditory effect produced by a given cause: the sound of

music.
4. Any auditory effect: any audible vibrational disturbance: all kinds of
sound.
5. A noise, vocal utterance, musical tone, or the like: the

sounds from the next room.
6. A distinctive, characteristic, or recognizable musical style, as from a

particular performer, orchestra or type of arrangement.
7. The auditory effect of sound waves as transmitted or recorded by a

particular system of sound reproduction: the sound of a stereophonic recording.
8. Mere noise without meaning.
6
Fig. 07. From explicit to implicit space
defined by various spatial cues.
THE WALL
“The existence of place is held to be obvious from the fact of mutual

replacement. Where water now is, there in turn, when the water has gone
out as from a vessel, air is present; and at another time another body
occupies this same place.” (Aristotle, Physics, IV, 1)
Aristotle defines space as a hollow container (Meiss, 1990). Architectural

expression is based on the premise of designing this hollow container -
space. The utility of architecture depends on the creation of space defined
by such elements (not limited to) as walls and partitions. Architectural
space is conceived from the correlation between objects, boundaries
and planes, which define its spatial limits. Depending on the architectural
expression of these limits may be more or less explicit, which can constitute
continuous surfaces forming an uninterrupted boundary or may comprise
of just a few cues such expressed by four columns, colour, light or even
sound (Meiss, 1990). For instance, the space inside a cube is constructed
by six planes that define its spatial limits. However, if these planes were
to dematerialize and simply be ‘implied’ by defining only the corners of
the cube, the observers of the space would actively recognize the space
to be a cube space. Figure 07 illustrates the dematerialization of the
cube while still communicating a cube space by strategically maintaining
defining cues. As perceptive beings we consciously or unconsciously
register these cues based on sensory stimulation of sight, touch and
sound. This allows the communication of space through implicit or explicit
means. “The user establishes relationships, enabling the interpretation
Fig. 08. Different spatial fields on the
of an implicit limit” (Meiss, 1990). This simulates the genesis of a space same square plan by means of varying
vertical elements.
7
defined by minimal cues. The resulting ‘image’ of the space is defined by such limits is not the objective fact
of space as it is, but the experience of space that passes through subjective filter of perception conditioned
by our past experiences, and cultural dispositions (Meiss, 1990). Limits can also be defined by sound as it
will be discussed through auditory spatial perception. Consequently, the thesis explores the use of sound to
generate such type of explicit and implicit limits. The Virtual Sound Enclosure creates a novel spatial situation
where it is visually and physically implicit yet very explicit sonically. Does this technique of sonic definition
constitute spatial limits and boundaries? Through the phenomenological understand of space, sonic ‘walls’
can be erected that explicitly define a space.
Spaces have a fundamental prerequisite of providing various degrees of intimacy based on the function of the
space. This intimacy can be achieved through blocking various stimuli that are used to perceive space such
as a wall. The wall is a transitional threshold that divides juxtaposing spaces in architecture. Michael Graves
addresses the wall as the mediator between the sacred interior and the profane exterior. An opaque wall,
creates spatial boundaries, similarly, the dematerialization of walls into permeable thresholds (sonic walls),
spaces can achieve a state of liminality through which different characteristics and expression of space can
emerge. Walls can define spatial characteristics of layering, dissolution, blurring and ambiguity that transform
the user experience as they move through it. Such spaces can lead the user to question their surroundings
and stimulate a heightened awareness of the space. How this threshold is conceived is what defines the
space. In history, the erection and dissolution of walls have brought great transformations in social conditions.
The dissolution of the Berlin Wall triggered by the need for a transparent and democratic society transformed
the socio-political landscape of Europe that is defined by such transformative thresholds The opposite could
be said about the adamant erection of the Wall dividing Israel and Palestine. The proposed sonic enclosure
provides the possibility of just such thresholds between distinct spaces that generate transformative spaces.
Fig. 09. (below) Destruction of the Berlin Wall, 1989.
8
DIVISION vs DIFFUSION
The centralized, linear flow of information and activities driven by

the industrial process of standardization and mass production,
established the emergence of the modern corporation in the 19th
and 20th century (Stalder, 2001). The modern system instituted a
rigid hierarchical organization of information and orders flowing top
to bottom similar to the sequential flow of a factory assembly line.
Architecturally, this linear flow of information and materials transpired
into the centralized systems of spatial organization exemplified by
Fig. 10.Traditional hierarchic industrial society strict boundaries defined by fixed functionalities. Deriving from this
philosophy emerged a Taylorist organization of spaces designed to
increase bureaucratic efficiency. “Centralization meant that even as
the scale kept on increasing, things that logically belonged together
in the sense that they constituted a single process were also
geographically located together”. After the Second World War, the
global scenario began to shift from the centralized form of information
processing and communication to a decentralized global network.
Advances in telecommunication technologies, such as the radio and
Fig. 11. Contemporary network society
the introduction of the first transatlantic telephone line in the 1950’s,
marked the first step towards networking people and spaces throughout the world (Stalder, 2001). The social
and economic processes of sharing information and ideas began to experience a time-space compression,
where information was relayed instantaneously and free of any spatial limitations (Harvey, 1990). As a result,
spaces and locales “saw a significant acceleration in the pace of life concomitant with a dissolution or collapse
of traditional spatial co-ordinates”, (Jon and Thrift. 2001). As modes of communication increased in scope of
processing and bandwidth capacity in the 21st century, more complex information could be communicated
9
Fig. 12. Map of the Internet.
10
PERCENTAGE OF GLOBAL POPULATION WIRED VS WIRELESS
WITH MOBILE SUBSCRIPTIONS.
WIFI & MOBILE ACCESS

TO SURPASS
WIRED ACCESS
MCDONALDS & STARBUCKS
116 OFFER FREE WIFI
CITY OF BEIJING
OFFERS FREE WIFI
GOOGLE OFFERS 2 BILLION

FREE WIFI IN NYC
SUBWAY STATIONS
90
1.5 BILLION
76 1.2 BILLION
1.1 BILLION
65
DEVELOPED
67
WIFI BECOMES AVAILABLE
41 400 MILLION
34
360 MILLION
SOURCE: MORGAN STANLEY

