"Soundscape New York" depicts the sounds of NYC's famous buildings

Sometimes, the atmospheric sounds of a built structure is what leaves an impression. Opening at the Museum of the City of New York on March 10, the "Soundscape New York" audiovisual exhibition will showcase animated audio drawings of some of NYC's famous buildings projected on screen.

The drawings, which artistically depict the sounds of buildings like the Grand Terminal Central and the Rockefeller Center, comes from a collaboration between Karen Van Lengen, University of Virginia Kenan Professor of Architecture, and artist James Welty.

The March 10 opening will also feature a panel discussion that evening.

More details below.

"When visitors experience Soundscape New York, they encounter the actual sound of the space coordinated with a visual animation. Using Karen Van Lengen’s drawings, artist James Welty brought the project to fruition by creating the animated spatial environments and choreographing the sound figures that express various textures of the buildings."

"For example, Grand Central Terminal’s soundscape is an oceanic-style animation and sound, such as clangs and echoes, depicting a flow of movement that amplifies the station’s status as a primary transportation portal of New York City. The other four sites included in the exhibition are Rockefeller Center, the New York Public Library Reading Room, the Seagram Building lobby, and the Guggenheim Museum."

The exhibition opening on Tuesday March 10 will feature a panel of speakers at 6:30 p.m.

Participants include: Tony Hiss, author of The Experience of Place and visiting scholar at NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service; Karen Van Lengen, FAIA, Kenan Professor of Architecture, School of Architecture, University of Virginia and former Dean of the University of Virginia’s School of Architecture; artist James Welty; and moderator Donald Albrecht, the City Museum’s Curator of Architecture & Design. A reception will follow.

This project is part of the Soundscape Architecture website created in 2014 with the Institutive for Advanced Technologies in the Humanities at the University of Virginia, under the direction of Professor Worthy Martin.

More details here.