Non-normative sonic space: exploring the divergent capacities of soundscape design in the built environment

Abstract

This paper aims to situate disabled and neurodivergent people's experiences at the heart of research concerning human perception and response to soundscape design in the built environment. The paper outlines the process and insights gained through a series of participatory binaural soundwalks held in London between 2016 - 2019. Each soundwalk invited a disabled and/or neurodivergent person to discuss their experiences of and responses to soundscape and acoustic design whilst walking through a public environment such as a gallery, café or theatre. The chapter uses a multimodal framework for discourse analysis to analyse the soundwalk data, highlighting the divergent and non-normative affective potential of sound in socially public spaces. Findings consider elements such as how changes in reverberation time may trigger involuntary words and noises for people with Tourettes and how a lack of understanding of noise levels might increase anxiety for people with post-traumatic stress disorder. By generating new knowledge and understanding of the divergent capacities of soundscape design to affect and be affected by people within the built environment, the chapter aims to increase the opportunity for researchers across disciplines to think critically about the societal repercussions of design that privileges a normative ear, body and mind.