SOURCE: ITU REPORT 2011
TOTAL WORLD 19 WIRED
DEVELOPING 9
WIRELESS
2001
2006
2010
2000
2003
2007
2011
2015
Fig. 13. Statistics of the increase in mobile
devices and wireless services.
wirelessly, known as WiFi. With the interconnected flows of capital, information, technology, organizational
interactions, images, sounds and symbols, this new space of flows became an expression of the changing
contemporary spatial organization (Castells, 1996).
“The emergence of the network enterprise as a new form of economic activity, with its highly
decentralized form of work and management, tends to blur the functional distinction between spaces
of work and space of residence” (Castells, 1996, pp85)
Until recently, modern architecture responded to linear strategies by designing spaces corresponding to fixed
functionalities and programs defined by rigid boundaries such as walls and partitions. With the integration of
wireless information networks within a physical urban fabric, the long held rigid boundaries of the modernist
urban and architectural landscapes have begun to dematerialize from the fixed division of program and space
to allow autonomous diffusion of heterotopic fields. As the Web 2.0 (WiFi) progressively connects the world,
independent of any border or barrier, programs and spaces are becoming increasingly ephemeral. The built
fabric needs to “reconceptualise new forms of spatial arrangements under the new technological paradigm”
(Castells. 1996, pp. 146). This form of ubiquitous networks and computing prompts a new type of ubiquitous
architecture.
In just a few years, technological advances in computers and hand-held devices have dissolved the relationship
of boundaries and fixed space. For instance, a smartphone simultaneously connects distant global locations
where one can wirelessly attend an international conference in Tokyo, download the latest hit song from Korea,
set up a dinner date and catch up on the daily news, all while drinking an Indian chai at a French café in
11
Fig. 14. WiFi Networks throughout the world
downtown Toronto. As elicited by the wireless era,
“…our buildings and urban environments need fewer specialized spaces built around sites of
accumulation and resource availability and more versatile, hospitable, accommodating space that
simply attract occupation and can serve diverse purposes as required.” (Mitchell, 2004)
Though the development of immaterial networks of communications is relatively new with retrospect to modern
architectural history, the concept of autonomous spatial and programmatic diffusion has been the topic of
discussion by architectural theorists such as Archigram and Archizoom since the 1960’s. Andrea Branzi, an
associate of the Archizoom group, often evaluated the attitude of modern architecture and urbanism as a
static rigid ideology that did not recognize the contemporary weak urban scenario.
“Contemporary architecture still attributes its own foundation to the acts of building, constructing
visible space; metaphors limited to a single building and single typologies, and do not take the
opportunity to represent a dispersed, inverted and immaterial urban condition.” (Branzi, 2006)
Branzi’s disposition towards contemporary architecture advances the idea of what he calls “weak spaces”.
Derived from Gianni Vattimo’s hermeneutic philosophies of “weak thought”, the term weak does not refer to
frailty or infirmity; rather it is a concept epitomizing loose and flexible relationships between space, program
and user. As it is evident in the current ephemeral urban condition, the application of weak spaces encourages
the development of transient autonomous programmatic systems. An early example of a weak system may
have been described in Yona Friedman’s work on the Spatial City during the modern period. His work was
directed towards finding a mode for architecture to be free and loose. Friedman suggested mobile architecture
12
Fig. 15. Dense WiFi networks juxtaposed over the built fabric of metropolitan cities such as Chicago (left) and Manhattan (right).
that would not be subjected to a permanent context, rather, it would, as Branzi states; “invoke the melding of
places based on autonomous programmatic relationships – a “genetic metropolis”.
“We can imagine in Imperial Rome, in current day Mumbai, or in the great African capitals like Lagos:
an urban reality where architecture is of human presences, relation, intersects and exchanges that
completely fill the space. Architecture no longer defines a permanent segmentation of space, but
becomes the theater of a vast elastic (in other words reversible) modification of infrastructures,
services and metropolitan underpinnings from the bottom up.” (Branzi, 2006)
With the superimposed structures of virtual networks over the built environment, the metropolitan fabric has been
“transformed by the interface between electronic communication and physical interaction by the combination
of networks and places” (Castells, 1989). This global reality is compelling urban and architectural design to
acknowledge the demand for traversable spaces that allow the diffusion of spaces, programs, and functions
to engender a rich cultural and spatial osmosis. Thus, architecture can “accelerate society’s transformation
through a careful agencing of spaces and events.” (Tschumi, 2004). By dematerializing barriers and forming
weak boundaries that act as open filters, architecture can reveal the potential to diffuse numerous programs
and spaces to explore novel architectural solutions.
13
WEAK BOUNDARIES AND SPACES
Fig. 16. Sketches by Le Corbusier illustrat-
ing the freedom of spatial expression
Historically, architectural and spatial innovation engages with the idea of defining and designing spaces that
allow for new possibilities of program, function and experience. One such innovation in the modern period
was the Free Plan by Le Corbusier. Traditionally, spatial organization used to be the derivative of limiting
factors, such as structural walls. Other than conceiving a cost effective and easy to construct system, Le
Corbusier pioneered the Free Plan to liberate fixed space from the confines of structural load-bearing walls
by employing columns to support the load of the building. Spaces were no longer limited by the calculated
placement of structural walls as the columns freed the interior space to discover new possibilities of spatial and
programmatic organization. Spaces and programs were now able to interact and, if intended, intersect as the
new architecture started to explore innovative forms and expressions of space. In contemporary architecture
several design studios have started to explore spatial strategies that exemplify weak boundaries and spaces.
Fig. 17. Villa Savoy floor plans illustrates in practicality the Free Plan and formulation of new
types of spatial and programmatic expression
Fig. 18. (Top) The Free Plan structure.
14
Fig. 19. Front façade of Sendai Mediatheque. Fig. 20. The façade at the ground level retreats as fields of
the outdoor space of the city melds with the interior space.
This illustrates the ubiquitous plane of activity that activates
unhindered flow of activities.
Toyo Ito, Sendai Mediatheque, 2001.
One of the most prominent contemporary examples of spatial and

