Harmony in the Square

#84
Year
Recipient
Don Hill
Amount
$6,000

EN_

The project mandate is to investigate the psychoacoustic properties of the carillon bells atop Edmonton’s City Hall and how specific tonal frequencies associated with each chime relate to and affect the acoustics of Winston Churchill Square, a large public gathering space in the heart of the downtown core. Psychoacoustics is the scientific study of human perception of sound.

To remediate the unpleasant sound of a large public square in the downtown of a major Canadian City, the project seeks to create conditions for acoustic standing waves, noise-cancellation effects, as well as strategically adding sounds from a carillon to create a “harmony of the square”. The creation of sound that is pleasing to our senses and provides “healing qualities” to the users of the square is the ultimate aim. The results of this work will be published.