Soundscape 

Soundscape brings together design, music, and computer science to produce a unique artistic event that allows us to visualize music, listen to designed spaces, and understand the universal principles that unite sound and vision as sensory experiences. Each musical note correlates with a spatial design element - chords are represented by two or more overlaid elements, and quiet intervals in the music become empty spaces. 

Based on this interface, the act of playing notes will generate a design in real time which is projected as a large-scale image. Soundscape doubles as both an artistic experiment and an interactive teaching aid for music and design students.

Event

Soundscape will debut at the Electronic Music Marathon in April 2018, organized by the School of Music and Dance. It will also feature as part of the school of Art and Design's Open studios event in May.

Sponsor Biographies

Matthew Higgins

Matthew Higgins is a British architect and interior designer. He wa formerly Design Director of Higgins Gardner & Partners, a London-based architectural practice specializing in cultural facilities design. In 2009 Matthew established Coda Projects LLC, a research-based practice in California that explores the boundaries between architecture, design and the arts. His academic research focuses on modes of conceptual thinking in the development of design ideas. He has introduced various innovative teaching techniques at SDSU including Space Scrabble, a space-making game that balances design intent with chance outcomes. Soundscape is a development of this concept.

Chris Warren 

Chris Warren is a sound artist, signal processing researcher, and educator. He is the lead inventor at SuperHoax, where he develops unique music software. He performs with the group A Hundred Ghosts and his scoring work can be heard in the KPBS radio series Incoming. Dr. Warren's research in acoustic measurement produced the EchoThief Impulse Response Library. These sonic snapshots of distinctive spaces throughout North America provide one of the most varied collections of reverbs available. His recent interactive sonic installations have been featured in the Museum of Making Music, NAMM 2016, and the Havana Biennial. He is a resident artist at Space4Art in San Diego.