programmatic diffusion through the dematerialization of rigid boundaries
is the Sendai Mediatheque by Toyo Ito, 1997-2001. This project
recognizes the emergence of the internet/media age foreshadowing new
types of architectural typologies, and houses a state-of-the-art media
“zone”, rather than the assumed media “library”. From the very genesis
of conception, Ito realized the ephemeral fabric of contemporary media
space, and hence, expanded the concept of ‘fluid’ and ‘barriers free’
space into a vast expanse of open fields. Initially intended to be barrier
free in terms of accessibility, Ito advanced this idea while recognizing the
loose and weak fabric of digital information and media to create spaces
free of fixed barriers and boundaries to mutually influence autonomous
diffusion of programs and spaces. Instead of erecting solid rectilinear
walls for defining programs, Ito designed semi-permeable, translucent
membranes – a curtain (Figure. 22,23). This design strategy fosters the
concept of free and open movement as the user is at liberty to choose
between various possibilities – “they make their own path” (Ito, 2007).
Even as one enters the building, the façade which distinguishes the
boundaries of indoor space and outdoor space are blurred as the whole
façade opens up and invites the outside in and the inside out. Architecture Fig. 21.Sketches by Ito illustrating
unhindered open space activated by
becomes immaterial as the juxtaposed programs meld together and ubiquitous planes.
there is a realization of intersecting spaces that release architecture from
15
Fig. 22. Ito employs loose partitions such as a translucent curtain Fig. 23. Drawing on the idea of ephemerality, Ito designs moveable
to distinguish private administrative spaces rather than a solid walls that allow flexible spatial configurations.
wall. This demonstrates weak boundaries that allow spatial
cohesion and transferability.
the rigid limits of physical partitions, and engender new spatial and social interactions.
“I took ‘barrier free’ to mean also freedom from administrative constraints. It is precisely because I
wanted to restore vitality and joy to the spaces of public facilities that the tubes, which caused many
people so much trouble to erect, came to exist.” (Ito, 2004)
The spatial organization in Sendai Mediatheque is meant to be reflective of the immaterial, ephemeral information
space. By loosely defining programs and space through the use of weak and transparent partitions, the space
connects the immaterial information space with the physical space. The concept of ephemerality of partitions
and walls, borrowed from precedents such as the Pompidou Center, the Mediatheque was coupled with Ito’s
conception of free program and free space. The Sendai Mediatheque illustrates architecture exploring the limits
and application of weak boundaries to initiate and allow brand new spatial and programmatic opportunities.
Sou Fujimoto, House NA, 2010, and House N, 2008.
Heavily inspired by Sendai Mediatheque, the term ‘Primitive Future’ coined by Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto
describes the spatial and programmatic conditions in primitive interpretations of space – such as the cave
(Fujimoto, 2010). Fujimoto’s design exploration begins by, “going back to the beginning of architecture”.
Similar to the cave, the user defines the space as the architecture only provides the infrastructure. Fujimoto’s
House Na (2010) takes radical steps towards redefining architecture to realize the relationship of the human
and the space. “I don’t want to just create a crazy house, I like to find the most fundamental, and unexpected
aspects of human life” (Fujimoto, 2011). By organizing space absent of barriers and boundaries, House Na
explores the potential of programs that converge at different points of the house creating interesting and novel
spatial conditions. Instead of using walls to create weak boundaries between programs and spaces, Fujimoto
uses the undulation of numerous platforms denoting free program. This architecture describes “nomadic”
conditions (Fujimoto, 2011), similar to the contemporary nomadic urban condition (Mitchell, 2004).
16
Fig. 24. House Na. Fujimoto forms transparent Fig. 25. Interior view of the living space. This illustrates a rich diffusion of activities
spaces that are not defined by partitions but by and spaces that are allow free movement of users and programs.
undulating platforms.
“The relationship of mobile bodies to sedentary structures have loosened and destabilized: inhabitation
is less about doing what some designer or manager explicitly intended in a space, and more about
imaginative, ad hoc appropriation for unanticipated purposes” (Mitchell, 2004)
Fig. 26. House N. The large openings act as open filters diffusing Fig. 27. House N. This illustrates the layering of spaces that
spaces and programs. introduce intersecting liminal spaces that actuate novel spatial
relationships with the user.
Another such project by Fujimoto that explores novel spatial interactions is the House N. Similar to House Na,
this design explores possibilities of situating juxtaposed programs and spaces separated not by solid walls
but by semi-permeable filters created by large openings that allow the interaction between the inside and
outside. The design of the house is a simple layering of boxes that impose interesting liminal spaces within
each other. The outer box covers the whole site, with smaller boxes allocating the living space. The interior
boxes which house the living space also provide a similar function where the large openings create in-between
spaces of interaction within the dwelling. This system of semi-permeable spaces within each other creates a
“positively confusing situation of inside and outside” (Fujimoto, 2011). This ‘positive confusion’ enforces the
idea and process of spatial and programmatic osmosis.
17
Fig. 28. In the House N Fujimoto describes the intersection of two juxtaposing programs. This induces ‘positive confusion’, enforcing the
idea of spatial and programmatic osmosis
The Free plan liberated architecture from deterministic structures, while the Sendai Mediatheque liberates
architecture from the confines of barriers and boundaries to influence free space and free program. Houses
Na and N explore different strategies to liberate the user to explore novel spatial conditions. Ultimately, these
innovations were driven by the perpetual need to liberate architecture from the rigid, traditional limitations, and
accommodate the organization of space that actuates not only the free flow of information but also of space,
program and social interactions.
“By flows I understand purposeful, repetitive, programmable sequences of exchange and interaction between
physically disjointed positions held by social actors” (Castells. 1996).
18
Fig. 29. Tactical Sound Garden. Sonic spaces activated by the use of smartphones.
Mark Shepard, Tactical Sound Garden, 2007
With the overlaying of dense networks of information over the built fabric of cities, there are a few projects that
have begun to explore the implications and applications of merging physical space with virtual networks. As
wireless devices such as smartphones and tablets continue to dominate human lives, architecture needs to
start exploring ways of integrating ubiquitous wireless networks with physical space. Once such project that
explores this association is the Tactical Sound Garden (TSG) project initiated by architect Mark Shepard.
“Given the ubiquity of mobile devices and wireless networks, and their proliferation throughout increasingly
diverse and sometimes unexpected urban sites, what opportunities- and dilemmas- emerge for the design of
public space in contemporary cities?” (Shepard, 2007)
The TSG is an attempt to articulate physical public space actuated by the interaction of the wireless
infrastructure of communication to redefine, in contemporary terms, the use of public space via wireless
devices such as smartphones. This project draws from the emerging virtual communities of the web and
translates it to the physical world based around the concept of cultivating public “sound gardens”. Through
the use of smartphones the TSG provides an open source software platform that enables anyone within a Wi-
Fi zone to digitally “plant” sounds at specific locations throughout the city. The user actively participates in the
creation of sonic environments where other users can interact and participate in observing sounds planted
by previous users of the space. The TSG enables the establishment of shared social spaces within which
people collaborate on the cultivation of sonic environments. Shepard extends the practice of ‘playlist sharing’
19
Fig. 30. Shepard illustrates the integration of
wireless infrastructures that actuate physical
environments.
Fig. 31. Aerial view of the sound garden. Shown are the sound signature ‘planted’ by participant of the TSG. This illustrates the cohesion
of virtual space with the physical. The invisible network space manifests in the physical space.
(the sharing of favorite music files across a network connection), to articulate new terrain for social interaction
(Shepard, 2007). The TSG project initiates and enriches physical spaces by first allowing the melding of social
interactions, and also empowers the user of the space to be an active creator of his/her space and not just a
passive entity.
The TSG project explores the concepts of social connectivity propagated by the barrier-less virtual environments
expressed by sound. It illustrates the translation of the immaterial network fabric onto the physical urban
fabric. As a result, the segmented physical fabric starts to transform, into a ubiquitous field of virtually barrier-
less space where novel social interactions transpire. These technologically mediated physical environments
activate new social and spatial interactions. This project demonstrates the correspondence of the virtual and
the physical and how it bridges new connections between them. This manifests into a new type of physical-
virtual environment. As a result, the immaterial networks may instigate a type of “immaterial” architecture.
20
FREE PLAN
Le Corbusier
The Free Plan liberates spatial
orginization from structural walls
RENAISSANCE
Spaces defined by
structure
SENDAI MEDIATEQUE
Toyo Ito
Ubiqitous archtiecture
BOSTON SYMPHONY HALL
Wallace Sabine
VIRTUAL SOUND
PRE HISTORIC
The application of modern acoustics
ENCLOSURE
Catal Huyuk Invisible sonic enclosures
Spaces defined by define space
structure Interconnected spaces
without physical
boundaries
INDUSTRIAL
REVOLUTION TAYLORISM MODERNISM
Scientific Management
Open Plan Office GEODESIC DOME STRUCTURE
CLASSICAL Buckminster Fuller PHILLIPS PAVILLION
New structural system eliminates Iannis Xenakis
the need for columns Translation of music to
architecture
21
14th -16th CENTURY
1700
1800
1810
1820
1830
1840
1850
1860
1870
1880
1890
1900
1910
1920
1930
1940
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
2000
2010
2020
FIRST TRANSATLANTIC
TELEPHONE CABLE
LOUDSPEAKER INVENTED
Alexander Graham Bell
FIRST PERSONAL
COMPUTER INTERNET WIFI
“Programma 101”
ACOUSTIC PRINCIPLES ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH TELEPHONE PATENTED
Pythagoras Sir Charles Wheatstone Alexander Graham Bell HYTHE SOUND MIRRORS
Aristotle Sir William Fothergill Cooke
Vitruvius NOISE REDUCTION
FIRST TRANSATLANTIC
TELEGRAPH CABLE RADIO INVENTED FOR AUDIO RECORDING
MP3 FORMAT
Guglielmo Marconi
ACOUSTIC COMPUTER
MODELLING
MODERN ACOUSTICS
ARPANET
Predecessor to the Internet
Fig. 32. Timeline denoting the architectural innovations that
transpired in comparison to technological developments made
in acoustics and telecommunications
PERCEPTION OF SPACE
The phenomenological understanding of our environment has been one of the relying premise through which
we have risen to become the dominant species of this planet. A highly developed aptitude towards perception
and contemplation of the environment has protected us from the predators in the wild to the sound of on-
coming traffic on a bustling city street. An amassed influx of empirical information gives us the ability to
perceive the world around us, entailing us to not just be aware of our space but also our place within that
space as it constantly encompasses our being (existence) (Ching, 1996)
“Through the volume of space, we see forms, hear sounds, feel breezes, smell the fragrance of flower
gardens in bloom. It is a material substance like wood or stone. Yet it is an inherently formless vapour.”
(Francis D. K. Ching, 1996)
Unlike the rationalist principles of modernism, phenomenology sanctions the method of contemplative
consciousness of the individual experience through empirical means that engenders the faculty to navigate,
orient and deliberate. In architecture, phenomenology has been a reflective subject of study since the idea was
first influenced by Martin Heidegger . It not only defines the existence of a space based on sensory stimulants
such as material substance, shape, texture, colour, and sound but also discloses our place within it. This
understanding of phenomenology fastens into an ontological discussion as mentioned by Maurice Merleau-
Ponty in 1945. Heavily influenced by phenomenologist Edmund Husserl’s work, Merleau-Ponty’s reveals the
structure of perception where he denotes that first we perceive the world, then, we do philosophy,
“The perceived world is the always presupposed foundation of all rationality, all value and all existence.
This thesis does not destroy either rationality or the absolute. It only tries to bring them down to earth.”
(Maurice Merleau-Ponty, 1964)
Merleau-Ponty hails the perceived world as the foundation of all existence, and all rationality. This idea brings
into question the Cartesian and Euclidean rationality which laid its foundations from antiquity on rational
architectural proportions (Melioli, 2005). A phenomenological perspective allows the conception of space
22
not only through quantitative exploration, but also through the experience of space. It relieves architecture
from a rigid understanding of form and space to a more dynamic and flexible interpretation informed by
societal experiential factors. Phenomenology, hence, expands architectural exploration and expression and
brings architecture to its existential understanding. Pallasmaa: “architectural problems are far too complex
and existential to be dealt with in a solely conceptualized and rational manner”. Phenomenologist, Edmund
Husserl discusses eidetic intuition as he is concerned with physical analytic geometry. Husserl’s philosophies
favour a non-metrical approach to geometry, hence leading towards a phenomenological approach to space.
Early theories on the architecture mostly discussed strategies concerning formal expression of the built ‘object’
and seldom discussed the concept of spatial characteristics. It was only at the beginning of the 19th century
did the discussion of space and spatial experience start to develop. Scholars such as August Schmarsow
state,
“…Man imagines in the first place the space which surrounds him and not the physical objects
which are supports of symbolic significance. All static or mechanical dispositions, as well as the
materialization of the spatial envelope, are only means for realizing an idea which is vaguely felt or
clearly imagined in architectural creation… Architecture is ‘art’ when the design of space clearly takes
precedence over the design of the object. Spatial intention is the living soul of architectural creation”
(Schmarsow, 1897)
Until recently, the architectural position on the phenomenological execution of space has been a product of
physical form and volumes.
“As space begins to be captured, enclosed, molded, and organized by the elements of mass,
architecture comes into being.” (Ching, 1996)
However, with the correct use

