Three-dimensional sound spatialization at Auditorio400 in Madrid designed by Jean Nouvel

Abstract

The auditorium 400 was designed by the team of Jean Nouvel, the French architect, Pritzker Prize winner in 2008. It belongs to the organization of the National Museum and Reina Sofia Art Centre in Madrid, and is incorporated in a special room within the cultural life of Madrid (Spain). The center collaborates with the Spanish Ministry of Culture, and organizes a series of concerts of contemporary music and electronic and computer music. To achieve the sound projection equipment, the direction of the audience chose the system Acousmonium, designed by the GRM inside the ORTF in Paris. This paper will explain the involvement of the group LIEM (laboratory for Computer and Electronic Music), from Reina Sofia Museum with space in music: The musical relationships and implications of this choice, as well as the technical, architectural, and signal processing techniques used for the design of algorithms for spacialization of sound. After giving a very general overview of specific algorithms for spacialization, we explain some musicals examples designed specifically for this space, and the impact of its implementation and diffusion in the auditorium400 that have very special technical and artistic features.