Acoustic Atlas
1/1/2024
Acoustic Atlas
1 January 2024
Acoustic Atlas is a virtual acoustic map for cultivating the capacity to listen to and connect with remote heritage sites. It invites people to sing, speak, and emit sound into virtual acoustic environments, experiencing how their voices — acting as human sonar signals — reveal the hidden interiors, forms, and textures of architectural and natural heritage spaces.
Such listening enables a phenomenological connection with remote sites, which is particularly relevant for the preservation of heritage and for sonic exploration. In the context of acoustical and environmental intangible heritage, virtual reconstructions of world heritage sites are becoming increasingly useful for multi-sensory immersive access, research, and conservation.
The sonic component of a virtual reconstruction is known as auralisation — the process of rendering space audible. Auralisations can be used to simulate ancient and historic environments, to investigate the likelihood and nature of rituals and historical actions that may have taken place there, and to monitor how sites may have changed acoustically over time.
Acoustic Atlas aims to digitally preserve the acoustics and soundscapes of natural and cultural world heritage sites. Its approach makes endangered acoustic heritage widely accessible, while supporting environmental, educational, conservation, and artistic research and fost