phenomenological inputs, designers
can start to probe spaces that go beyond
its formal Euclidean understanding, and
in turn reveal more dynamic and fluid
spaces. As sounds exists indefinitely
in any space (unlike light), it is the only
constant phenomenon that defines
space. Sound has a direct correlation
with the perception of space. Sound
bares the non-Euclidean geometry,
projective geometry, projective space,
as discussed by Matteo Melioli,
Fig. 33. Section of St. Mark’s, Venice.
23
Fig. 34. Melioli visually maps the rever-
beration and echoes created by a sound
source (red dot) placed in the basilica
unveiling a formal expression of sound
unique to that space.
Fig. 35. Formal expression of the sound-

scape of the church.
Fig. 36. With the material composition of

the physical space omitted reveals “ghost
spaces” that are invisible to the eye.
“Sound has therefore the power of deforming spatial perception, making space assume geometrical
configurations that are complex and not linear, configurations of ‘ghost’ spaces extending beyond the
physiological boundaries of our sensory perception” (Melioli, 2005)
So, if the physical elements that define form and volume were to be obscured or even eliminated, can we
still perceive space? Traditionally, there has been an evident divide between the seen and the unseen in
architecture. Melioli’s work on the, Saint Mark’s church in Venice (Figure 33), tries to examine the unseen
phenomenon of echoes and reverberations in the Byzantine basilica and studies it visually. He maps the
sounds reflecting off the stone walls, and through modeling software, he visualizes the interactions of the sound
within the space (Figure 34). Hence, he reveals the unseen ‘ghost’ space which could only be heard. “Sound
becomes the measure and scale of our perception modeling an intimate and vague space in our imagination”
(Melioli, 2005). Sound has the power to reveal the invisible space and also has the power to create. Through
this process of translating the immaterial phenomenological understanding into a visual expression, one can
appreciate the impact sound has on the experience space. “Similar to how the ambiguity of a completely dark
space is eliminated with the presence of light, Sound and the acoustics of a space also inform the user of a
certain kind of space”. Architect Juhani Pallasma (1996), who rejected the assumption of visual dominance,
considered “sensory architecture as an umbrella theme that explicitly included aural architecture.”
24
Auditory Spatial Perception: Creating Space from Sound
Auditory spatial perception is the mind’s ability to perceive space through sound. An amalgamation of aural
sensory stimuli, personal history and cultural values reveal to the mind the spatial attributes of our environment
through a mental process called auditory spatial awareness. Barry Blesser, a former professor at MIT and
the inventor of the digital reverberation system, argues that auditory spatial awareness facilitates the mind to
perceive space through complex cognitive processes that enables us to visualize space while allowing the
mind to orient, navigate, and affect our consciousness of being in a space. As auditory spatial perception
informs us of our surroundings it also “influences social behaviour, as some spaces emphasize aural privacy,
and aggravate loneliness, while others reinforce social cohesion” (Blesser, 2006).
As one of the defining principles of architecture is the formulation of spaces that allow social cohesion and/or
social isolation, sound proposes a dynamic material from which to compose space. A material, in the traditional
sense of the word has an inherent prerequisite of being composed of physical matter. Sound however, is
not matter. Sound is an immaterial pressure wave, audible to the human ear that enables the perception of
space. Rather than designing space created by physical boundaries, aural phenomenological understanding
provides the psycho-acoustic basis from which we can simulate virtual spaces. The manipulation of auditory
stimuli, through the means of active acoustic systems, can create spatial experiences where physical space
or materiality does not have to exist, hence, rendering effective phantom and illusory spaces. To achieve an
illusory state of perception, the space needs to capture the aural stimuli and convey it to the user in a manner
that creates the perception of space. As our environment interacts with us through a multitude of stimuli, our
mind does not expend our complete attention to all stimuli at once; instead it distinguishes information from
what is important and what is not to compose a mental depiction of a certain space (Nanda, 2006). We have
a limited pool of attentional resources, and due to this limitation, interesting perceptual illusions may manifest
(Spence. 2005).
Fig. 37. Auditory spatial perception. This diagram illustrates the possibility of creating illusory spaces driven by artificial inputs to the mind.
This can be achieved through the use of electro acoustics.
25
Fig. 38. Using surround sound, illusory spaces such as a Gothic cathedral, subway station, and a highway tunnel underpass were
simulated that interacted with the sounds created by the participants of the space.
EXPERIMENT 01
In order to test auditory spatial perception, a sound experiment was set up to relay only auditory stimuli to create
the perception of space. A series of four loudspeakers were arranged around the participants to simulate an
immersive spatial environment. The intent of the experiment was to harness the capacity of auditory spatial
perception through the creation of illusory spaces by artificially altering the experience of the existing space
by means of electroacoustics. The experiment was set up to sonically create the experience of specific types
of iconic spaces, such as a cathedral, a subway station, and a highway tunnel underpass. The experiment
was designed to not only project the soundscapes of these imaginary spaces, but also to be interactive with
the participants. Hence, the space would also sonically respond the user’s activity such as their voices and
other sounds generated as a result. For instance, if the user spoke in the simulated cathedral space it would
sonically simulate their voice as it would be heard in a cathedral. Participants were blind folded and brought
in to a dark room to omit the any visual sensory inputs that would otherwise inform the user of the pre-existing
dimensions and materiality of the space. Without having any predisposition of the true image of the space, the
participants were encouraged to freely perceive the space as informed by the auditory cues and soundscapes
generated by the speakers. They were asked to stand at a specific point in the room and interact sonically
with the space and each other in a candid manner. As the participants interacted with the simulated space they
were lead to perceive illusory spaces generated purely through auditory spatial perception. The participants
were lead to imagine an artificial space to have unique characteristics and identify the space in which they
were standing in, without any visual stimuli. The participants were able gauge their own presence in reference
26
to the simulated space. “When a space is exposed to full sonic illumination and you have sufficient cognitive
skill to interpret the multiplicity of acoustic cues, you can aurally visualize passive acoustic objects and spatial
geometry.” (Blesser, 2006)
**SEE APPENDIX FOR AUDIO EXAMPLE
Fig. 39. The movement of sound at varying speeds and levels mapped various sizes of simulated spaces. The movement of sound was
programmed to also simulate where the participant was standing in relation to the illusory space. While in reality the speakers remained
stationary as only the auditory inputs simulated dynamic virtual spaces.
EXPERIMENT 02
A subsidiary experiment was set up to observe how the sequenced movement of atonal sounds travelling
through eight loudspeakers placed around the participant would reveal significant spatial understanding of
the user’s orientation, and location within a space solely through auditory spatial perception (Figure xx). The
participants were lead into the experiment room without any visual cues to allow impartial perception of space
created by the movement of sound. The programmed movement of sound simulated spaces of various sizes
in relation to the static position of the participants. This sequenced movement of sound was able to inform the
users of their approximate location within the simulated space. Experiential observations showed that sound
can be used to invoke not just the sense of being in space, but also was able to inform the users of their
approximate locations within the simulated space. For instance, the manner in which the sound traveled from
27
one speaker to the other at varying intensities of loudness and speed denoted the participant spatial proximity
to the virtual sonic boundaries created by moving sound.
Given that through auditory spatial perception, we can perceive space; this suggests the possibility of composing
spaces through the controlled manipulation of sonic events and aural inputs to the mind. Observations made
from these exercises explain how sound can be developed as a medium to generate illusory spaces that
transpire independent of physical boundaries through the appropriate execution of auditory stimuli. This is due
to the mind only expending attentional resources to acquire information that informs orientation navigation,
and invokes an active contemplative process of aesthetically defining a space. Therefore, sound can not only
create the experience of being a space but also has the faculty to place the user within that space. Through our
sensory perception we pay attention to what is important, thus, optimizing the efficiency of useful information
that allows us to perceive space. This handicap can give designers a possibility of manipulating perception of
space by controlling the input to the senses. If we design a place where the sensory input is fragmented then
the user will be unable to form a cohesive real image and entail the generation of virtual sonic spaces. Through
immaterial architecture we can create space.
**SEE APPENDIX FOR AUDIO EXAMPLE
Drawing from these experiments, the VSE system is designed to created illusory spaces as induced by auditory
spatial perception. With the controlled array of output from the speakers, a multitude of diverse spaces can
be simulated. As the user perceives silence and other illusory aural environments, the Virtual Sonic Enclosure
allows the composition of immaterial sonic enclosures within a noisy environment.
Fig. 40 This graphic simulation shows various sonic environments of varying

