Genevieve Duval

Whether it's the sputtering sounds of water in a public square, heavy rain in steady traffic, or squealing iron wheels leaving the train station, spaces speak. Are you listening? Sounds are distally located events that add textures to a space; they exist in space, with space, and act as space. Sonic events, including vibrating objects and interacting bodies, are the mediums through which spaces communicate. What does it mean to listen to space? To experience space with our senses? This thesis looks at the changing culture of sound surrounding the railway industry and how it shaped the way sonically complex spaces such as a public fountain are experienced. There is no grand narrative for understanding sonic experiences, hence looking at two different periods in the construction of an overarching idea of the role of sound in shaping and shifting everyday perceptions of the artifice.