City Centre Sounds

I  have been asking people in Brighton what they like and dislike about city centre sounds :

Not surprisingly, they find the sound of horns, sirens, shouting, car alarms, traffic, construction work uncomfortable and irritating.

They prefer the sound of the sea, the birds. Basically when they need a break they go to the seafront or the pavilion gardens.

Are there ways to change irritating noises into something less uncomfortable? It turns out that the same principle that makes it sound as though you can hear the sea in a shell applies to cup  shaped objects held at a slight distance from the ear. Apparently the lounder the ambient noise levels the louder the swooshing sound. Perhaps physical adaptations to urban environments could create listening posts..

Wearable sound baffles

Is it possible to use the principles of anechoic chambers to absorb sound in clothing? Could pleating and smocking techniques that use soft warm materials but also increase surface area, dampen surrounding sound and improve ability to have a conversation in noisy environments?

Rob Oldfield currently doing a PhD in 3D sound at Salford university advises:"Urban soundscapes often have quite a lot of low frequency sound but it is usually the higher frequency (1000Hz-10000Hz) sound that we humans find the most annoying (that's because they are the frequencies similar to speech and we are most sensitive to them).Concentrate on trying to make the higher frequencies lower because these are more annoying anyway (alarms, whistles, screeching breaks)

Your idea of the pleating/smocking is really good because this is a good way to absorb sound (usually if you imagine something that is good for keeping you warm/insulating, it will also be good at absorbing sound too) So you could be on to a winner with that, thicker material and bigger pleats will be better for lower frequencies and will absorb more sound in general. "

measuring sound

Advice on testing efficacy of baffles to cut out certain frequencies includes a number of methods:

1. Play white noise and use sound meter to measure sound levels from a microphone close to the ear, with and without the baffles
2. Play white noise and record with and without baffles. Import into Logic Pro to view frequencies that are affected

this head size screen in the sound booth at university of brighton is lined with acoustic foam to further dampen sound for voice recording purposes. Can this be transposed to a portable/wearable accessory to make it easier to speak in noisy cafe environments?

books make libraries quiet

Jane Fordham pointed out to me the other day that it is the books that make libraries quiet. A complete self fulfilling physical effect. You need quiet in order to read. If you have enough books they create a physical equivalent of an anechoic chamber, i.e. multiple non reflective surfaces that are also insulating. Think of all those remainder books that get pulped that could be used to build quiet places....

the poetry of moss

Investigating the potential and benefits of introducing small scale interventions of growth in urban environments has led to expert advice from the living roofs organisation. George Schenk sums up entirely what I have been thinking:

"a world more closely viewed in vignettes of landscape that we discover or plant for ourselves, is a world made more cosy. Mosses up close are large on fellowship. Nothing else of greenery is more companiable at the near edge of our universe."Schenk, G Moss Gardening, p105

Dont rush

Jacqui Chanarin told me about recent visitors to Japan where they are putting 'don't rush' signs up intended to influence crowd behaviour in commuter zones. The idea being that negotiating crowds could be easier and a less frustrating experience if everyone were more calm and careful. I found this one which apparently means " Don't rush or you will go round in circles"

noise

This  DEFRA  noise map shows the main route by road in and out of Brighton to the palace pier. The purple is the most noise 75 + dB(A)  (mainly roads) the green 0.00-54.9 dB (A)  is the least.

 The red patch 65.0-69.9 dB(A) (the steine ) despite being a large stretch of grass is surrounded by roads and on the high range for noise. 

moss

I have had some useful advice from Gary Grant Ecology Director at Aecom in response to my query about creating small scale installations to encourage moss in urban environments :

• "It is feasible but you will need to use north facing surfaces and channel rainwater across the surface
• In Japan people use ricewater and yoghurt to speed up the process of colonisation
• and try rough wood, sandblasted or similar, or hessian"

this is a first experiment for a channel that could be integrated into the shop window ledge to introduce a continuous line, an alternative view, leading to larger installations alongside public seating.