acoustic intimacy can be generated through the VSE. With the use of parametric
array loudspeakers, quite programs can be situated directly beside programs
that require a louder threshold.
28
MATERIALITY & IMMATERIALITY
“Can architecture be heard? Most people would probably say that

architecture does not produce sound, it cannot be heard. But neither
does it radiate light and yet it can be seen. We see the light it reflects
and thereby gain an impression of form and materials. In the same
way we hear the sounds it reflects and they, too, give us an impression
of form and material.” (Steen Eiler Rasmussen, 1999 )
Materiality and form is an intrinsic part of architecture and acoustics.

Since the writings of Vitruvius, materiality and form are discussed as
an instrument for formulating spatial acoustics. Materiality plays a
dominant role in the way sound is reflected, refracted and absorbed
and hence informs the quality and perception of spatial sonics. In the
Renaissance, Athanasius Kircher was one of first to experiment with
the sonic faculties of materiality and form as he discussed in his 1673
treatise – “Phonurgia Nova” (Magical Space of Sound and Silence).
Later, as the modern sciences emerged, a scientific understanding Fig. 41. Experiments by Kircher exploring
echoes.
of spatial acoustics, informed by materiality and form, initiated the
designs of calculated acoustic chambers to house performance
Fig. 42. Boston Symphony Hall, 1890.
Fig. 43. (Left). Anechoic Chamber.
29
Fig. 44. Resonant Chamber, RVTR, 2011 is responsive acoustic installation.
spaces such as the Boston Symphony Hall designed by acoustician

Wallace Sabine in 1890. The calculated positioning of materials
allowed desired spatial acoustics attributes to emerge. Through the
use of materials, complete control of sound was attained as it is evident
in the design of an anechoic chamber where the sound absorbent
material deadens all sonic energy to a state of complete silence.
This state of silence is so extreme that one can listen to the pulse
of their own heartbeat. Hence, materiality was used to acoustically
Fig. 45. Sonic sculpture by Eusebio Sempere
distinguish between intimate quiet spaces and loud spaces with
the use of acoustic walls and barriers. As spatial characteristics
and functions have become increasingly diverse over the years, the
interest in acoustically responsive application of materials and forms
has emerged. The Resonant Chamber designed by RVTR in 2011 is
a responsive acoustic element that deforms accordingly to achieve
the desired perception of sound within an irresponsive space (Figure
44). Materiality and form also allow the development of metamaterials
that can produce expressions such as the sonic sculpture designed
by minimalist artist, Eusebio Sempere in the 20th century (Figure
45). Acoustic metamaterials can manipulate sound in space. The
Fig. 46. Sonic metamaterial also known as
sculpture is a series of undulating stain-less steel tubes that alter sonic crystals.
sound frequencies as sound passes through it. Tests conducted by

acoustic scientists Francisco Meseguer, revealed that the steel tubes
were creating a “sonic band gap structure”. Derived from the sculpture,
30
Meseguer designed similarly calculated structures by manipulating the spacing and diameter of the rods to
completely attenuate certain frequencies and even amplifying some and changing the acoustic properties
of space. However, in the social structure of a network society where barrier and boundaries are becoming
increasingly ephemeral, there is a need to discover ephemeral materials. Since sound is inherently ephemeral,
its application can postulate generating transient spaces.
Fig. 47. Leitner uses the movement of sound to create spaces of sound. Fig. 48. “Sound Cube”, Berhard Leitner. The movement of
sound around a body creates spaces defined by sound.
An account of using sound as a material to construct ephemeral spaces is the work of composer/ architect
Bernhard Leitner as he describes sound as a “plastic sculptural medium” (Leitner 2011). Leitner’s work has
evolved over 30 years that employs the use of electroacoustic techniques of moving sound through a series
of loudspeakers to create space. The “Ton-Wurfel” (Sound Cube) exploits the perceptive power of the mind
to perceive the movement of sound around a body to compose space (Figure 48). Other applications of
sound as a constructive material are the works of composer and sound installation artist, Robin Minard. As
a composer, Robin Minard’s work explores the architectural spatial attributes of sound, as he ‘composes’
spaces from sound. In sound installation art, Minard explores the quality of relationships between audio, visual
and/or architectural elements. Minard describes his compositions to be non-narrative music.
“In non-narrative music, or sound art, the emphasis is placed in the acoustic and psychoacoustic
principles rather than the traditional musical concepts. These sounds then start to take on new
meaning as the art (sound) is dictated by the influence of sound elements on spatial perception rather
than the listener’s perception of a musical narrative or musical syntax” (Minard, 2000)
In his non-narrative compositions, select frequencies of sound projected through a series of loudspeakers
31
Fig. 49. (Top) ”SoundBits” By Robin Minard
Fig. 50.”SoundBits” Placement of speakers that add to the “spatial timbre”
give the space its “spatial timbre” that alters the perception of space to be volumetrically larger or smaller.
Spatial timbre is the acoustical character of a certain space. For instance, a church has a nostalgic spatial
timbre that the user refers to when he/she experiences it. This consciously or sub-consciously denotes the
character of the church to be cold, hard and grand (Minard. 2000).
Minard describes his work as ephemeral art, where it is composed to be used for transient spaces, responding
to contemporary spatial interpretations. “Ephemeral works of art embody a perpetual state of metamorphosis;
time very literally defines the truly ephemeral work of art” (Minard, 2000). As Minard explains, the twentieth
century modernism has transformed subject into material form as spaces need to shift from this model to a
transitory state.
Drawing from these examples, the Virtual Sound Enclosure employs similar techniques to generate
transient spaces that respond to contemporary spatial conditions. Shaping sound in space through the VSE
demonstrates the application of sound (an immaterial physical phenomenon) as a medium to compose
immaterial architecture.
32
VIRTUAL SONIC ENCLOSURE
ANTI
PHASE
The selected parametric array

603mm loudspeaker (PAL) also known as
ultrasonic speakers, used in this setup
is Audiospotlight AS-24 (See Specs
Enclosed)
REFERENCE
MICROPHONES The most effective location for a
control source is on TOP of the listener.
AREA OF SILENCE (AOS): principle of Virtual Sound

