ABSTRACT
Highlighted in Chapter 3: Designing Differently Through Acoustemology: Sound, Soundscapes and Sonic Environments, it is the sound and soundscapes that are documented here showing how to map onto ecology and space, heal, enlighten, produce identities and shape new ways of knowing and spatial justice. Sound is often misunderstood and constantly compared to the senses of sight and visuality, creating a dualism that emphasises sound as ephemeral and spatially constructed. Recent work on sound and specifically soundscapes emphasises that sound is not ephemeral and can alter our ways of knowing in significant ways. I have studied sound from multiple perspectives and disciplines across the arts, social sciences, humanities and even sciences, but it was through the study of ‘anthropology of the senses’ in my doctoral work in 2013 that I came to understand the concept of acoustemology, a way of knowing through sound and acoustics. Building upon this from the anthropological field, this chapter expands the concept and application of acoustemology into architecture and design studies. This chapter critiques the occularcentric nature of ableist architecture and spatial design and calls for new lines to be drawn by sound and soundscapes so as to bring about spatial justice. Case studies in this chapter include tangible examples from Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame and the Canadian War Museum on how to create inclusion in cultural institutions.
