Abstract
Sound performance plays a significant role in the experience of space. Theatre and performance spaces provide a context where acoustic and spatiotemporal characteristics can be informed through the controlled robotic fabrication of macro- and micro-geometries, by using mathematical principles as a driver for design variations and machine code. This essay discusses a short history of relationships between sound and geometry; from acoustic reflection methods (Kircher, 1673); to a theatre seating matrix (Saunders, 1790); to positioning of individual listeners and their specific acoustic environments (Russel 1883); to sound concentrations in spherical shapes (Cremer, 1982, Vercammen, 2012); to current strategies for acoustically performative scattering surfaces (Reinhardt, 2012, 2015). The essay further introduces empirical research into robotic prototypes that test the acoustic effects of complex architectural geometries, with a focus on robotic fabrication of macro geometries that change the colouration of sound; and micro-geometric surfaces that can be applied to improve acoustic performance by scattering. It presents a 6-axis fabrication process for acoustic scale prototypes, based on a range of mathematical equations that regulate physical properties of spatial surfaces and pattern details. Here, generative tools and robotic tooling processes are linked to the angle and cavity depth in a surface medium. The essay concludes with a discussion and an outline of future strategies for the acoustic performance in multi-talker work environments or daily life scenarios.
Dagmar Reinhardt