THE LOCATION OF PREVIOUS EXPERIMENTS SHOW THAT,
*The
AOS CAN BE THE AOS IS CREATED AROUND THE Barrier (VSB) is that the sound
DETECTED AND ERROR MICROPHONE. THIS CAN BE pressure anywhere inside a volume
MANIPULATED r MOVED THOUGH THE APPLICATION OF without internal sources is completely
THROUGH A BEAMFORMING. determined by the sound pressure and
DSP COMBINATION OF r
NOISE the normal gradient on the boundary,
THE DSP AND GPS THE BUILT-IN GPS IN A SMARTPHONE
SOURCE and if all the sound pressure and
33
DETECTS USER’S POISTION AND normal gradient on the boundary are
FEEDFORWARD ADJUSTS SIGNAL ACCORDINGLY FOR
reduced to zero, the sound pressure
ALGORITHM ACCURATE BEAMFORMING
FXLMS [5] inside would be zero too. (Tanaka,
MICROPHONE PLANTED ON THE MOVING Tan, 2006)
r
ERROR LISTENER CAN SEND DATA TO THE DSP TO
MICROPHONE DETERMINE THE SOUND LEVEL WITHIN
THE AOS, AND MANIPULATE THE CONTROL
SOURCE ACCORDINGLY
Expected path, due to the highly

directional beam of sound produced by
PAL. Actual path may have a less rigid
edge
Absorptive material to absorb the
sound emitted by PAL.
}
Fig. 51. Virtual Sonic Enclosure Schematic
~ ACOUSTIC NEUTRALITY
CEILING PLAN SOUND PLAN

Fig. 52. The VSE can be expressed into
spaces created by sound. Each space has its
own aural characteristics independent of any
physical partitions.
34
The design intent of the Virtual Sound Enclosure (VSE) is to generate immaterial sonic voids within a noisy
environment. Traditionally, acoustic technologies relied on the application of physical materials that diffuse and
absorb sound. This approach however, limits the space to its physical and material confines. By employing
electroacoustic techniques there is potential to create illusory spaces. The main principle driving the VSE
technology is the modified application of active noise control or active noise cancellation (ANC) based on
the theory that if the “sound pressure anywhere inside a volume without internal sources (sound sources) is
completely determined by the sound pressure and the normal gradient on the boundary, and if all the sound
pressure and normal gradient on the boundary are reduced to zero, the sound pressure inside would be zero
too” (Qui, Zou, Rao, 2009).
ACTIVE NOISE CANCELLATION Fig. 53. Basic principle of ANC. When

anti-noise is added to the original
sound the resultant wave is zero.
0 + 0 = 0
The aim of ANC is the attenuation of unwanted noise through the electroacoustic manipulation of sound signals
emitted by a control source. The mechanics of sound can be equated to a pressure wave that oscillates between
compression and rarefaction phases (Figure. 53). An ANC system is controlled by a secondary transducer
(control source) that emits an 180 degree inverted phase, or “anti-noise” of the unwanted sound (primary
sound source). The waves combine to form a resultant wave, in a process called interference. Subsequently,
the anti-noise cancels out the unwanted sound in an effect known as phase cancellation. The consequential
sound wave is thus perceived to be inaudible to the human ear. For effective attenuation, the inverted control
signals emitted by the secondary sound source must be directly proportional to the amplitude and frequencies
of the unwanted sound source. The transducer emitting the cancellation signal may be located at the location
where sound attenuation is wanted, for instance, the user’s ear. Conventional uses of ANC can be seen in
aircraft cockpits, and more commercially known to be applied in noise-cancelling headphones. Since these
applications are confined within a small space, simple attenuation is possible.
A simple single channel ANC system consists of:
• A reference microphone sensor to sample the disturbance to be cancelled.

• An electronic control system to process the reference signal and generate the control signal. With
the increase in computer processing power most ANC systems today are based on digital signal
processors (DSP) rather than the analog system.
• A loudspeaker (control source) dictated by the control signal to generate the cancelling disturbance
• And an error microphone to provide the controller with information so that it can adjust itself to
minimise the resulting sound field.
35
Theoretically the application of ANC demonstrates the full attenuation of all the frequencies as shown in
Figure 53. In practicality, limitation posed by conventional control sources and processing capacity makes
it difficult to achieve three-dimensional sonic attenuation. Conventional ANC systems are typically limited to
lower frequencies ranging approximately below 500 Hz (Hansen, 2001). Though ANC is gives the designer the
ability to manipulate the sonic environment through active sound signals, thus far, it has been limited to the
attenuation of only low frequencies. Achieving noise control at higher frequencies such as the human voice,
ambient soundscapes, and etc., pose some technical difficulties that hinder its application. For instance, more
complex vibrations and soundscapes require powerful processing capacity prompted by higher sampling
rates. Additionally, conventional loudspeaker technologies used for control sources propagate sound omni-
directionally. This is helpful for attenuating low frequencies, however, due to high directionality and shorter
wavelengths, higher frequencies are not able to be attenuated unless controlled by an array of control
sources. Due to these limitations, ANC systems are fairly successful when applied in smaller confines such
110
100
Plant Location Receptor Location Level = 103 dB @

f = 296 Hz
90
80
Sound Pressure Level, dB
70
60
50
Level = 52 dB @
f = 296 Hz
40
30
20
0
150
300
450
Frequency, Hz
Fig. 54. Cement plant. Installation of ANC silencer. Fig. 55. Comparison of noise at plant location and receptor
location
as mechanical ducts. A project conducted for the noise reduction from a dust collector centrifugal fan of
a cement plant in Northern USA by Professor Ramani Ramakrishnan, and Werner Richardz, demonstrates
a successful application of ANC for a mechanical systems (Figure 54). The fan produced a strong blade
passing tone at 296Hz which could be heard a kilometer away in a dense residential area (Figure 55).
Responding to the complaints of the residents, Ramakrishnan and Richadz designed an active noise control
system to attenuate the invasive tonal noise of the fan which was heard in the band of 315Hz at 103dB
in the residential area. The fan was fitted with a conventional dissipative silencer interposed between the
sensing microphones and conventional loudspeakers. Unlike random noise, mechanical noise is usually at
low frequencies. Hence, the uses of conventional loudspeaker control sources provide a viable solution for
the attenuation of low frequencies. Since mechanical sounds are predictable and consistent, this permits
the application of a simple feedback or feedforward system. However, for the attenuation of complex noise
36
Radiated SPL @ 10 m
85
1 4 Controller "off"
Controller "ON"
80
10 m
75
3
SPL (dB)
2 70
Noise Suppression System:
1. sensing microphone
65
2. error microphone
3. controller
4. silencer c/w loudspeakers
Process Fan 60
not to scale
55
260 270 280 290 300 310 320
Frequency (Hz)
Fig. 56. ANC setup at the plant. Fig. 57. Performance of the ANC system.
environments a hybrid of feedback and feedforward system must be applied. For the centrifugal fan ANC system,
“the control source was configured to operate in a feedforward mode wherein the sensing microphones and
phase and amplitude adjustments are made based on feedback from the error microphone”, (Ramakrishnan,
Richardz. 2005). The designed ANC system proved to provide 12 dB reduction of the invasive blade tone as
shown in Figure 57. In the case of the proposed Virtual Sonic Enclosure, the sound intended to be attenuated
can range from simple repetitive atonal sounds to complex random noise. Thus, taking into account the
limitations posed by conventional methods of ANC this thesis proposes a novel modification to achieve greater
attenuation of higher frequencies while generating zone(s) of silence independent of any physical confines by
employing the use of parametric array loudspeakers.
PARAMETRIC ARRAY LOUDSPEAKERS
Conventional loudspeakers are very inefficient as they propagate sound omni-directionally. This can be useful
in attenuating low frequencies, but has been proven to be ineffective against higher frequencies. In order to
alleviate this limitation, this thesis proposes the use of parametric array loudspeakers (PAL) developed by
MIT researcher, Joseph Pompeii (Figure 58). Unlike conventional loudspeakers, the PAL does not emit sound
omni-directionally, rather it emit beams of sound similar to a laser. Pompeii uses airborne ultrasonic sound
to generate audible sound beams (Pompeii, 1999). The PAL exploits an effect known as self-demodulation.
Self-demodulation occurs when nonlinearities of a compressible medium (such as water of air) cause high
frequency wave components to interact. The interaction between the ultrasonic frequencies produces resultant
audible frequencies. Similar to the process of AM demodulation the ultrasonic frequencies act as carrier waves
of the audible frequencies (Figure 60). Another such exploration was conducted by Woody Norris, who explains
the concept of using the nonlinearity of air to produce highly directional audible sound. This is also known as
the Tartini effect. When two ultrasonic sound frequencies go in and out of phase they produce a demodulated
audible beat. With the correct ultrasonic frequencies being produced, it is possible to create highly directional
audible sound.
37
PAL SOUND PROPOGATION
ULTRASOUND
TYPICAL LOUDSPEAKER
AUDIBLE SOUND
Fig. 58 Audio Spotlight AS-16, parametric array loudspeaker. Fig. 59. Comparison of sound propagation of a
conventional loudspeakers and the PAL. The PAL emits
high amplitude ultrasonic waves which demodulate into
directional audible sound due to non-linear interaction with
Fig. 60. (Below) AM demodulation. the medium through which they propagate.
CARRIER FREQUENCY
This beam like propagation of sound creates local zones of sound in the direction the PAL is facing. By using
PAL instead of conventional speakers higher frequencies can be attenuated in an ANC system (Tan, Tanaka,
2006). Figures 61 and 62 express the active noise control performance through the use of PAL.
Uncontrolled and controlled signals in frequency domain (with Time-series of uncontrolled and controlled signals (with
1=0.0001 and 2=0.01) 1=0.0001 and 2=0.01)
=filter coefficient “feedforward” algorithm FXLMS
Fig. 61. The graph indicates the simulated results of the Fig. 62. The graph indicates the simulated results of the
cancellation of higher frequencies facilitated by the use of performance of active noise cancellation using PAL. The
parametric array loudspeakers. simulated controlled signals are greatly reduced from the initial
disturbance signal.
38
ANTI
PHASE
CONTROL SOURCE (PAL)
REFERENCE
REF
M
MICROPHONE(S)
C O
NOISE
ANTI-ALIASING FILTER ANTI-ALIASING FILTER

