Alexander Collier

Architectural spaces are understood through all the senses. Yet sound is an often overlooked aspect of architectural design. Residents of urban and many lower-income neighborhoods are disproportionately affected by noise pollution, in which industrial sounds often exceed recommended healthy levels, inducing stress. Architecture typically seeks to eliminate noise using soundproofing materials. But this can lead to stiflingly silent interiors that also result in stress or disorientation. This project seeks to identify different sound typologies and to accentuate or manipulate their qualities to create evocative spaces. Each space is based on a different soundscape that facilitates creativity, reflection, and education. This site, set in Red Hook, Brooklyn, spans the Gowanus Expressway and is sandwiched between two schools. The project serves as a connector between the neighborhoods of Carroll Gardens and Red Hook. It provides green space and a community center in back of the schools. The program is derived from the sound typologies that exist at the site and functions as a way to explore noise and nature. When the site was explored through a series of audio recordings, a path emerged that breaks the site down into different sound typologies. These typologies are indicative of different sectional qualities through the landscape and help establish programmatic elements and how they manifest across the site. Each presents a new aeolian landscape.