Vitruvius and new materiality: practice and theory in the development of an architecture of sound

In architecture, sound is only haphazardly used as an accessory to pre-constituted architectural blocks. To establish the affordability of sound as a material in architectural practice, the paper analyses the social context of today's architecture. Over the centuries, buildings have changed their constituent materials ranging from ceramic to concrete, from wood to glass, from light to vapour. It is argued that Vitruvius' principles of commodity, firmness and delight have led to the generation of 'new and improved' architectures which resembled more to images than liveable places. A renewed interest in the experiential dimension of architecture has changed the way people explore and live space. In sensory architecture, materials are chosen based on the expressive-sensorial qualities and the effects that these have on the user. Technical and technological advances have allowed a controlled manipulation of the ephemeral elements of space, namely water, temperature, light and sound. In particular, it has emer...