AREA/ZONE OF
SILENCE
D/A CONVERTER
AND A/D CONVERTER AND A/D CONVERTER
ERROR
MICROPHONES
CONTROL
SIGNAL
SIGNAL
ERROR
REFERENCE SIGNAL
_
CONTROL + + CANCELLATION +
PATH ESTIMATE
FILTER
C(z)
COPY OF CANCELLATION
PATH ESTIMATE
C(z)
ADAPTIVE
FXLMS
ALGORITHM
DIGITAL SIGNAL PROCESSING (DSP)
Fig. 63. Simple DSP configuration based on FXLMS algorithm

for the VSE.
DIGITAL SIGNAL PROCESSING
Though the science seems simple enough in theory, the practical application of ANC requires complex
algorithms to compute the control signals needed to attenuate the unwanted sound. The control signals
emitted by the secondary sound source must be directly proportional in terms of amplitude and frequency,
while adapting to changing sonic inputs from the primary sound source. For this reason adaptive algorithms
are processed through a digital signal processor (Figure 63). The adaptive algorithm used for the VSE is filter-x
Least Mean Square (FXLMS) (See Appendix). This project also takes into account for the feedforward, and
feedback system. Since the VSE is achieved through a ubiquitous plane of PAL control sources we need to
apply a multichannel system as illustrated in Figure 64.
REFERENCE ERROR
MICROPHONE(S) CONTROL SOURCE (PAL) MICROPHONE(S)
NOISE

CONTROL
SIGNAL
SIGNAL
ERROR
REFERENCE SIGNAL
CANCELLATION

PATH ESTIMATE
CONTROL

C(z)
FILTER
ADAPTIVE
ALGORITHM
Fig. 64. Multi-channel DSP configuration
39
ANTI
PHASE
REFERENCE
MICROPHONE(S)
CONTROL SOURCE (PAL)
NOISE

D/A CONVERTER
REFERENCE
SIGNAL
ERROR SIGNAL
COPY OF CANCELLATION
CONTROL
PATH IR ESTIMATE
CONTROL
FILTER
SIGNAL
C(z)
ERROR
MICROPHONES
ADAPTIVE
FXLMS
ALGORITHM
AREA/ZONE OF
SILENCE
CANCELLATION _ +
+ PATH IR ESTIMATE
+ RANDOM NOISE C(z)

GENERATOR
CONTROL
FILTER ADAPTIVE
ALGORITHM
COPY OF CANCELLATION COPY OF CANCELLATION

PATH IR ESTIMATE PATH IR ESTIMATE
C(z) C(z)
ADAPTIVE
ALGORITHM
+ +

DIGITAL SIGNAL PROCESSING (DSP)
Fig. 65. This digital control system uses a combination of feedforward and feedback mode to achieve optimize the control signal.
More powerful control signal processors may help alleviate the technical limitations by extending the range
of attenuation to higher frequencies and multichannel systems. As integrated microprocessors dedicated
for signal processing have become more feasible and faster the potential for the proposed active noise
cancellation system is highly plausible as shown by the function of the VSE. As random noise carries many
frequencies that need to be picked up by the sensing microphones and processed accordingly the possible
use of Fast Fourier Transform hardware (FFT) can be applied. The FFT is an adaptive algorithm hardware
that processes individual frequency bins. The frequency bins are then amalgamated using an Inverse Fast
Fourier Transform (IFFT) to provide the control signal. Through this process, significant improvement in the
convergence rate can be achieved resulting in successful ANC for noise ranging in different frequencies.
Figure 66. shows the control system schematic for the integration of FFT for frequency based control.
Fig. 66. Single channel DSP configuration with FFT integration.
40
Fig. 67. With the integration of VSE, sonically diverse space can be defined independent of physical barriers.
Fig. 68. The elimination of barriers from spaces, engender new relationships in collaborative spaces such as a studio/office.
VSE VSE VSE

70 dB
65 dB
60 dB
55 dB
50 dB
45 dB
40 dB
35 dB
30 dB
Fig. 69. Virtual sonic enclosures allow spaces of interaction on a ubiquitous plane of varying programs.
41
Fig 70. Spaces generated by the application of VSE
42
Fig 71. VSE Experiential Section
CONCLUSION
The Facebook revolution of the 2011 Arab Spring illustrates the emergence of a network society actuated by
a barrier-less space of the virtual world. With immaterial wireless networks driving cities and civilizations the
masses are connected regardless of any physical boundary or border. The dissolution of the boundaries and
barriers initiates the diffusion of sociocultural paradigms. As ideas and people start to interchange, a new
prosperous society can emerge. With the destruction of the Berlin Wall, a barrier erected to metaphorically and
literally hinder ideas and society brought upon a new age of social and cultural cohesion and understanding.
To represent this condition, architecture must explore ways to create weak and ephemeral ‘filters’ that enable
the intersection of programs and spaces that allow for seamless spatial and cultural osmosis, revealing novel
spatial and programmatic possibilities.
In light of the changing urban conditions, this thesis proposes a system of interconnected spaces and programs,
without the use of physical boundaries. Boundaries defined by filters of sound. The Virtual Sonic Enclosure
is a system where sound is used to create immaterial enclosures of silence that allow the interpenetration of
diverse spaces and programs. As architecture actuated by sound there is a new potential for form, program
and space.
Expressed in this thesis are potential applications of the immaterial sound enclosures, however, in its current
state the VSE presents some technical and architectural limitations. Technically, with the current processing
capacity and power needed to generate such large fields of sonic spaces within dynamic and complex noisy
environment is very difficult to achieve. As random sounds must be calculated and relayed through control
sources without delay, it poses a difficult but not impossible challenge. For now, such enclosures can only be
simulated in laboratories with highly sophisticated equipment. However, with the exponential advances being
developed in processor technology, such large scale applications may become a reality in the near future.
Architecturally, the proposed VSE is a discourse between the tangible and the intangible. It allows a new way
43
of constructing spaces that require varying degrees of aural intimacy, however this can be combined with other
elements of architecture to generate a new types of architectural expressions. Walls and partition will have
new meanings and applications. The spatial organization of space will no longer be constrained to materiality
as this thesis suggests, since sound can be employed as an immaterial medium for spatial definition. With a
new tool in arsenal of design, what architectural possibilities can arise from the application of immaterial sonic
enclosures? Since visual and physical cues that define space dematerialize, what spatial characteristics are
generated by aural cues?
By utilizing the smartphone as a sensor to generate a zone of silence and locate the user’s position, architecture
starts to be mediated by the active participation of the user activity. Networks and connections between
peoples and communities would no longer manifest only in the virtual space but would also start to translate
into the physical world. The transparency achieved by the removal of physical partitions and boundaries would
start to encourage the interconnection of not only spaces and programs, but consequently the interconnection
of ideas, people and cultures of the 21th century.
Hence, this thesis is an experiment towards reducing architecture to its least common measure. It seeks
to establish permeable and invisible thresholds sound between juxtaposed spaces that activate life. What
elements in architecture can exist independently of the other? For instance, can the omission of visual
stimuli convey the clarity or even enhance perception of space? Or would the muting of tangible elements in
architecture such as walls and barriers heighten the awareness of ones surroundings? How much further can
architects strip away at the conformist elements that have defined the main principles of architecture to still be
considered architecture?
44
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Processing, 361-364.
60. L.A. Brooks, A.C. Zander and C.H. Hansen, (2005) Investigation into the feasibility of using a parametric
array control source in an active noise control system, Proceedings of Acoustics 2005, 39-45.
47
61. Ramakrishnan, R., & Richardz, W. (2005). Collaborative Noise Control - A Case Study. Canadian Acous-
tics, 33(3), 2.
62. S. Kijimoto, I. Ikeda, Y. Koba, K. Matsuda, K. Kageyama. (2009) Noise reduction with active noise shielding
system, Proceedings of Active 2009.
63. Zou, H., Qui, X.,& Rao, W. (2009) Performance of a virtual sound barrier near a reflective surface, Proceed-
ings of Active 2009.
64. Zou, H., & Qui, X. (2008). Performance analysis of the virtial sound barrier system with a diffracting sphere.
Applied Acoustics, 69, 875-883.
65. Zou, H., Qui, X., Lu, J., & Niu, F. (2007). A preliminary experimental study on virtual sound barrier system.
Journal of Science and Vibration, 307, 379 - 385.
48
APPENDIX
APPENDIX A - ACTIVE NOISE CANCELLATION TEST
ANC OFF ANC ON ANC OFF ANC ON ANC OFF ANC ON ANC OFF ANC ON
To test active noise cancellation in an open air setting, two 5” Mackie MR5 loudspeakers were set up facing
each other. A phase flip algorithm was applied on one speaker. White noise was used to test the frequency
attenuation. Both speakers produced the white noise signal except on speaker was propagating an anti-
phase, hence, cancelling out the lower frequencies of the white noise.
49
APPENDIX B - ACTIVE NOISE CANCELLATION TEST WITH PARAMETRIC
ARRAY LOUDSPEAKRS
A main experiment was set up to test the proposed

active noise cancellation system facilitated by
parametric array loudspeakers to achieve a zone of
silence for tonal sounds. The system used MOTU
Traveller DSP as the sound card for the input and
output signals. Audiospotlight AS-16 parametric
array loudspeaker was used as the control source.
For control signal processing FXLMS algorithm
coded by Agustinus Oey for MatLab was used to
run the Simulink DSP model. Though the DSP was
successful in simulation, due to batch processing
method relaying the control signal, there was a 5
sec delay in the processing of the control signal.
Further tests using a faster processor can alleviate
this limitation.
Simulink model for VSE based on Agustinus Oey’s MatLab FXLMS algorithm .
50
Technical
Specifications
Sound Field Distribution
AS-16 AS-24
m ft
0 0 Sound field distribution is shown
with equal-loudness contours for
a standard 1 kHz tone. The center
2 area is loudest at 100% ampli-
tude, while the sound level just
1 outside the illustrated beam area
is less than 10%.
4
Audio Spotlight systems are
100%
much less sensitive to listener
-0 dB 6 100% distance than traditional
2
-0 dB loudspeakers, but maximum
performance is attained at
8 roughly 1-2m (3-6 ft) from the
50% listener.
-6 dB 50%
3 -6 dB
10 Typical levels are 80 dB SPL at
1kHz for AS-16, and 85 dB SPL for
AS-24 models. The larger AS-24
<10% <10% can output about twice the
-20 dB 12
-20 dB power and has twice low-
4 frequency range of the AS-16.
2 0 2 2 0 2
ft ft
m m
1 0 1 1 0 1
Speaker Dimensions (thickness ~0.5” / 1cm)

Amplifier Specifications 15 3/4” (40cm) 23 3/4” (60.3cm)
Input: RCA line-level audio

15 3/4” (40cm)
Power draw: 65W max (AS-24) 23 3/4” (60.3cm)
25W max (AS-16)

Output: BNC coax cable
(25’ / 7m included)
Controls: Volume, tone, on/off
Voltage: 100-240V 50/60Hz AS-16
Dimensions: 6”w x 7”d x 1.6”h
New square models shown.
(15cm x 18cm x 4cm) Legacy round speakers
are also available. AS-24
Holosonic Research Labs, Inc.

www.holosonics.com
Add sound… TM
617-923-4000 [email protected] and preserve the quiet.

© 2009 Holosonic Research Labs, Inc. Audio Spotlight is a registered trademark of Holosonic Research Labs, Inc.
51
52
MATLAB FXLMS ALGORITHM
53
54
55
APPENDIX C - VARYING FREQUENCIES
Freqency of male voice.
Freqency of city traffic.
Freqency of a crowd of people in a mall
56

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Ryerson University

Digital Commons @ Ryerson

Immaterial Architecture: Composing Space From

Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.ryerson.ca/dissertations

A design thesis project

Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 2013

Virtual Sonic Enclosure.......................................................................................................05

Division vs. Diffusion...........................................................................................................09

Weak Boundaries and Spaces............................................................................................14

Auditory Spatial Perception.......................................................................................25

Materiality & Immaterility....................................................................................................29

Fig. 01. Internet activity in Egypt during the revolution.

Fig. 03. Tweets during the Egypt uprising.

Fig. 04. Tahrir Square.

Fig. 05. The Virtual Sonic Enclosure.

Fig. 06. The VSE system.

Fig. 07. From explicit to implicit space.

Fig. 08. Spatial fields defined by vertical elements.

Fig. 10.Traditional hierarchic industrial society.

Fig. 11. Contemporary network society

Fig. 12. Map of the Internet.

Fig. 14. WiFi Networks throughout the world.

Fig. 16. Sketches by Le Corbusier.

Fig. 17. Villa Savoy floor plans.

Fig. 18. The Free Plan structure.

Fig. 19. Front façade of Sendai Mediatheque.

Fig. 21.Sketches by Ito.

Fig. 22. Loose partitions and translucent curtains.

Fig. 24. Fujimoto, House Na.

Fig. 25. Interior view of the living space.

Fig. 26. Fujimoto, House N.

Fig. 27. Fujimoto, House N.

Fig. 28. Fujimoto, House N intersection of juxtaposing programs.

Fig. 29. Tactical Sound Garden.

Fig. 30. integration of wireless infrastructures that actuate physical environments.

Fig. 31. Aerial view of the sound garden.

Fig. 32. Timeline denoting architectural innovations.

Fig. 33. Section of St. Mark’s, Venice.

Fig. 34. Melioli visually maps the reverberation and echoes.

Fig. 35. Formal expression of the soundscape of the church.

Fig. 36. Melioli reveals “ghost spaces”.

Fig. 37. Auditory spatial perception.

Fig. 38. Experiment 01 setup.

Fig. 39. Experiment 02 setup.

Fig. 41. Experiments by Kircher exploring echoes.

Fig. 42. Boston Symphony Hall, 1890.

Fig. 43. Anechoic Chamber.

Fig. 44. Resonant Chamber, RVTR, 2011.

Fig. 45. Sonic sculpture by Eusebio Sempere.

Fig. 46. Sonic metamaterial also known as sonic crystals.

Fig. 48. “Sound Cube”, Berhard Leitner.

Fig. 49. ”SoundBits” By Robin Minard.

Fig. 50.”SoundBits” Placement of speakers that add to the “spatial timbre”

Fig. 51. Virtual Sonic Enclosure Schematic

Fig. 53. Basic principle of ANC.

Fig. 54. Cement plant. Installation of ANC silencer.

Fig. 55. Comparison of noise at plant location and receptor location.

Fig. 56. ANC setup at the plant.

Fig. 57. Performance of the ANC system.